“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is the fourth movie in this franchise. Set four years after the last installment, but dating back to 1995, the newest offering combines a buddy-cop comedy team with lots of action scenes. The visual effects are top-rate and the cinematography is very creative, shooting from all sorts of angles. While the main duo’s routine is often tiresome, the film remains an enjoyable ride.

The first scene, other than the iconic Miami skyline, sees police officers Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) in a car bickering. They are in a hurry to an event, but Marcus needs a ginger ale. Mike stops at a convenience store and gives Marcus 90 seconds.

When Marcus is in the store, he tries to cheat on the restrictive diet his wife has put him on. In addition to the ginger ale, he orders Skittles and a hot dog. A thief breaks in and threatens both Marcus and the store clerk. Mike enters and complicates matters. The net result is that the thief gets shot, the clerk is told to dial 9-1-1, and the two cops hurry off in their vehicle.

Surprise! It turns out that the former player Mike has finally settled down and is at the marriage altar. We hear the personal vows of his bride, Christine (Melanie Liburd). Then it is a cut to the reception.
At the party, there is a picture of the late Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano). His granddaughter Callie (Quinn Hemphill) makes a toast to Mike and Christine.

Later Marcus grips his heart. He collapses face forward onto the floor. What follows is a well-made dream sequence that includes the infamous life-flashing-before-his-eyes. Marcus ends up on a grayscale island with a colorful macaw. Captain Howard is there and tells Marcus that it is too early for him to die. He then whispers something into Marcus’ ear.

When Marcus awakens in the hospital, he is re-energized. He gets out of his bed and stands on the precipice of the institution’s roof. He explains to Mike that he cannot die.

In another sequence, McGrath (Eric Dane) arrives with a bodyguard to speak to a cartel financier. McGrath demands that the banker transfer a large sum of money into the deceased Captain Howard’s account. After various threats and the transfer occur, McGrath explains how the deaths of the financier, his girlfriend and bodyguard will go down. They all are killed to leave no evidence of the transaction.

When Marcus and Mike arrive at the police station, they are greeted by ATF agents and their own department reps to find out that Captain Howard is now suspected of corruption due to the money in his account. Howard’s daughter Judy (Rhea Seehorn), a U.S. Marshal, arrives and says that she knows that it is a lie. Vowing to get to the bottom of this affair, she does not trust Mike and Marcus, who she feels may be complicit in the framing and corruption.

From here, it is a short path to framing Mike, Marcus and Mike’s imprisoned son Armando (Jacob Scipio). On the run, they must expose the true criminals.

First: full disclosure. I have only seen the first “Bad Boys” movie and not the subsequent two films.
On the positive side, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” has great action sequences. These range from Marcus walking through traffic on a busy street because he believes that he cannot die to a big-time helicopter takeover-by-thugs and subsequent-crash scene.

The innovative cinematography gives great close-up shots as physical fights or shootouts happen. I am almost certain that drones had to be used for some scenes. There is a sense of being intimately caught up in the action.

There also are nice touches such as the use of an alligator as a weapon (shades of James Bond and the trap-door into sharks or piranhas). Armando fights off a gang attack with weights in the prison yard.

I also liked the near-death experience of Marcus. I loved the grayscale effect used on the tropical island and its contrast with the colorful macaw. The rapid recapitulation of what he sees in his life and possibly other lives is masterfully done.

Another positive is the use of an encoded message from the dead Captain Howard. This gets triggered when one of McGrath’s techies tries to break into Howard’s personal PC. I found this to be very creative and believable.

The negative is the buddy cop comedic antics between Marcus and Mike. These are not entirely awful, but their banter often becomes tiresome and repetitive. But clearly their interaction is an audience favorite as indicated by the laughs at any of their dialogue at my screening.

I enjoyed the scenes with Marcus’ family, though. This added a personal touch that was endearing. Even the way that Marcus discovered through his video system that his wife had trashed all his snacks after his heart attack was amusing.

The screenplay fell flat when it came to dialogue. Plot, action and the buddy relationship are everything here. Characters seem like stick figures in terms of emotional depth. But then they are just there to advance the inevitable final confrontation.

The acting of the two leads is well-done, even though there isn’t much to work with. Both Smith and Lawrence have been acting long enough to be very good at this type of film. I also liked Eric Dane’s stoic portrayal of McGrath.

I did not care for the portrayal of Rhea Seehorn’s Judy. She goes from being friendly at Mike’s wedding reception to militantly hostile when Captain Howard is framed. A little subtlety in this emotional swing would have been appreciated.

The complicated relationship between Mike and his son Armando is never fully explored either. Mike uses Armando as a means to an end initially, and the script does not allow Jacob Scipio to become a full human being.

Despite these criticisms, I have to admit that for the most part the film was entertaining enough. I loved all of the action sequences and their brilliant execution. Some torture flashbacks render the movie unsuitable for young children.

Three out of five stars

This Summer, the world’s favorite Bad Boys are back with their iconic mix of edge-of-your seat action and outrageous comedy but this time with a twist: Miami’s finest are now on the run.

CAST: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nuñez, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Jacob Scipio, Melanie Liburd, Tasha Smith, with Tiffany Haddish and Joe Pantoliano