5 Reasons to Watch Bad Boys for Life

Photo credit: Empire Online

Do you remember the last movie you watched in the cinema? I do. It’s Bad Boys for Life, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. I remember this was a spontaneous decision on my end. After finishing my personal training session at the gym, I decided to treat myself to a movie before heading home.

Well, the movie is now on Netflix and so as a fan of this action-comedy franchise, I am here to urge you to watch it!

I was still in elementary school when the first film came out so I saw the films years later on a VCD (OMG! Still a video cd! Those things are obsolete now I imagine!😄) If you were also too young or were not born yet when the first two movies came out (Bad Boys 1, 1995; Bad Boys 2, 2003), allow me to tell you what this movie is about.

Bad Boys is an action-comedy film about two old-school narcotic cops from Miami, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence). The third installment of Bad Boys movie, Bad Boys for Life, came 25 years after the first release came out and became a box office hit.

What to expect from this movie? Still plenty of action and explosions just like in the first two movies! Smith brings most of the action as he had done so in the first two installments. Lawrence, on the other hand, still brings on a lot of laughs.

Why Watch Bad Boys for Life?

I hoped the writers and the director of this film would not f*ck it up. After all, it’s been years since the second installment came out. It would be a shame to do another Bad Boys film and not live up to its legacy.

Good thing it was as good as I had hoped it would be. Maybe even more. Here are things I liked about this movie:

1. The dig at the actors’ ages

Bad Boys for Life is where we catch up with Detectives Lowrey and Burnett at the end of their careers. Oh yeah. They’re old men now! The scriptwriters of this movie made sure we knew that yes they were well aware that our hero cops are way older now compared to the first two films.

2. This movie has a heart

Marcus is now a grandpa. He’s decided it was high time to retire which actually sets the internal conflict between him and his long-time partner, Mike who still wants to keep being the badass cop, with guns a blazing, taking down criminals.

You’ll see Marcus cry. In the first two films, feelings were usually brushed off. Mike Lowrey’s ex-girlfriend dies? He sighs and goes on a long drive with his Porsche (Bad Boys 1). Marcus Burnett’s younger sister gets kidnapped (Bad Boys 2), he exclaims “shit just got real” and races off to save her with Mike in tow of course.

You’ll also feel sad for Mike and Marcus when the latter rejects his partner’s plea to come out of retirement and be bad boys one last time. There’s a hurt in Marcus’ eyes as he rejects Mike.

3. Mike Lowrey has a back story

The third film gives us a better understanding of Mike Lowrey and how he came to be. Turns out, villain Isabel and Mike were in love once. She taught him everything – how to act, how to dress, how to talk – she made Mike Lowrey. And he put her in jail! No wonder she was hell-bent on seeking revenge.

4. More Plot Twists! 

So yeah, turns out the back story of Isabel Aretas and Mike Lowrey isn’t the only twist to the story. There’s plenty more to shock moviegoers with!

5. Soundtrack

Music also adds to how good a movie is. Like the two other films, this has a lot of hip hop and R&B songs to it. DJ Khaled, who also plays a role in the movie, was the music producer. I read that when it was first announced, it wasn’t very welcomed by fans on social media.

Still, you can’t get their song, Bad Boys, out of your head. The song by Florida reggae group Inner Circle was first made popular by the TV show, Cops. 

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? whatcha gonna do when they come for
you?

Are you clamoring for more Bad Boys? It seems there’s going to be a fourth! The end credits hinted at such and the thought of that excites me!