I was all in on Bad Boys for Life. I love the first movie, and I think there’s a lot of good in its bloated sequel. The idea of Martin Lawrence and Will Smith returning to the franchise was always going to be enough to get me in the theater on opening weekend. But then this trailer rolled around, and Bad Boys for Life went from “I’ll see that” to “GET THIS MOVIE IN MY EYEBALLS RIGHT NOW!!!”
Check it out for yourself.
This is our second official look at the upcoming sequel, but it’s the one that gives us a much better look at the story, as well as the stunt set pieces that we can expect out of Bad Boys for Life.
The dynamic between odd-couple cop partners Mike (Will Smith) and Marcus (Martin Lawrence) remains in effect. Mike always was a trigger-happy action man, while Marcus was content to be the family man who also stayed loyal to his partner. But it seems like enough finally is enough for Marcus, and he has announced his retirement.
With Mike left partner-less, he’s assigned to a new team of gun-toting young cops, and is instantly up to his bigger-than-average ears in trouble. “Trigger” Lowrey can usually handle himself. But when a villain is gunning for him, specifically, he needs his brother, Marcus, to help him out on “one last mission.”
Cue that legendary Mark Mancina score!
If that music doesn’t make you want to drive 90 and pretend that you are chasing thugs, then you might not have a pulse.
Listen, I get it. Hollywood loves blowing the dust off of old properties, with mixed results. The recent box office for Terminator: Dark Fate suggest that even when a sequel ends up being good, audience apathy could overwhelm any chance that a movie has at succeeding.
But this new trailer for Bad Boys for Life suggests to me that new co-directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi understand what worked very well in the first two movies, and they are bringing those elements back for what looks like a lean, stylish, funny and action-packed chapter in a franchise that should have five sequels already.
This shot alone, which mirrors an iconic moment from the original Bad Boys, gives me goosebumps. It’s fan service, and I am HERE for it!
Martin Lawrence and Will Smith are back on the Miami beat for Bad Boys for Life, a sequel that is decades in the making. It’s the first movie in this series not helmed by Michael Bay, and we will be curious to see how that transition affects the end movie. But this new trailer rocks so incredibly hard, and truthfully, January 17 can’t get here fast enough.
