The action film avoids the biggest mistake of part 3

Will Smith seems to be particularly fond of Berlin. At least that’s what his and Martin Lawrence’s enthusiasm at the European premiere of Bad Boys 4: Ride or Die suggests. In an extremely good mood, they throw themselves into the crowds of fans and celebrate their return as the iconic action duo in film history. Smith hasn’t had much to laugh about recently.

With his Oscar slap, Will Smith put himself out of Hollywood a good two years ago. At least that’s how it may seem to many observers. Bad Boys 4 is his first major blockbuster since then, and it carries a lot of weight. So how good is the action sequel that is now in cinemas?

That’s what Bad Boys 4 is about

All fans of the franchise rest assured: Bad Boys 4 offers 115 minutes of good action entertainment. The directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah rely on dialogue-rich humor and captivating fight scenes.

Check out the latest trailer for Bad Boys: Ride or Die here:

The fourth part of the series begins with a celebration: permanent bachelor Mike Lowry (Smith) gets married and best man Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) naturally cries. However, there is no time for an extended honeymoon because a smear campaign against their deceased boss Howard (Joe Pantoliano) sends the two bad guys back on the warpath.

Bad Boys 4 returns to the two great strengths of the franchise

Are Marcus and Mike old hat after almost 30 years of franchise history? The predecessor, Bad Boys For Life, which continued the franchise after 18 years, seemed to be running out of steam. The beloved dynamic between Smith and Lawrence was too thin. Too many desperately needed ideas to keep such a straightforward action series alive were cut back.

But Bad Boys 4 corrects the biggest mistake of its predecessor: Lawrence takes on a much larger and dialogue-heavy role in the action sequel. And he delivers plenty of jokes: After a breakdown, Burnett apparently remembers previous lives that he claims to have spent with Lowry. Lowry’s soul is said to have made his life difficult in the form of a stubborn donkey. Smith’s character, on the other hand, has to struggle with panic attacks. The extreme mental states of the action duo sometimes lead to screaming matches that cause tears of laughter.

El Arbi and Fallah have also made an effort to explore new avenues in the staging of the action. The scenes in the finale, shot with drones, will particularly captivate many genre fans. Muzzle flashes, flying sparks, friend, foe, explosions, everything seems to collapse into one another and to turn the shootout into a kind of showdown orgy.

The biggest low point of Bad Boys 4 is the story

However, Bad Boys 4 is not without weaknesses: The story is irrelevant, Eric Dane’s villain remains pale and even the franchise returnees Jacob Scipio, Alexander Ludwig and Vanessa Hudgens do their duty between phrases and tired puns.

In the end, however, this perhaps only proves what has always held the action series together at its core since 1995: Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, who yell at each other in the midst of the hail of bullets. In this respect, Bad Boys 4 is a return to its former strengths.

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