While it's stronger on gunplay and horseplay than plot, this is a solid entry for BB fans.
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Nearly 30 years after the original Bad Boys, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence bounce back with a fourquel that sees their Miami cop characters fighting to clear the name of their boss Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano), who’s posthumously accused of corruption. The intervention of a mysterious new foe (Eric Dane) means they end up on the run themselves, along with Armando (Jacob Scipio), the erstwhile antagonist revealed to be Lowery’s (Smith) son in 2020’s Bad Boys for Life.
The plot isn’t desperately involving: it’s a vehicle to take our heroes – who range from hapless to highly skilled – from one action-comedy scene to another. After Marcus has a brush with death, much of the laughs come from his newfound mystical beliefs, including the conviction that he’s invincible. Less amusing is his ongoing obsession with junk food, the source of some overplayed set pieces and very obvious product placement (though conversely, the suggestion that loaded hot dogs can lead to a heart attack might put a few viewers off their movie snacks).
Numerous familiar female characters (including Vanessa Hudgens’ weapons expert and Paola Núñez’s police captain) come back to either wield guns or play damsels in distress, but the focus is firmly on the genial central pair as they dart around Miami raising the body count. Collateral damage is often played for giggles - life is pretty cheap in this world, unless you're one of the good/bad boys. Yet, as with their previous adventures, the two headline stars still have enough charisma together to see this through.
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die opens in UK cinemas on June 5 and in US theaters on June 7.
