Bad Boys for Life Review Roundup

After lying dormant for the last 17 years, the Bad Boys franchise is heading back to theaters for another action-filled outing. The existence of this movie may be surprising to some, as the first two installments never lit the box office on fire, and the world has mostly grown out of the adolescent style of Michael Bay’s movies. With Will Smith and Martin Lawrence 25 years older than they were when the franchise began, this adventure could appear ill-advised, and fueled solely by nostalgia. However, it only takes reading one or two reviews of Bad Boys for Life to realize that this simply isn’t the case.

The reviews of Bad Boys for Life started appearing online Tuesday morning and, to the surprise of just about everyone, they are overwhelmingly positive. The majority of critical reviews for the new Bad Boys movie are praising the new installment for growing up over the last two decades, and turning a simple romp into something much more thoughtful and introspective.

Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have evolved the once dead franchise and churned out the first potential hit of the new decade. Many of the critics are also loving the performances turned in by Smith and Lawrence.

You can take a look at a few of the reviews of Bad Boys for Life below!

Variety – Owen Gleiberman

“Bad Boys for Life is the sort of thing I suspect we’re going to be seeing more and more of: the sequel to a long-done franchise that may now be an all-too-obvious cash grab and infusion of movie-star brand enhancement, but doesn’t play like one. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence bring their A game; they never let us feel as if they’re going through the motions. The marks may be standard issue, but they hit them with fury and flair.”

You can read Variety’s full review here.

The Hollywood Reporter – Todd McCarthy

“The first thing you notice in Bad Boys for Life, the third entry in what can now accurately be called a series, is that Will Smith has not aged one iota since he appeared in the first installment 25 years ago. The second and rather more remarkable surprise is that this new installment directed by two virtually unknown Moroccans based in Belgium, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, is decisively the best of the trio; it actually has a heart, or what passes for one in a gigantic, slam-bang industrial enterprise like this. Michael Bay is not missed. In all events, this quite gigantic crowd-pleaser looks to be the first big hit of the new year and decade.”

You can read THR’s full review here.

Collider – Matt Goldberg

“Directors Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah maintain the bombastic, R-rated action of Michael Bay’s first two movies but manage to acknowledge that 25 years have passed since the first film, and that there may be more to life than simply gunning down bad guys and blowing up the streets of Miami. While the story gives way to some twists that are just as silly as the set pieces, Bad Boys for Life is a welcome surprise that shows a series willing to change with the times.”

You can read Collider’s full review here.

Birth. Movies. Death. – Leigh Monson

“It has been 25 years since the original Bad Boys and 17 years since Bad Boys II. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence aren’t getting any younger, Michael Bay has moved on to other projects, and the world isn’t quite the same place that let the fuck-your-feelings attitude of the first two films ride by entirely on the strength of explosions and stylistically objectified women. Bad Boys was going to have to evolve if this extremely tardy trilogy capper were to have a chance with modern audiences, so here’s the good news: Bad Boys For Life is an emotionally mature end to this notoriously juvenile series.”

You can read BMD’s full review here.

IndieWire – David Ehrlich

“The result is a fun, explosive, and surprisingly thoughtful action movie that manages to thread the needle between the pyrotechnics of vintage Jerry Bruckheimer and the softer, more forward-thinking demands of contemporary multiplex fare. It may not be as raw as Bad Boys, but it’s more human. It may not be as operatic as Bad Boys II, but, well, neither was The Ring Cycle.”

You can read IndieWire’s full review here.

The Film Stage – Conor O’Donnell

“Though what results is somewhat of a mixed bag, Bad Boys For Life soldiered on through 17 years of development hell and some uneven plotting to prove itself at the very least a satisfying actioner, best enjoyed with liberal amounts of popcorn, soda… and some Skittles.”

You can read The Film Stage’s full review here.

ScreenCrush – Matt Singer

“Lawrence and Smith’s detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey still patrol the mean streets of Miami, bending and breaking whatever rule stands in their way. Now, 17 years after the last film, this second sequel sincerely asks viewers to care about the inner lives of these two emotionally stunted cops as they investigate the wildest and deadliest case of their careers and … it somehow pulls it off?”

You can read ScreenCrush’s full review here.