Let me start this review with a confession: I haven’t seen the previous three Bad Boys movies, and my introduction to this franchise is via Edgar Wright’s zany action comedy Hot Fuzz (2007). Can’t believe it’s been almost 30 years since the first Bad Boys came out, not that you’d know it from looking at Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, who still look quite youthful for being 59 and 55, respectively. Buddy cop comedy is a genre I enjoy, and that’s the main appeal for me.

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the Belgian-Moroccan duo, took over directing the third movie, Bad Boys For Life, from Michael Bay and they’re back at the helm here. Right from the get go, we get to see the fun chemistry between Mike (Smith) and Marcus (Lawrence) and their constant squabbling, as one expects from every buddy cop franchise out there. It begins with a wedding for Mike and a near-death experience for Marcus, the latter is used as a running joke throughout. Marcus’ outlook on life changes drastically when he wakes up, he’s got a new sense of purpose and heightened self-esteem. The way Marcus can’t shut up about all his near-death visions is funny at first but gets tiresome real fast.

This is perhaps true of the previous movies, but the plot is inconsequential as it only serves to get Mike and Marcus into various shenanigans and overblown situations. So I’m not surprised that the plot is downright simplistic, involving their former captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano), who posthumously gets implicated in corruption. As I wasn’t familiar with this franchise, I thought that Howard was still alive, not that it mattered really, the idea was to get these two Miami police officers working together to clear his name.

I didn’t expect to see Will Smith as the more restrained cop in the dynamic, but somehow it works well. Lawrence gets the zaniest lines and some hilarious, scene-stealing scenes, while Smith mostly reacts to his partner’s antics. The supporting cast isn’t that memorable because the three writers—Chris Bremner, Will Beall, and George Gallo—only wrote them as basic stock characters. There’s a former military guy turned unnamed cartel leader, corrupt politicians, and a fugitive who gets to redeem himself.

As the villain, Eric Dane lacks menace or even an ounce of charisma, while Ioan Gruffud sleepwalks in a thankless role. The movie carries the thread about Mike’s long-lost son Armando (Jacob Scipio), but his character is so stodgy I’m glad he doesn’t get much screen time. Only Paola Núñez gets a decent character arc here. Tiffany Haddish makes a cameo in an unfunny, off-putting sequence that I wish to forget. It’s Marcus’ son-in-law, US Marine Reggie (Dennis Greene), who gets the biggest laugh in a hilarious John-Wick-style home-invasion scene. The entire theater erupts in laughter, but surprises like that are few and far between, as the movie is mostly predictable.

There’s plenty of fan service, and I have to admit that when Inner Circle’s reggae hit Bad Boys came on, I felt a bit nostalgic. The filmmakers also can’t resist capitalizing on Smith’s infamous ‘Oscar slap’, but this time he’s on the receiving end, it’s so on-the-nose one can’t help but chuckle.

It’s to be expected that this movie delivers a great deal of Bay-hem here: shootouts, explosions, scantily-clad women, car chases, and even Bay himself gets a funny cameo in a classic Porsche. The action gets pretty bombastic towards the end. It seems action movies these days get overly reliant on on drone shots, but one particular shootout styled like a shooter video game is a nice change of pace. The climactic scene inside an abandoned alligator-themed park is downright chaotic, featuring an albino alligator named Duke who gets to enjoy a buffet of bad guys.

Overall, this is a quintessential popcorn summer action flick that makes the most of Smith and Lawrence’s fun rapport. As an intro to this franchise, it’s entertaining enough with some laugh-out-loud moments, but I’d likely forget about it a week later.

Have you seen Bad Boys: Ride or Die or other Bad Boys movies? Let me know what you think!