BAD BOYS FOR LIFE: Did the franchise ride or did it die?

BAD BOYS!!!! What you gon, what you gon, what you gonna do?

Ok readers I'm way hyped for this movie.  The 3rd installment of the Bad Boys franchise was teetering on the edge of a thin blade simply by being announced.  Martin Lawrence retired from making movies and has been digging back into his stand up comedy roots as well as dedicating his time to helping new comics come up and gain a following with his tours.  Will Smith has had so many flops and bad role choices that even when he has done a good one it gets no love or attention.  Those things don't add up to a winning combination but there's this thing called chemistry that gave this project hope.

Great news! That chemistry didn't skip a single beat.  Martin and Will/ Marcus and Mike are back and tighter than ever.  They are older and funnier which will be a great fill in for the action that the 2nd movie brought us, but don't worry, the action is still here, just scaled down to fit their ages which I found particularly a fantastic choice.  Give me the laughs.  I'll oo and ah over the action you can give me but bust my gut with this talent writing and chemistry and delivery first.  Mission accomplished. 

Bad Boys for Life is a beautiful blend of the fantastic writing from movie 1 with the extreme funny and adrenaline that 2 brought.  Martin Lawrence may be at the apex of his funny in this and is definitely at the apex of his emotional delivery.  Will Smith's Mike Lowry character arc is fleshed out and morphs as the movie goes on.  We get a deeper look in on what is happening in Marcus' family life as well as a new and improved love interest for Mike.  This movie brings out some solid bad guys as well including a mother son drug cartel boss combo that are ruthless and pull no punches at all. 

This movie is on another level of funny and the writers infused just the right blend of old man jokes, young whipper snapper jokes, previous film references and of course there was no choice but to bust out Martin's puke face which still slays on an all time level.  This review is going to be shorter and sweeter than most simply because without spoilers, it boils down to the fact that this movie is entertaining from start to finish, gut busting hilarious and beautifully shot to keep your eyes eating it all up.  The supporting cast, all of the new people fit beautifully and played their roles so well most especially all 3 of the AMMO young members.  They will be an asset in future installments so I'm hoping they are kept for the next go around.

Bottom line, see this movie.  It deserves your money and you deserve this good time escaping reality for a couple of hours.  If you don't go see this movie and treat yourself...well...in the words of Mike Lowry, "That's that shit."