Martin Lawrence and Will Smith may have lost a step or two since they last worked together but 鈥淏ad Boys: Ride or Die鈥 doesn鈥檛 ignore the obvious.
In the fourth installment in the franchise, Lawrence鈥檚 character suffers a heart attack; Smith鈥檚 deals with relationship woes (and, yes, a slap).
Both, however, are determined to learn who framed their friend and tried to make him the focus of a drug investigation. Oddly enough, the new stance works.
The two rely on the help of associates, work their way around Miami and wind up in an abandoned theme park where a giant gator adds one more layer of entertainment. In a closing segment, 鈥淩ide or Die鈥 has all the excitement of the first 鈥淏ad Boys鈥 film. It doesn鈥檛 send any messages, but it does say there鈥檚 still life in the two actors.
Lawrence, who looked like he was headed to a guest spot on 鈥淭he Neighborhood,鈥 rallies here and fends off those ideas that he鈥檚 too old for this kind of work. After the heart attack, he thinks his invincible and demonstrates as much with his partner. Smith pulls back a bit but doesn鈥檛 disappear. 鈥淩ide or Die鈥 is a reset that lets him move past the Academy Awards slap (Lawrence helps).
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The two banter about aging, lean in on family and don鈥檛 go down dark alleys that don鈥檛 produce results. 鈥淩ide or Die鈥 is quite entertaining in spots but don鈥檛 expect those star cameos to linger. If you miss them, they鈥檙e gone. (Thank you, Tiffany Haddish.)
Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the film has an old school look (Miami fits perfectly) and doesn鈥檛 press its actors to look more active than they are.
Smith tosses out a slam, Lawrence hits it back. They seem OK in action sequences, too.
While Smith鈥檚 wedding may be a bit much, it gives him someone to worry about, even when his son shows up.
Joe Pantoliano gets pretty good screen time considering his character is dead. And Eric Dane is just as good as any number of actors who turn up as a film鈥檚 heavy. Female characters don鈥檛 get as much attention but the script hints at the real hand feeding drug problems in the United States.
鈥淩ide or Die鈥 isn鈥檛 an acting exercise like 鈥淜ing Richard.鈥 Smith, in fact, looks like he鈥檚 going through the motions in many scenes. But it鈥檚 his way back into the good graces of fans who wondered if that was his last good film. This suggests more lies under the surface and it鈥檚 time to give him another chance.
Obviously, 鈥淩ide or Die鈥 will do well at the box office. It鈥檚 as old-school as these buddy films get but it鈥檚 also highly entertaining.
When Lawrence and Smith are in the latter鈥檚 Porsche, anything is possible.
鈥淏ad Boys: Ride or Die鈥 may not be the film of summer but it鈥檚 good until one of those turns up.
