Quantum Reaction
Book
Life-altering tech is on the horizon, and someone wants it stopped—permanently. Can a murder...
Science Fiction Mystery
Ultimate Angry Shark Simulator 3D
Games and Entertainment
App
Sharks are the ultimate, dangerous, horrific and terrifying creatures underwater. The great white...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Bad Boys for Life (2020) in Movies
Jan 28, 2020
The Bad Boys films are known for being over the top, sweary, violent, funny, and action packed, and thankfully, this tried and tested formula sticks again.
It's silliness is hugely toned down from the overly gratuitous Bad Boys II, (it's still pretty silly mind), and we're presented with a host of characters that actually ground the franchise a little, and it's all the better for it.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are once again hugely likable as detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, the chemistry between the two is still hilariously beautiful and bro-tastic after all these years.
BBFL also introduces a group of new characters, a law enforcement response team known as AMMO, who are also all pretty likable. I feel that the writers are perhaps testing the waters for a potential spin off.
The movies bad guys are drug-queen Isabel Aretas and her son Armando (Kate del Castillo and Jacob Scipio respectively) who both do a pretty good job at playing imposing and dangerous villains.
We also get some back story regarding Mike Lowrey that has never been touched on before - a possible avenue for a prequel maybe?
The action set pieces are exciting and well choreographed (best motorbike chase since John Wick 3) and directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah - taking over from Michael Bay - do a solid job of delivering a well shot action packed adventure, with just enough nods to the original duology's style.
The only criticisms I have really stem from pacing. The movie feels very staggered for much of the first half and takes a while to really kick into gear, but once it does, it's hugely entertaining.
Also, the comedy is laid on pretty thick and fast from the get go, and there were quite a few moments that didn't land, (predictably, there was plenty of too-old-for-this-shit jokes) but by the same merit, there were plenty that did.
Bad Boys For Life is overall a fun time that is pretty hard to not enjoy, and it actually might just be the best of the series, if not, then it's certainly on par with the first.
The narrative makes a good effort to set up potential directions for the franchise going forward (I counted at least three obvious set ups) but based on the strength of this entry, it something that I would actually like to see, and considering I went to the cinema content in the apparent knowledge that this would be the last one, that can only be a good thing.
Mendel's Ladder: A Grimdark Scifi Epic
Book
Outlast. Outgrow. Outlive. In the ashes of Earth, evolution is the ultimate weapon. Inspired by...
Hungry Shark Evolution
Games and Entertainment
App
Take control of a very Hungry Shark and go on a frantic ocean rampage! Survive as long as possible...
Shifting Into High Gear: One Man's Grave Diagnosis and the Epic Bike Ride That Taught Him What Matters
Book
Shifting Into High Gear charts the course of Kyle Bryant's transformation as he journeys on a...
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
6.9
Rate It
TV Show Watch
In 1987, NASA astronaut William "Buck" Rogers is caught in a freak accident in deep space, causing...
So, not a contemporary (at the time of Cornwell's writing) set mystery, then, with a heavy slant towards nautical matters.
Yet that is precisely what this is.
While I can't comment on the accuracy (or otherwise) of the naval segments - other than to say they seemed plausible to this land-lubber - I have to say, I also found this to be rather predictable fare, with it startlingly obvious - at least to me - just who stole the priceless Van Gogh (the McGuffin that provides the drive for the plot) further early on, not long after that character is introduced.
Sorry, Mr Cornwell: not your best effort.
Way Down (2021)
Movie
Thom, a genius engineering graduate is interested in the Bank of Spain's safe. The Bank building is...