Bad Boys for Life (2020) - January 17, 2020

[Scourge]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

you've just described some of the funniest scenes in the whole movie (among many others)! I love both films.

Well, in a solid script (sort of like the one from the first film) I would have thought all of those scenes were hilarious. But as I said, the whole thing feels disjointed, just a series of gags and action sequences that don't serve the "story", if you can call it that.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think Michael Bay can do some epic action sequences, but it would be so much better if he added those sequences to an already solid script. Kinda like what he did in The Island (which I consider his last great film, though I haven't seen Pain & Gain yet).

In Bad Boys II, we have this spectacular shootout and chase sequence that goes on for about 8 or 9 minutes and yes, the production values of such a sequence are amazing, but I find it dull and repetitive because it doesn't really add to the story. It's almost as if Michael Bay felt the movie needed an action sequence there and he went like, "well, let's blow some shit up". And that's it. The problem is, the script was too poor and the lack of substance becomes more evident when you focus on the style.

It's not like the chase sequence in The Rock, which I know Bay also included to speed up the pace, but since it is actually connected to the story, it's exciting and fun! The script was so solid, it could hold more than a few gratuitous action sequences.

I don't know why Michael Bay went all crazy like he did after The Rock... I haven't read that much about him. Maybe if Don Simpson hadn't died, the Simpson/Bruckheimer formula could have kept him under certain restraint? That could explain the stellar work he did in the first Bad Boys and The Rock. Maybe that could explain it. Jerry Bruckheimer is not the most discriminating producer out there, and with Simpson out of the picture, Bruckheimer and Bay made that mess called Armageddon. Bad Boys II feels like a product of that disease in its later stages.

Or who knows? Maybe I'm crazy and it's a masterpiece.

My point is... I'm not too fond of Bad Boys II, and maybe not getting a Bad Boys III is more a blessing than a curse. God forbids Will Smith comes up with a character for his son, or Michael Bay manages to outdo himself and delivers an even worse movie that will make The Godfather Part III look like The Godfather Part II.

We will always have the first Bad Boys.