I'm gonna go against the flow and express much of my disappoitment with the film. I can't believe how many poor (script/directing) choices and how cheap the production seems on so many aspects.
This production aspect in itself was a big letdown for me because I have always been a huge Don Simpson / Jerry Bruckheimer enthusiast since the 80ies, through the 90ies and 00s, up to early 10's. They were my favorite production team, and it was a winning streak of success and great movies year after year. Couldn't wait for the next one (never catched their Television work though) and even The Lone Ranger worked for me.
When I heard Jerry Bruckheimer would make a comeback with an Will Smith double bill (Gemini Man and BB4L) I couldn't be more exited. But what a disappointment both turned out to be.
For some context on Bad Boys, the first one came out at a very special moment in my life (I was 14 to 15) and it became an instant favorite. I watched it a zillion times on cable, recorded VHS, and DVD (bought it as soon as it came out and along with The Rock, became my most spinned discs).
When part II came out it blew my mind, even though it felt longer than it needed to be. Actually, to me it seemed more like 2 movies in 1, a feeling I would later experience with The Dark Knight (before I get jummped, I'm not saying the movies themselves are on the same level) and Transformers: Age Of Extinction (but lets stop here, the least said about it the better).
But then, time really took it's share with it. After a hiatus of over a decade due to no Blu-ray being available, when it finally came out I went with such excitement to revisit it. But I end up barely being able to go through. Later, with expectations more in line, the UHD elevated it back a little bit.
And that gets me to part III, I'm soon gonna go through lenghy spoilers, so bear with me if you will:
The release date and the production videos made me really skeptic (they duo seemed out of shape and their chemistry felt off). When the first trailer came out, I was a bit reliefed. Even though it saddly confirmed they were out of shape and didn't look the part, their chemistry was back in line, the style seemed to correctly mimic the first 2, the excess of part II was going to be toned-down and the script seemed to play safe but fine.
From the opening logos, the first moments and the initial credits, I sensed the style itself was off and realised the directors would not really be mimicking Bay (contraty to what the trailers had sold). But that was fine, and I don't have a problem with change or with them leaving their mark, as long as it works.
[Show spoiler]
The problems started right at the 'reveal' of the initial 'car chase'. As it went along, I was wondering:
- Are they been chased or followed by the other police cars? How did they get in this position or who is it they're chasing with such lunacy at the wheel that it was unmatched by any crazy driving before?
- Not even by the bridge segment in part II?
- No and guess what, it's Marcus daughter that just had a baby!
- Wait... what? Really?
- Yeah, they put so many people in danger and risked so many property damage just so that Marcus could hold his grandson a few minutes early. Even with all this rush, they weren't able to get there for child birth. If it's such a huge deal, why wasn't he there with his family in the first place? In the world of cell phone communication and all, why did everybody else got there on time and they needed to perform such reckless stunts and still be late?
- Nevermind...
Then we get to the first bad guy (oops... girl) reveal: a prison escape disguised as an officer with a fake knife wound after an induced riot. Wait, did all the other inmates played along with that? Then, are we supposed to believe the paramedics, who by all that's shown were not 'in on it', ride out on an ambulance with a person breathing normally and no real wounds just because such person is covered in blood? Stopping the supposed bleeding would have to be their first action.
The next big problem occurs in the first stand off between the bad buys. To summarize this one, the bad girl's son is able to overcome and kill four or five guys surrounding him with guns at close range with just a knife. Remember those kung fu movies were everybody waits in line for the next guy to be defeated before jumping in? Well here they just stood there with guns in their hands and patiently waited for their turn.
Then we get to a scene where will Smith's Mike is targeted with 3 shots to the body with no vest form a machine gun with bullets that later are said to penetrate anything (cop killing bullets from Lethal Weapon 3, anyone?). He survives and this thread about the bullets goes nowhere.
Sixth months later he comes to a wedding (made look like a funeral) in a wheel chair, just to be greeted by Michael Bay, get up, and never get to the wheel chair again. Really? What was the point? Is he trying to play a gag on everyone? Well, nobody in scene laughed and this just never got mentioned again.
Then he gets back into active duty and is introduced to AMMO, a yonger hot shot team (that worked so well in Blade Trinity, right? 
)
And they're not just young and hot shots, they are diverse too! And just for the sake of it I guess, as I counted a woman boss, a latino/spanic girl, an asian guy and a huge blond guy that's so traumatized (reaveled by later events) that he goes out of his way not to touch or have any physical contact with people.
This movie was supposed to be about Mike and Marcus (Bad Boys for Life right?) and this new team just didn't gel.
Now, onto a (kind of) minor complaint if everything else was ok: the huge blond tech guy is able to hack into a night club's network to get their schedule and list of guests in a matter of seconds. He brags they should up their ante as their security sucks, but he then hacks 2 more clubs even faster.
So we get to this night club scene where the team is already infiltraded in the club's staff (is this Chalie's Angels Full Throttle now?) with the exception of Marcus and Mike. I kid you not, they're so deep in that the asian guy is the DJ of the party and the other agent comes up to the bouncers/people controling the line like she's some sort of manager know by these employees and waive them in.
Oh, did I mention it's the bad guy's anniversary party and this tatical team decided it would be the perfect moment to subtract him? Yeah, right in front of his gang and everybody else.
Ok, let's just get to the final twist that brings up all of the biggest sc*#w ups, the bad guy who shot Mike, killed the Captain and a bunch of other officers, authorities and civilians is Mike's son.
And for that to happen, Mike, a rich kid who joinned the Miami PD for the action now has a past as an undercover agent working as driver for a Mexican cartel boss's wife. That's right, and please don't confuse this with racism or anything but there's just no credibility in an African American Miami police officer (a boy actually, as it was before BB1) working undercover in Mexico for a high profile cartel figure as a close person for his wife.
After a Darth Vader kind of reveal, the bad guy/son suddenly changes side, forgets about his up to then worshiped mother and apparently nevermids her death.
So, after what appears to be just a few days in jail (as it looks like he was not even moved to a prison yet), Mike comes up to him with an 'assignement' that could redeem all his wrongs, that included cold blooded killings of a judge, an investigator, a dear to Miker police captain, in front of his granddaugher no less, and several police officers and possibly civilians.
Adding to all that, the editing is not very good in most of the action scenes and the cheap CGI (helicopter crash, fire) makes is look too digital, fake and disjointed to the previous movies.
Sorry for the awful long rant, and I'm not used to posting reviews here at the forum. But I guess I was so disappointed after waiting so long for a follow up to a much beloved franchised that I had to get it out.
On the positive side, I really enjoyed the comedy and the soundtrack.
If anybody cares to offer some counterpoints to the plot holes or contrivances that I might have missed, I'm indeed interested in reading.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
I would argue that it is possibly the best film in the sequence so far. Arguably. 
Linear Mode
