Who says you can't go home again? You probably shouldn't but detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett made it work. Released 22 years after its predecessor, the third Bad Boys movie has become the first box office smash of the decade. Nearly the entire gang is back too: Theresa, Megan, Captain Howard and even Reggie all return.
Following the birth of his first grandchild, Marcus breaks up his long-running and headline-making partnership with Mike by deciding to retire. However, when Lowery is shot right before his eyes Burnett is eventually prompted to return to the streets of Miami with his former partner -- after a long recovery. But only to assist in gathering intel. His domestic bliss, however, is shattered when someone very close to them both is fatally shot by a drug cartel sniper. When the duo teams up with AMMO (Advanced Miami Metro Operations) -- a new unit comprised of younger cops (and led by Mike's old flame) -- Mike's forced to confront his immortality and Marcus is compelled to rescind his newfound commitment to nonviolence.
The bad boys' latest mission involves shootouts in downtown Miami (as usual) and even takes them south of the border to Mexico in order to take the fight to a cartel leader at home. And they both come face-to-face with the mistakes of Mike's past.
You can see some of the onscreen revelations coming from a mile away but they're not predictable in a bad way. It was probably inevitable that Mike, a die-hard ladies' man, would eventually find himself staring down the barrel of an accidental pregnancy. And it was just as likely that his shoot-first-ask-questions-later tendencies would get him shot sooner or later.
Although Martin Lawrence hasn't been onscreen in awhile (aside from a couple of random cameos), he hasn't lost a step and his comedic chemistry with co-star Will Smith is as potent as ever. It makes you wonder what might've been if we hadn't had to wait 22 years between sequels. Every great partnership has to end sometime but imagine if Shaq and Kobe had only played together three times.
Interestingly enough, director Michael Bay, who called the shots on the first two movies, makes an extended cameo but has passed the directing hat on to Belgian duo Adil & Bilall.
By the way, a Fast and the Furious-style mid-credits scene indicates that will definitely be a well-earned fourth installment in the series. Let's just hope that Bad Boys 4, 5, etc. get fast-tracked.
Originally Posted 2/21/20
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