'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' review: Lackluster entry in uneven franchise

Shortly after surviving a heart attack at the start of “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” Miami cop Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) feels so invincible that he scampers into speeding traffic. While his longtime partner Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) looks on in horror, Burnett does a little dance and — remarkably — makes it across the highway unharmed. It’s proof, Burnett says: “I can’t die!”

Neither can this franchise, apparently. A blatant knockoff of “Lethal Weapon,” with Smith as the sexy rogue and Lawrence as the cautious family man, “Bad Boys” (the first film bowed in 1995) has eked by on the two stars’ charm, lots of pyrotechnics and little else. A crummy 2003 sequel stalled the series; a not-half-bad follow-up gave it new life in 2020. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” puts it back on the gurney. This is a hollow-feeling entry with a thin premise, wooden characters and little if any chemistry in the Smith-Lawrence combo.

The plot is driven by James McGrath, a smirking, steely villain played by Eric Dane (livening up an otherwise colorless role). Thanks to some newfangled hacking and old-fashioned killing, McGrath manages to frame the late Capt. Howard (Joe Pantoliano) as a dirty cop, but the loyal Lowrey and Burnett refuse to believe it. Soon, they’re wanted men too, on the run alongside Lowrey’s son, Armando (Jacob Scipio), who’s been sprung from prison. As you may recall, Armando is the guy who killed Howard in the previous film.

This storyline, from writers Chris Bremner and Will Beall, requires a lot of mental work for very little payoff. Subplots involving Lowery’s old flame Rita (Paolo Nuñez), Howard’s daughter Judy (Rhea Seehorn) and a romance between two cute Miami cops (Alexander Ludwig and Vanessa Hudgens) give the whole episode a network-television feel, while a series of cryptic videos made by Captain Howard before his death stretch credibility. (“You’re my last hope,” he says, Leia-like.) Meantime, Lawrence’s Burnett espouses oddball spiritualism while Smith’s Lowrey cocks a quizzical eyebrow — not exactly comedy gold.

Equally disappointing are Adil and Bilall, the Moroccan-Belgian directors who gave the previous entry a welcome dash of pizazz. This time, their idea of style is to employ distracting camera angles — extremely high, way too low or so alarmingly close that we can see the pores in an actor’s skin. Cinematographer Robrecht Heyvaert soaks everything in such supersaturated color that nothing feels real; the whole movie looks like a bag of Burnett’s favorite candy, Skittles.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” joins a summer full of familiar-looking sequels, from “Despicable Me 4” to “A Quiet Place: Day One” to “Alien: Romulus” (all coming soon). It's too bad Hollywood chose this route following last year’s “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” two massive hits that were also hugely creative and original films. Oh, well — whatcha gonna do?

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman