At age 50, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) finally finds the right life partner and gets married. During the reception, Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) collapses on the dance floor, suffering from cardiac arrest.

The bad boys have aged since their first adventure at the cinema in 1995. However, they have not gained in wisdom.

After floating in the afterlife for a few moments, Marcus thinks he is immortal. He’s also convinced that he and Mike are soul mates, and have been for several lifetimes – Marcus who announces with all seriousness that Mike was once a donkey and was his owner is among the few good ones.

For his part, Mike suffers from panic attacks. Nothing impossible considering his profession, but the charming arrogance of the character has completely disappeared. He remains a determined and competent police officer, but he is now all smooth. A way to soften the tarnished image of Will Smith since his slap at Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022?

When a frame-up is orchestrated to link Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) to drug cartels, the longtime partners defy orders to investigate “discreetly.” In prison they question Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio, the only actor who plays in the right register), son of Mike, whose existence we learned in the previous part. He is also the assassin of Captain Howard, but his father quickly forgave him… The trio then finds themselves on the run due to the shenanigans of the big bad guy played with astonishing conviction by Eric Dane (Grey’s Anatomy, Euphoria).

Bad Boys for Life, released in 2020, also by Adil and Bilall (Rebel, Ms. Marvel) and co-written by Chris Bremmer, was very effective. A plot that is just crazy enough, a good mix of humor and action, endearing characters. We wonder how the same team could have failed like this for the future. The jokes are weak, the dialogues are hollow, the production is a cross between that of a video game and a music video, the narrative thread is both thin and complex. We prefer when the secondary characters are put forward because Mike and Marcus are so worn out. The chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence no longer works. It’s a little better when they take up arms in the last act.

Plus, it would make sense for the fourth film in the series to be titled Bad Boys 4 Life, right?