In January of 2020 the world will get a third Bad Boys movie. It’s the first film in the franchise since 2003, arriving (somehow) 25 years after the original came to theaters. A lot has changed over the last two-and-a-half decades, including the type of blockbusters that clean up at the box office. Superheroes and live-action versions of old Disney cartoons dominate ticket sales, and only action film series stalwarts like Mission: Impossible and The Fast & the Furious can seemingly break through. So how will Bad Boys for Life adapt for the tastes of a modern audience after all this time? The first trailer makes it clear: by not adapting at all. And we mean that in the best way possible.
Warning: NSFW language
Everything fans know and love about the pairing of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Miami detectives Mike and Marcus is on display in the first look at the upcoming film. It features plenty of witty banter between the two, huge explosions, massive stunt pieces, absurd gun battles, and a whole lot of dramatic, sweeping shots of them and their fancy cars. The great Joe Pantoliano is even back as exasperated Captain Conrad Howard. The one major change: Michael Bay did not return to direct; the film was instead led by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. With the exception of a very meta-joke about the theme song at the end, Bad Boys for Life looks like it was actually filmed in 2003 and only recently discovered among a box labeled “Pogs and Von Dutch Hats.”
As for the main story there’s not much here beyond the inclusion of the best cop buddy trope ever: one last case before retirement. If Marcus or Mike scream, “Mendoza!” at any point in this movie it will officially be the greatest action film of the ’90s. Will that kind of tone and story work with a modern day audience? We know it will for us.
Featured Image: Columbia Pictures
