Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

Marcus has a heart attack at his partner’s wedding, wakes up convinced he can’t die, and that’s the most sensible plot point in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The rest is a frame job. Somebody has painted their late boss, Captain Conrad Howard, as a cartel crook, and Mike and Marcus set out to clear his name, which means teaming up with Mike’s son Armando, who’s in prison, then going on the run as wanted men themselves. There’s a showdown at an old alligator-themed amusement park, because of course there is. The logic falls apart scene to scene, and the stunts are even more far-fetched than the story. It barely matters. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence still trade insults like it’s a team sport, and that chemistry carries the whole thing. It made $404 million worldwide on a reported $100M. A 5.6 because the duo is good company in a movie that makes no sense. $7,697 says you survive one small scare this month and spend the rest of the day acting like Marcus, convinced you’re invincible.

What works: Smith and Lawrence still have the easy, bickering chemistry that made the series, and the action is loud and full of energy.

What doesn’t: The plot is nonsense held together by coincidence, and the stunts strain belief even harder than the story does.

Who it’s for: Fans of the earlier movies who want a night of Miami noise and two old buddies cracking wise.