Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Cinema can and sometimes must simply entertain. It's not about an elaborate or even new story, character depictions that are more than just superficial, outstanding action scenes, great camera work, or even exceptional actors. It's about fun and distracting the audience from the rest of the world for 115 minutes. "Bad Boys Ride or Die" has achieved just that. Admittedly, Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett have been my favorites since 1995, and I dare say that "Bad Boys" was one of the most-watched films of my youth. And just as I don't feel really old almost thirty years later, neither do Will Smith and especially Martin Lawrence, who really gives it his all in the fourth installment of the series and provides plenty of laughs.

Yes, the film is no revelation, and some camera angles were annoying because they were much too fast and hectic. And when the camera switches to vertical format in the finale, I know that perhaps I am indeed too old for this stuff. However, "Bad Boys Ride or Die" is also one of the most honest films of the year. Here, nothing is taken seriously anymore, and the goal is for everyone to have fun. For me, that was enough, and the film works better than much of what else I've seen in the cinema this year. If you haven't liked the "Bad Boys" so far, you won't be happy here either. For everyone else, go to the cinema and have fun.