Bad Boys: Ride or Die

 

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

He’s back. This is not Will Smith's first film after the infamous slap but it is his most commercially successful. Reviews are fair to midline. It is a typical Jerry Bruckheimer film, with fast cars and action-packed.  It is what you expect from a film like this. If you enjoyed the other Bad Boys movies this one will fit like a glove.

Along with Smith, as Mike Lowrey,  is his Bad Boy partner Martin Lawerence, Marcus Burnett. Smith and Lawerence continue their well-honed repartee. Lawrence gives a more clowness performance making rubbery faces and foraging for forbidden sweets (he had a heart attack).  Their chemistry is well honed and still fresh.

The plot is paper thin and is used as a frame for the action sequences. The gunfights are relentless accompanied by a high body count. These are John Wick type shots with impossible deadly accuracy. This film is more potty mouth than the others.

 Another consequential character is Lowrey’s son, Armando. He plays a pivotal role but the father and son relationship is a work in progress (see the prior Bad Boys film to understand the paternity). There are many other characters rounding out the cast. Tiffany Haddish is a small time gang leader. To say she was vulgar is an understatement.

There are some genuine chuckles. At best this is a distraction from the summer heat. This movie did heat up the box office which before Bad Boys was anemic.

 

King Richard (HBO Max)

 

King Richard (HBO Max)

Richard Williams is a dedicated father but he is an annoying person. This is a Horatio Alger story but here Horatio is black and female.  His drill sergeant  method guiding  his daughters  to tennis stardom is admirable but dictatorial. He had an 84 page plan for the girls tennis stardom but he could not succeed without the remarkable talent of Venus and Sarina. As he said he has two Michael Jordans.  The film is a biopic, it tells a good story but lacks dramatic tension. The story could have been as effective on PBS. Surprisingly on HBO Max it was for free.

Will Smith gives his usual performance. This is a toned down “Bad Boys” act. Same face contortions, same leaning over into your face, same eyebrow lifts, same tone. As he demonstrated in “Ali” he can do better but he did not try here. Aside from the two delightful young girls who played Venus and Sarina the other character of note was Aunjanue Ellis who played his wife Oracene “Brandy” Price. She is a partner in her husband’s quest for their daughters success but she corrects the course when she things go wrong. The two young girls who portray the future tennis greats are very sweet and almost never push back on the intense regiment they have to follow. May we all have teenagers like them.

Names of famous tennis stars were dropped everywhere. From a historical perspective it was interesting to see how many tennis players had the same coaches. There were reenactments of actual tennis matches. The other actors were bit players mostly folding to Richard’s demands. While both sisters are showcased as potential tennis greats this is the rise of Venus and her early wins.

Not to dissuade you from seeing this movie other critics have given this film glowing reviews.