After a four year departure from acting following 2008's Seven Pounds, Will Smith's return to cinema has been plagued by forgettable roles and some of the biggest critical misfires in recent history. He's proven that he still has the star power to put butts in seats most of the time, but the majority of his post-Men in Black 3 work has proven memorable for all the wrong reasons. So what better way to get some of his lost mojo back than by revisiting the film largely responsible for turning him into one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the first place? While the absence of Michael Bay in the director's seat can certainly be felt, I was very impressed with how successfully Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were able to make this feel like a true Bad Boys follow up. They tone down things like the objectification of women and overall more offensive qualities the previous two movies had, while still capturing the same level of vulgarity in the dialog and lack of respect for human life in the insane action sequences. There are even several referential nods made to the franchise's continuity that other revivals of the ilk have not been respectful enough to include. The only thing missing is Gabrielle Union's gorgeous self. One thing abundantly clear about For Life is that it's not meant to be a conclusion to anything, but rather the beginning of something larger. Some lengths were went through to establish a team of younger agents clearly intended to carry future installments forward when Smith and Lawrence are finally ready to hang up their badges. None of whom have shown charismatic enough in the past to fill those massive shoes, with the exception being maybe Charles Melton. While I kind of miss the days where I could watch a blockbuster without having to sit through it setting up an infinite number of sequels in the process, I'd say the biggest complaints people would likely have with the movie are its somewhat unfocused nature in the early half and just how ludicrous it all gets. The finale is downright Fast & Furious levels of bonkers. It's entertaining, but paints a questionable picture for what comes next as I have a hard time believing logic and reality will not end up only getting further thrown out the window. Anchoring everything though are the two leads who slip back into their brotherly bickering with ease. They kept me watching and laughing during those random scenes in the first portion of the film that didn't contribute to the overall plot at all. This isn't just a return to former quality for Smith, but Martin Lawrence as well. So many of his solo outings have been, well, terrible because he's tried to mimic the coolness and character acting of Eddie Murphy. Something he has simply never had the swagger for. Here he's just a henpecked dork and it fits him so well. I was instantly reminded why I've liked him more in these films than really anything else he's ever been in. This is more than just another ressurection of a dormant property to see how much money there's left to be squeezed out of it. While it is designed with the hopes of profiting off of further continuations that's not the only reason it exists. It was also made with the genuine intention of giving fans of Bay's buddy cop series more Bad Boys, and not in a cheesy, pandering way that plays solely on nostalgia. It's the true third chapter many of us have been waiting on and the best movie most of its cast have been apart of in quite some time.