Bad Boys: Ride or Die - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

For our aging action heroes Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, shit just got real - again - for Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah's Bad Boys: Ride or Die. This third sequel sees Miami's best on the run while working to clear the name of their late captain. The action hits as hard and fast as the jokes proving once again Lawrence and Smith have plenty of bullets and stamina for another rip-roaring explosive entry in this thirty-year-old franchise.

It's not hard to see the parallels between Marcus and Mike (Lawrence and Smith)  of Bad Boys and Riggs and Murtaugh (Gibson and Glover) of Lethal Weapon. It's even more apparent in their respective fourth installments where age and family become a key factor. That said, Bad Boys: Ride or Die still packs heavy action and violence at every turn with their famous brand of humor, while giving more heart and emotion than the previous three films combined for a highly entertaining and wonderful sendoff for the pair.

Nobody knew how well Michael Bay's first Bad Boys film would do but Smith and Lawrence's performances captivated audiences with their charm in its grounded debut. Bay turned the action dial to eleven for Bad Boys 2, which is the silliest, yet most destructive installment to the point that other movies talk about how over-the-top it is. Bay stepped down from the director's chair and allowed the Belgian duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to make the third film that brought in more melodramatic elements, especially the character of Lowrey's criminal son. Even though Adil and Bilall paid tribute to Bay's style of action, their unique brand of comedy and mayhem stood tall in 2020, which led to the third movie becoming the biggest box office draw of the year.

Ride or Die flips a few things on its ear that the characters and franchise haven't seen before, resulting in many visual and comedic treats. One is that the narrative allows Lowry's character to finally settle down and stop being the playboy he's been for three movies. The other funny twist follows the personality reversals of both Marcus and Mike where Martin Lawrence's character is now the one who wants to dive head first into violence and action without thinking while Mike is constantly yelling to stop the fun and relax. This makes for great comedic moments when Lawrence casually walks into traffic or screams in a fit of rage with guns in both hands to take out the bad guys.

Things get real in a turn of events that has Lowrey and Burnett investigating inside corruption when their beloved late Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is accused of being a part of the Romanian mafia. It's an obvious setup that has both detectives on the run as fugitives and fighting for their lives. They can't trust anyone, however, one person they can trust is Armando, Mike's son from the previous film who has been incarcerated and is now on the run with his father and Marcus to help them out and solve the case. Through big action set pieces flying in the sky of a burning helicopter to the depths of an abandoned alligator park, Bad Boys: Ride or Die keeps the action, gore, and gunplay at an all-time high. Even a fan-favorite character, Reggie (Marcus' son-in-law), is finally allowed to step up to the plate in what is to be the crowd-favorite scene of the movie.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Bad Boys: Ride Or Die comes for you on 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Code via Sony. The discs are housed inside a hard black plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. There is an insert for a digital code. The artwork features Martin Lawrence and Will Smith with guns drawn against their famous Bad boys logo.

Bad Boys Ride Or Die has a demo-worthy 2160p UHD 4K transfer with Dolby Vision. The result is something special. This is one of the best-looking discs Sony has ever put out.

The color palette is beautiful and full of those Miami neon color patterns. Clubs display those perfect shades of pink, purple, blue, and green that brighten the night sky. All of the colored jellybeans that burst onto the camera look like a wonderful rainbow of color. The airplane sequence utilizes big fiery explosions with bold orange yellows that mix well with the blue sky above. At the alligator park, the swampy and moldy greens look amazing as well which contrasts nicely with the big albino reptile. Black levels are extremely inky and the skin tones are very natural.

The detail is impeccable with beautiful closeups that reveal facial pores, individual hairs, textures in clothing, metallic objects, and more. A lot of the visual effects were done practically and it shows nicely. There are no problems with aliasing, banding, or any video noise. This is a demo-worthy video presentation, one that Sony will be proud of.

This release comes with an equally impressive Dolby Atmos track that kicks off from the start. Sound effects are always booming and at full force. The many types of gunshots pack a powerful blast with shotguns, uzis, and Glocks having their own distinctive sound. Explosions utilize the entire speaker system with ease and fluidity. Car chases provide tire screeches, engines roaring, and metal crashing into each other. Glass breaking. water splashes, bone crunches, and reptile bites all sound phenomenal.

The ambient noises inside clubs, the police station, the reptile house, and on the street are fantastic and make use of the surround speakers perfectly. The height speakers rain down weather, debris from explosions, and other gun blasts perfectly providing a very immersive listening experience. The score and song cues always add to the suspense and fun of the film while the dialogue is always clean, clear, and easy to understand when these two iconic actors are yelling at each other. The low end of the bass is always in high gear with amazing rumbles that never cross into rocky territory. What an exquisite Dolby Atmos track this is.

There are about 28 minutes of bonus material included here that is fun to watch but all too short to add anything really valuable or informative.

• Credit Sequence (HD 1 Min.) - A bonus end credit sequence has been added that rewinds the movie back to the B.C. years and follows Martin Lawrence in a sherpa outfit leading a donkey (Will Smith) as the two yell at each other, bringing back a joke from the film.
• Will and Martin (HD, 4 Mins.) - The cast and crew talk bout the two stars and show on-set footage.
• Fights, Camera, Action (HD, 4 Mins.) - The best featurette of the group showcases how the big stunts and camera work was done for the film.
• Outtakes (HD, 3 Mins.) - A good collection of missed cues, laughter, dancing, and goofs on set.
• The Bruckheimer Legacy (HD, 4 Mins.) - An all too short look at the history of Jerry and his films.
• Partners in Crime (HD, 5 Mins.) - Another look at the characters throughout the films.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 7 Mins.) - There are five scenes included, which are worth watching but don't add any necessary plot to the entire film.

Bad Boys Ride Or Die is the best Bad Boys film to date. It mixes things up with some heavy stakes and crosses into Fast-and-Furious territory a little bit. It's always a great time with these two on screen as the laughs, violence, and comedy never stop. The two filmmakers always find a way to make the action and story mean something more powerful than its first two installments. The 4K image with Dolby Vision and the Dolby Atmos audio mix are both demo-worthy. The extras are fun enough. Highly Recommended!