Will Smith, Martin Lawrence are back for 'Bad Boys for Life'

Of all the sounds there are to hear in “Bad Boys for Life” — the crunch of bones, the screech of tires, the torrent of expletives, the reprise of an immortal Inner Circle theme song — perhaps the most unexpected is that of a voice lifted in prayer. Mike Lowrey is fighting for his life, and Marcus Burnett finds himself in a hospital chapel, petitioning God on his partner and best friend’s behalf: “If you can find it in your heart to give him one more chance,” he begs, “I will put no more violence in this world.” I have to admit, of all the spare parts from which “Bad Boys for Life” has been cobbled together, I wasn’t expecting Graham Greene’s “The End of the Affair.” From there, though, you can more or less guess what happens: There would be no movie if Mike didn’t get one more chance, just as there would be no movie if Marcus upheld his end of the bargain. A quarter-century has elapsed since the first “Bad Boys” marked the feature directing debut of a young music-video whiz named Michael Bay. Seventeen years later and nearly half an hour shorter, “Bad Boys for Life” marks an attempt to both scale back and rev up, to acknowledge the franchise’s senescence while also proving it still has some life in its clotted veins. “Bad Boys for Life” is awash in these intergenerational tensions and middle-aged anxieties, right up to a preposterous late twist that feels like something straight out of the telenovela some characters are shown watching.