The Bad Boys franchise has entertained audiences with three movies over the past 25 years, meaning that the upcoming fourth installment, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, has a long legacy to live to. As a hilarious buddy cop action-comedy series, Bad Boys starred Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as mismatched detectives who repeatedly went above and beyond in their pursuit of drug kingpins, crazed killers, and international crime syndicates. With plenty of over-the-top action and hilarious comedy, the three Bad Boys movies have set the bar very for itself high moving forward.
The first two Bad Boys movies were directed by action director Michael Bay, who imbued the franchise with his signature love for epic set pieces, massive explosions, and thrilling action sequences. Adding to this was the incredible comedic skill of Lawrence, Smith, and the entire supporting cast, who had so many memorable moments over the past three movies. Bad Boys: Ride or Die has a lot to live up to, but paying tribute to the epic scenes of the past while forging something new will hopefully lead to another thrilling addition to this action franchise.
One certainty in Michael Bay movies was massive explosions, and the mansion demolition scene set the bar incredibly high for the upcoming fourth installment in the franchise, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. While Bay only directed the first two films, his legacy and fondness for over-the-top cinematic spectacles have continued to influence the series moving forward and will surely be repeated in the franchise’s latest entry. With bodies flying through the air, vehicles driving through walls, and a mansion engulfed in flames, this attack in Bad Boys II was one of the most epic in the entire series.
Taking place in Cuba after Marcus and Mike led a team of Special Forces officers on a mission to infiltrate the drug kingpin Tapia’s mansion, this gigantic detonation shattered windows all around and left the property in complete ruin. While the Bad Boys series had always featured incredible action sequences, this massive set-piece explosion was a genuinely stunning piece of filmmaking. While Bay has gotten plenty of criticism over the years for his overreliance on sequences such as this, the mansion explosion in Bad Boys II showcased his signiture style at its best.
While the Bad Boys franchise continued to become more over-the-top and outrageous as it went, it was hard to beat the climactic airport hanger shootout scene from the original movie. As the culmination of Marcus and Mike’s journey to track down stolen drugs and apprehend the drug kingpin Fouchet and his henchmen, this final shootout felt both earned and epic. With plenty of bloodshed, gunfire, and a fiery explosion, scenes like this made Bad Boys a success at the box office, where it grossed $114.4 million against its $19 million budget (via Box Office Mojo.)
The already intense shootout became even more fierce after the protected witness, Julie Mott, drove into flammable barrels and set the entire hanger ablaze while the henchmen continued to shoot, surrounded by flames. With everybody’s life on the line, this Bad Boys shootout felt urgent as the flames started to burn the crooks’ money, and escape appeared impossible. It was a miracle that Marcus and Mike even made it out of the situation alive, and it will be even more impressive if Bad Boys: Ride or Die can top this astounding sequence.
The Bad Boys franchise has often valued action and spectacle over emotion and nuance, but the showdown between Mike Lowry and his estranged son, Armando Aretas, gave Bad Boys for Life some real emotional resonance. While Mike did not realize he had a son through Bad Boys for Life, he slowly put the pieces together and discovered that one of the criminals they were trying to take down was, in fact, his own flesh and blood from an affair he had while deep undercover decades before. This realization added an extra layer of depth to the final showdown between Mike and Armando.
After having already vowed to kill Armando, Mike was struggling with feeling like he had failed his son while also doing his job and upholding his duty to apprehend lawbreakers. With both characters embroiled in what could have been a fight to the death, Mike revealed the truth, showcasing some love and affection for his long-lost son. This powerful scene will be hard to top in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, but, as the closing moments of Bad Boys for Life revealed Mike and Armando may start working together, there’ll likely be many opportunities for more father-son bonding.
While many viewers were disappointed that director Michael Bay did not return to helm the third movie in the Bad Boys franchise, one scene in Bad Boys for Life more than made up for it. With plenty of moments that would please lovers of the Bad Boys series, the wedding speech scene will be hard to top when honoring the franchise’s legacy in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. This emotional scene featured a cameo appearance from Bay himself and proved he had given his blessing to the series, which continued without him in the director’s chair.
The wedding speech scene already featured an incredible moment of fan service as it depicted Marcus’s daughter getting married to Reggie, who was last seen being interrogated by Marcus and Mike in Bad Boys II. Then, in a surprise appearance, Bay introduced Mike, who was giving a toast to the newly married couple. This brief appearance from Bay felt like a passing of the torch and will be a tough moment to top in the fourth movie, Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
Part of the long-lasting appeal of the Bad Boys franchise was how consistently funny it was, and plenty of its most hilarious moments, such as the liquor holdup scene, came from the very first movie. This took place as Marcus, Mike, and their witness, Julie, were discussing the drug deal gone wrong while a nervous store clerk overheard them and mistook them for criminals. While Marcus and Mike discussed the increasingly shocking crime, the shop assistant spotted the guns in their pockets and thought he had to act before he became the victim of a robbery.
The over-and-back between Mike, Marcus, and the store clerk was truly hilarious, as he threatened their lives and did not believe that they were police officers. The double meaning of the store clerk’s threats made his intimidation tactic even funnier, as he was quickly outwitted by the crime-fighting duo as Mike pulled his gun on him and demanded a “pack of tropical fruit Bubbilicous.” While the later installments of the Bad Boys series had more exciting moments, it will be hard for Bad Boys: Ride or Die to top smaller, fun moments such as this.
The wise-cracking Captain Conrad Howard was known for his intense outbursts throughout the Bad Boys franchise, as he was consistently left to face the consequences of Marcus and Mike’s reckless behavior. Captain Howard has countless incredible moments, but his greatest appearance came when playing basketball in the original Bad Boys movie. With a cigar in his mouth and questionable sports skills, Captain Howard tore the boys a new one and demanded they continued to keep up their ruse of swapping identities toward their essential witness.
This basketball scene highlighted everything great about Captain Howard, as his no-nonsense attitude was just the thing needed to keep Marcus and Mike on the case and never falter in their plan. Captain Howard was always quick with a funny one-liner and continued to appear in every subsequent movie before dying in Bad Boys for Life. However, despite his death, Bad Boys 4 is bringing Captain Howard back, so there’s still time to top this incredible scene in the latest installment.
The funniest moments in the Bad Boys series often came from ordinary people unwittingly being exposed to Marcus and Mike’s absurd existence, which was definitely the case of the airplane scene in Bad Boys for Life. From one row behind him, Marcus loudly spoke to Mike about the dangers of his mission and that he would always be there for backup, stating, to the shock of everyone around him, “We fly together, we die together.” This hilarious scene had the other passengers afraid for their lives, which became even more sinister when Mike talked about his plans to kill his own son.
The scene’s tension continued to rise to increasingly bizarre levels, but Marcus and Mike did not show any concern for how shocking their conversations were or how much they would raise the suspicion of everybody around them. As an incredibly well-written scene, this interaction proved how great the dialogue in Bad Boys can be, and it did not always need to rely on intense action sequences. While it will be hard for Bad Boys: Ride or Die to top scenes like this, hopefully, there will be plenty more comedic over-and-back moments between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Bad Boys was always at its best when Marcus and Mike were stuck right bang in the middle of an intense action sequence, and it was never as intense as the highway chase scene from Bad Boys II. This saw the two partners driving an insanely high speed down the highway as they pursued the Cuban drug cartel that had been smuggling ecstasy into the United States. As Mike seamlessly swerved through ongoing traffic, Marcus was freaking out in the passenger seat, and the scene managed to be incredibly suspenseful, thrilling, and hilarious at the same time.
Director Michael Bay’s eye for action was on full display as the gang shot at the police officers from out of their vehicles, cars literally flipped through the air, and Mike bickered with Marcus about how they would de-escalate the situation. With fast trucks and flaming cars, chaotic scenes like this made the Bad Boys series so popular in the first place. While this scene sets the bar incredibly high for future movies, if Bad Boys: Ride or Die can challenge this same type of energy, it will surely be a cinematic spectacle to remember.
The first Bad Boys had so many hilarious moments that involved Marcus Burnett being forced to impersonate his partner, Mike Lowry, to gain the trust of the witness, Julie Mott. While Marcus managed to play it relatively cool initially, after he took Julie to Mike’s apartment, getting away with his new persona became increasingly complex, and his lies became more obvious. From not knowing where anything was in the apartment to having pictures of the real Mike all over the place, watching Marcus quickly come up with explanations was truly hilarious.
At first, Julie thought that Marcus was in a relationship with the real Mike and could immediately tell there was something strange about his behavior. The scene where the two initially arrive at Mike’s apartment was one of the funniest moments in the entire Bad Boys franchise, and Martin Lawrence played it with perfect comedic timing. The hilarious miscommunication between Marcus and Julie was central to the story of Bad Boys, and clever moments like this set the bar so high for Bad Boys: Ride or Die.