Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Bad Boys: Ride or Die is a 2024 American buddy cop action comedy film starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The fourth installment of the Bad Boys series of buddy cop films, and the sequel to Bad Boys for Life (2020), it was directed by Adil & Bilall and written by Chris Bremner and Will Beall. Joe Pantoliano, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Jacob Scipio, John Salley, and DJ Khaled reprise their roles from previous installments. Tasha Smith joins the cast as Theresa Burnett replacing Theresa Randle, who played the character in the last three films. The story follows Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, who are attempting to clear the name of their late Captain, Conrad Howard, after he is falsely accused of conspiracy.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die premiered at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on May 22, 2024, and was released in the United States on June 7. The film grossed over $388 million worldwide against a production budget of $100 million, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2024.

Plot
Four years after the death of Isabel Aretas, MPD Detective Mike Lowrey marries his physical therapist, Christine. During the reception, his partner, Detective Marcus Burnett, suffers a mild heart attack and goes into a coma, where he experiences a vision of the late Captain Conrad Howard telling him it is not his time.

When Marcus wakes up, he believes he cannot die. Soon after, a news report reveals that Captain Howard was tied to corruption with the drug cartels. With Captain Howard's legacy being posthumously tarnished, Mike and Marcus are determined to prove his innocence with the help of Captain Rita Secada and her new boyfriend, mayoral candidate Adam Lockwood. Mike and Marcus visit Mike's son, Armando Aretas, who is incarcerated for Howard's murder. Armando tells them that Howard was not corrupt, but knew who was, so the corrupted officials hired him and his mother to kill Howard because he was close to exposing the corruption and offers to help them identify the person responsible for Howard's murder.

When the conspirators try to access Captain Howard's computer, a fail-safe, pre-recorded video is sent to Mike and Marcus, warning them of corruption within federal and state law enforcement. Howard uses the phrase "Coke bottle" as a codephrase and it is revealed that he gave information to their former hacker colleague Fletcher. They go to Fletcher's club to retrieve the "files", which turns out to be a QR code hidden in wall art that unlocks a second video from Captain Howard. However, assassins hired by the conspirators tail them to the club and kill Fletcher.

Meanwhile, Armando is attacked by several of the conspirators disguised as prisoners, but he fends them off. Mike and Marcus arrange for Armando to be air-lifted to a more secure location in Miami. However, the conspirators sneak on board and kill the pilot and guards, causing the helicopter to crash. Mike, Marcus, and Armando survive but are branded as wanted fugitives by the conspirators. When the conspirators put out a bounty, the three are hunted by both law enforcement and opportunistic criminals. Conrad's daughter, U.S. Marshal Judy Howard, swears vengeance on Armando for killing her father.

With the assistance of AMMO members Dorn and Kelly, Mike and Marcus uncover the video clues behind the murder and setup. Armando identifies the man who hired him to kill Captain Howard as James McGrath, a former Army Ranger turned DEA agent. While undercover, McGrath got captured by the cartel and was tortured until he gave up his associates and has been working with them ever since. McGrath orchestrates the kidnapping of Christine and Callie, Judy's daughter. He then sends his men to get Marcus' family, but his Marine son-in-law, Reggie, single-handedly kills them all. Rita, Dorn, and Kelly apprehend Lockwood after he is exposed to be working with McGrath.

Using Lockwood as bait, the team engages in a fierce gunfight with McGrath's men at a former alligator-themed amusement park to rescue Christine and Callie, where Lockwood is devoured by an alligator after he attempts to double-cross the team. Mike confronts McGrath, who holds both Christine and Marcus hostage at gunpoint. McGrath then presents Mike with an ultimatum: he must pick either Christine or Marcus to die. Mike, alluding to Marcus' newfound belief that he "cannot die", shoots Marcus in his bulletproof vest. The chaos allows Christine and Marcus to break free before Mike shoots McGrath dead. Amidst the chaos, Judy finds Armando and Callie. Judy prepares to kill Armando, but Callie tells her mother that he saved her life. Begrudgingly grateful for his heroic act, Judy shows mercy to Armando and allows him to escape.

After they and Howard are cleared of all charges and the corruption is exposed, Mike and Marcus celebrate by cooking food on a public grill with Reggie.

Cast

 * Will Smith as Det. Lt. Michael Eugene "Mike" Lowrey, Marcus' partner/best friend.
 * Martin Lawrence as Det. Lt. Marcus Miles Burnett, Mike's partner/best friend.
 * Vanessa Hudgens as Kelly, a weapons expert of AMMO
 * Alexander Ludwig as Dorn, a tech expert of AMMO
 * Paola Núñez as Rita Secada, Miami PD's captain and Mike's ex-girlfriend, now dating Adam Lockwood
 * Eric Dane as James McGrath, a former U.S. Army Ranger who turned criminal after being captured and tortured by the Cartel
 * Ioan Gruffudd as Adam Lockwood, a district attorney and Rita's romantic partner, seeking to become the next mayor of Miami
 * Jacob Scipio as Armando Aretas, Mike's illegitimate son and former Cartel assassin
 * Melanie Liburd as Christine Lowrey, Mike's new wife
 * Tasha Smith as Theresa Burnett, Marcus' wife; Smith replaces Theresa Randle, who portrayed the character in previous films
 * Tiffany Haddish as Tabitha
 * Joe Pantoliano as Captain Conrad Howard. The character was previously killed by Armando, but appears both via video footage, and via a near-death ghostly vision had by Marcus.
 * John Salley as Fletcher, a paroled hacker
 * DJ Khaled as Manny the Butcher
 * Rhea Seehorn as Judy Howard, a U.S. Marshal, Conrad Howard's daughter and Callie's mother, who is hunting down Mike and Marcus
 * Dennis McDonald as Reggie, Marcus' son-in-law and a U.S. Marine Master Sergeant
 * Bianca Bethune as Megan Burnett, Marcus' daughter and Reggie's wife
 * Quinn Hemphill as Callie Howard, Conrad Howard's granddaughter and Judy's daughter
 * Jason Davis as Agent Grice, an FBI agent
 * Derek Russo as Lintz, McGrath's second-in-command
 * Joyner Lucas as a gang leader
 * Jenna Kanell as Nicole, McGrath's hacker

Michael Bay, who directed the first two installments, makes a cameo appearance as a Porsche driver, after previously cameoing in the second two installments.

Development
Following the opening weekend box-office success of Bad Boys for Life (2020), Sony announced plans for a fourth installment, with Chris Bremner returning to write the script.

In April 2022, it was reported that development for the fourth film was being put on hold in light of the incident with Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony. However, the following month Sony head chairman Tom Rothman confirmed the fourth film was still in development, despite the previous report. In February 2023, Smith announced that he and Lawrence would reprise their roles for the film, which was in pre-production, with Adil & Bilall returning to direct. In March 2023, it was revealed that Vanessa Hudgens would reprise her role as Kelly from Bad Boys for Life. In April 2023, it was announced that Eric Dane had been cast, reportedly as the villain, and that Paola Núñez and Alexander Ludwig would also reprise their roles from Bad Boys for Life. The same month, Ioan Gruffudd joined the cast. In May 2023, it was announced that Rhea Seehorn had joined the cast. Bad Boys: Ride or Die was originally the working title by co-director Adil El Arbi, before it was confirmed in early 2024.

Filming
Principal photography began on April 3, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia and Miami, Florida. On May 22, 2023, TMZ released behind the scenes clips of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence filming scenes of the movie in Atlanta. Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. In March 2024, it was revealed that Jacob Scipio would reprise his role as Armando Aretas from the previous film. Filming wrapped on March 4.

Post-production
Asaf Eisenberg and Dan Lebental served as editors on the film.

Lorne Balfe, who composed Bad Boys for Life, has returned to compose the fourth film. Sony Classical has released the soundtrack, coinciding with the film's release date.

Music
The soundtrack for the film was released by Epic Records on June 7, 2024, featuring its lead single, Black Eyed Peas and El Alfa’s "Tonight", featuring Becky G. Several artists were also featured on it, including Sean Paul, Flo Milli, Bia, Myke Towers, Shenseea and JID, among others.

Marketing
The first trailer of the film was released on March 26, 2024. The final trailer for the film was released on May 16. On May 28, Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat and Lionel Messi of Inter Miami featured in another trailer.

Release
The world premiere of Bad Boys: Ride or Die was held at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on May 22, 2024, and it was released in the United States on June 7, 2024. It was originally scheduled to be released on July 3, 2019, but was moved up to May 24, 2019, before being pulled from the schedule. In July 2023, it was announced that the film would be released on June 14, 2024. In February 2024, the release date was moved up a week to June 7.

Box office
, Bad Boys: Ride or Die has grossed $189.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $198.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $388 million, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2024.

In the United States and Canada, Ride or Die was released alongside The Watchers, and was initially projected to gross around $40 million from 3,850 theaters in its opening weekend. After making $21 million on its first day, including $5.88 million from Thursday night previews, weekend estimates were raised to $52 million. It went on to debut to $56.5 million, topping the box office. 72% of opening weekend tickets were sold day-of, while 50% of the audience was under 35, with 44% being Black, 26% Hispanic and Latino, 18% Caucasian, and 12% Asian American/other. In its sophomore weekend the film made $33 million (an "amazing" drop of just 42%, the best of the series), finishing in second behind newcomer Inside Out 2.

Critical response
Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, making the film the first installment in the series not to earn an A. PostTrak reported a 90% overall positive score, with 84% saying they would definitely recommend it.

The BBC was more mixed, stating, "Critics are sometimes told that we shouldn't analyse Hollywood blockbusters, we should just switch off our brains and enjoy them. Well, not many films are as dependent on our brains being on standby as Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The plot is nonsensical, the grenade-dodging stunts are even more nonsensical, and the internal logic is non-existent: the assertion that Marcus has to avoid stressful situations after his heart attack is forgotten within 30 seconds. But the film is fun enough in its chaotic, grungy, rough and ready way."

Possible sequel
On June 7, 2024, Smith and Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly that they would be open to return for a fifth film in the franchise, as long as the younger cast members do more stunts and there's a story involving their characters worth being told, with Lawrence also noting it would depend on whether the fans demanded more films. On June 11, 2024, producer Jerry Bruckheimer noted that there had been discussions for a fifth Bad Boys film, but they are primarily waiting to see how Bad Boys: Ride or Die performs at the box office.