User:Nineteen Ninety-Four guy/sandbox

Production
A sequel to Michael Bay's 1995 feature directorial debut Bad Boys, which helped launched his, Will Smith, and Martin Lawrence's careers in film, was put in development immediately after its success at the box office. Due to a lack of a better script, development went into a hiatus for years, during which Bay received commercial success with The Rock (1996), Armageddon (1998), and Pearl Harbor (2001); as did Smith for starring in Independence Day (1996), Men in Black (1997), and Enemy of the State (1998), and Lawrence in Big Momma's House (2000). However, Bay's Pearl Harbor was panned by critics, Smith's Wild Wild West (1999) and Ali (2001) were financial disappointments, and Lawrence was hoping to reprise his role on an equal footing with Smith's, leading to a renewed interest in the development of Bad Boys II.


 * Production notes
 * The misunderstood Martin
 * ‘Bad Boys’ in trouble as shoot stops traffic
 * Union due as lead for Col’s ‘Boys 2’
 * WTF Happened to Bad Boys II?
 * https://collider.com/bad-boys-2-car-chase/

Box office

 * A good weekend for ‘Bad Boys II’
 * ‘Pirates’ shares booty with ‘League,’ ‘Boys’
 * ‘Pirates’ still plundering overseas B.O.
 * Arnold, ‘Pirates’ rule the seven seas
 * Boffo bows abroad for ‘Bad Boys,’ ‘Bill’

Critical response
The film was poorly received by critics upon its release.


 * Ebert
 * LA Times
 * NYT
 * THR
 * EW
 * Slant
 * Variety
 * AV Club
 * THR
 * Rolling Stone
 * LA Weekly
 * NY Daily News
 * Miami Herald
 * The San Diego Union-Tribune
 * Chicago Tribune

Retrospective reception and aftermath
Critical reception to the film has remained negative in the 20 years since its release. As of 2024, it is ranked among Bay's worst-rated films on the website. Bay has maintained that Bad Boys II was "a big f— [sic] you to the critics", whom he knew "would hate it and [he] knew it would make $100 million".


 * 'Bad Boys II' Remains Michael Bay's Most Revealing (And Personal) Action Epic
 * This Is Unnecessary: Bad Boys II at 20
 * 'Bad Boys II' Is a Transformative Piece of Black Cinema
 * Michael Bay’s American Nightmare: Bad Boys II at 20
 * ‘Bad Boys II’ Is a Highlight-Reel Movie
 * 'Bad Boys 2' is Michael Bay at his best, giving into his worst impulses
 * THE BAD BOYS MOVIES RANKED BY TOMATOMETER
 * Every Bad Boys Movie, Ranked
 * 

DYK

 * ... that a reviewer has described Michael Bay's sequel to 1995's Bad Boys as "vulgar, brazen, crass, violent, stupid, juvenile, loud, long and pointless"? Source:
 * ... that Michael Bay has said the sequel to Bad Boys was his "big f— [sic] you to the critics"?