‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’: Will Smith Oscar Slap Joke Epitomizes Groan-Worthy Sequel

Given the critical and commercial success of 2020’s Bad Boys for Life—a long-delayed third buddy comedy that became the last pre-pandemic blockbuster—as well as Will Smith’s continuing need for image rehabilitation following The Slap Heard ’Round the World, it was inevitable that the A-lister and his favorite co-star Martin Lawrence would reunite for more riding and dying as Miami’s guns-a-blazin’ cops.

In fact, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, in theaters June 7, is also unsurprising in every other way, from its profane bickering and chaotic action to directors Adil & Bilall’s enduring mimicry of original series director Michael Bay, whose over-the-top macho stylization remains sorely missed. Even a late meta joke about Smith’s Oscar scandal proves a predictable bit of self-consciousness, and does less to enliven the proceedings than merely fulfill expectations.

That wink-wink gag proves to be a self-aggrandizing inversion of Smith’s Academy Award meltdown, with his detective Mike Lowrey overcoming his unmanly panic attacks via some open-handed smacks to the face courtesy of partner Marcus Burnett (Lawrence). The slaps, you see, restore Mike’s inherent virility and confidence, and while recasting the incident in this way is pure, unadulterated ridiculousness on the star’s part, it’s no less absurd than an early wedding scene during which Mike’s bride Christine (Melanie Liburd) recites vows that praise her new spouse for his wealth, cool, and banging nude body.

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