Bad Boys 4 Can Complete A Major Rotten Tomatoes Turnaround For Will Smith’s 29-Year-Old Franchise

Summary

• The Bad Boys franchise has seen financial success but struggled with critical reception until Bad Boys For Life broke the pattern.
• Bad Boys For Life received a “Fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score of 76%, making it the most successful installment in the franchise.
• With Adil and Bilall returning as directors for Bad Boys: Ride Or Die, the fourth movie has a chance to achieve the best RT score yet.

29 years after the franchise’s debut, Bad Boys: Ride or Die has the chance to complete a dramatic turnaround for the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence vehicle. The Bad Boys movies have proven consistently popular with audiences, making an impressive $840 million at the global box office over three movies. However, despite this sustained, decades-long success, one aspect of the movies’ reception proves there’s still room for improvement.

The Bad Boys series began in 1995 with the eponymous buddy-cop action comedy introducing Smith and Lawrence’s Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett. Directed by Michael Bay, the movie was a modest hit and curated a cult following – largely thanks to Smith and Lawrence’s on-screen chemistry. Boasting an increased budget, Bad Boys II was even more financially successful, while the 2020 legacy sequel Bad Boys For Life broke records for the franchise. This upward trend is undeniably impressive. However, Bad Boys For Life also represents another positive development for the series – one that Bad Boys: Ride or Die can continue.

The First Two Bad Boys Movies Are Rotten On Rotten Tomatoes

Both early Bad Boys films were clear financial successes. The first movie made over $140 million of a relatively small $19 million budget, whereas the 2003 follow-up made over $270 million against an inflated $130 million cost. However, while this trend shows the franchise’s progression on the one hand, it’s also true that the two movies both failed to impress critics.

1995’s Bad Boys, while receiving praise for its impressive set pieces and Smith and Lawrence’s performances, was criticized for a derivative script and for an overly generic story. Accordingly, the movie only secured 43% positive reviews, according to the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Although it made more money, Bad Boys II only exacerbated these problems. The movie’s bloated runtime and inferior script were frequently cited as issues, with Bad Boys II only securing 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. In many ways, it’s this performance that helps explain the long delay between the second and third installments.

Bad Boys For Life Finally Gave The Franchise A Fresh Rotten Tomatoes Score

Given that both previous installments have a less-than-stellar reputation among critics, it would be easy to assume that Bad Boys For Life would struggle to break the cycle – especially after such a long delay. However, against all expectations, Bad Boys For Life bucked the downward trend established by Bad Boys and Bad Boys II and secured a “Fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score of 76%. Combined with a box office total of $426.5 million, this makes Bad Boys For Life easily the most successful installment in the franchise to date.

There are several reasons why Bad Boys For Life was so favorably reviewed compared to its predecessors. Crucially, the film successfully blended the spectacle that had made Bad Boys and Bad Boys II so popular and combined it with a script that allowed Smith and Lawrence’s natural chemistry to shine. It’s also no coincidence that the change coincided with a change in director, with Michael Bay making way for the new duo Adil and Bilall. With a new creative vision for the franchise, it’s clear Bad Boys For Life benefitted from a change in perspective.

Bad Boys: Ride Or Die Could Have The Franchise’s Best RT Score Yet

Improving on Bad Boys For Life‘s critical reception would be an impressive achievement for Bad Boys: Ride Or Die – especially given what an outlier the third installment is. However, ahead of the film’s release, there are reasons for the franchise’s fans to be optimistic. For starters, even though it’s easily the best-performing film in the series to date, Bad Boys For Life‘s 76% score is by no means an insurmountable barrier to climb. Recent action movies like the John Wick saga have proven that consistently high critical scores are achievable in the genre – provided the material can justify it.

Adil and Bilall’s track record suggests they have the ability to take
Bad Boys: Ride Or Die
to the next level

Another reason that Bad Boys: Ride Or Die may become the series’ best-reviewed movie to date is that previous directors Adil and Bilall are both returning for the four-quel. Having previously established their credentials with Bad Boys For Life, Ride Or Die provides the pair the opportunity to improve on the formula they’ve already established. As Michael Bay proved with Bad Boys and Bad BoysII, returning to a franchise is no guarantee of success. Nevertheless, Adil and Bilall’s track record suggests they have the ability to take Bad Boys: Ride Or Die to the next level.