Warning: This story contains spoilers for “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.”
A nod to Will Smith’s has apparently made its way into his new movie, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” with Martin Lawrence.
At the climatic ending of the film, Smith’s character, Mike Lowrey, and his partner Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) devise a plan to clear their name and the name of their former captain, Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano), who was murdered and later accused of being in cahoots with the cartel.
Earlier, the two discover that Miami District Attorney Lockwood (Ioan Gruffudd) and former special ops soldier James McGrath (Eric Dane) are actually the ones working with the cartels. Lockwood confirms he’s been ignoring their criminal activity for years in exchange for intel that can help with national security.
Following their discovery, Lowrey’s newlywed wife Christine (Melanie Liburd) and Captain Howard’s granddaughter are kidnapped by McGrath. Lowrey and Burnett, along with three of their trusted colleagues and Lowrey’s son, who they rescued during his prison transfer, are now tasked with not only protecting their loved ones but making it out alive after their plan goes awry.
It’s safe to say the pressure is on, and for Lowrey it’s heightened because he’s at risk of losing two of the most important people in his life: his wife and his son.
In an intense moment, Lowrey, who is seen crouching next to Burnett as they await their turn to fire back at McGrath and the cartel, suffers a panic attack mid-firefight. Though it’s not his first one during the film, it appears to be the most debilitating.
It’s at this moment that the “slap” happens.
To get Lowrey out of his panic attack, Burnett repeatedly slaps him across the face, while reminding him of his purpose and identity — he’s a “bad boy.”
Cue the music.
While there’s no direct references to — the moment when the Oscar-winning actor walked onstage and slapped Chris Rock across the face after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, referring to her as referring to her as G.I. Jane — “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall did acknowledge that there are some notable similarities in the film.
“Well, I think you know, if you watch the movie, you see that there are some parallels between what’s happening in the movie and real life,” they told . “You know, there’s — it’s almost like a meta experience that that Will in the character of Mike Lowrey goes through with some themes.”
“So obviously, it had something, there is a connection between real life and the story of the movie in the movie itself,” they added.
Despite the ambiguity of the moment, fans seemed to have a positive response to the film, with some acknowledging that they have moved past the Oscars slap controversy.
“I wholeheartedly went into Bad boys ride or die truly not forgiving Will Smith for the slap. That being said you just can’t help but love him as a movie star and #BadBoysRideorDie was really great. Might be my favourite in the entire franchise,” one person
, “YALLLLLL BAD BOYS 4 IS GOOD AS S—–T!!! WILL SMITH CAN SLAP CHRIS ROCK LIKE 10 THOUSAND TIMES IF WE CAN GET LIKE 10 MORE OF THESE FILMS.”
, “Bad boys Ride or die was actually better than the last one. Def worth going to see.”
Following the release of the film, Smith seemed to be in good spirits about the project and fans’ reaction to it, revealing on June 7 that he had “snuck” into a screening of the film to enjoy watching it real-time with fans.
“I snuck into in Baldwin Hills last night,” he shared, referring to a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. “It was SPECTABULOUS! Where should I go next?”
According to , “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” has already surpassed the $100 million mark globally in its first weekend of release.
So far, the fourth installment of the buddy cop action franchise has brought in $104.6 million, with $48.6 million made from the international box office.
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