When Bad Boys for Life hit cinemas in January 2020, fans had waited 18 years to see Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reteam as the kick-ass pair of detectives matching wits against drug dealers on the streets of Miami. Their return to the popular franchise brought a sense of growth and maturity far from the mindless MTV-style entertainment brought by Michael Bay in the first two installments. Despite the massive success of 1995's Bad Boys and its 2003 sequel Bad Boys II, fans were puzzled over why Bay did not return for the threequel.
Though critics have been less than kind to the iconic action director, Bay has been swimming in cash for decades thanks to the success of not only Bad Boys but also the Transformers cinematic franchise. Hits such as The Rock, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbor ushered in a new visual language for action movies called 'Bayhem', known primarily for the director's eye for big explosions, larger-than-life characters, and plenty of eye candy in exotic cars and beautiful women. The more successful he became, the bigger his paychecks. Economics would eventually rule the day for Bad Boys to progress on various levels.
Michael Bay Became an A-List Director With 'Bad Boys' Close
1995's Bad Boys was the launchpad for the careers of Smith, Lawrence, and director Bay. The former two were sitcom stars commercially unproven at the box office, while the latter had already carved out a steady career in music videos and commercials. As Bay told Entertainment Weekly in 2022, Sony executives "didn't believe in the movie, because two Black actors don't sell overseas". The little action programmer that could have been easily dismissed as a Lethal Weapon knockoff became a superstar turn for its leads. However, its success can also be attributed to a novice director who relied on his music video and commercial background to shoot fast, manage egos, and use his visual techniques to make a low-budget action comedy into a James Cameron-sized blockbuster.
In the years after Bad Boys' success at the box office, the careers of Smith, Lawrence, and Bay had reached all-time highs. As their successes grew, so did their salaries. Hardball negotiations over paydays and waiting for a good screenplay to come along caused an eight-year gap between the inaugural 1995 installment and Bad Boys II. The sequel was loaded with a $130 million budget in contrast to the original's $23 million, which allowed Bay to pull off a larger spectacle than previously, but resulting in less profits. The excessive violence and two-hour-plus running time were slammed by critics, landing a 24% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Regardless of the critics, Bay had the clout to fulfill his grand vision for Bad Boys without budgetary constraints.
Michael Bay Got Too Expensive to Direct 'Bad Boys for Life'
Once Bay hit pay dirt with Transformers in 2007 and got busy with the sequels for the next ten years, it became virtually impossible for Sony to afford everyone for what would become Bad Boys for Life, despite Smith's persistence in getting the director to return. As much as Bayhem was missed in the third and fourth installments, his absence allowed the franchise to mature with its stars under the direction of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The duo not only found the visual cues to pay homage to Bay, but they also put the story first before the action and eye candy, emphasizing the life revelations of Smith's Mike Lowery, while Lawrence's Marcus Burnett settles into being a grandparent with mortality always on his mind.
Just because Bay was no longer at the helm does not mean he was fully closed off from the franchise, however. He made a cameo in Bad Boys for Life to emcee Marcus' daughter's wedding, with the camera spinning around 360 degrees in his cinematic style. Then he made a quick cameo in Bad Boys: Ride or Die as a Porsche driver yelling at the comedic duo, a subtle homage to his driver cameo in Bad Boys II. Though it's likely he will sit out directing a potential Bad Boys 5, Bay plans to reunite with Smith for the Netflix action film Fast And Loose. Despite Bay's absence from the Bad Boys director's chair, his love for the franchise and its stars remains.
Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Like Follow Followed Bad Boys for Life R Action Adventure Comedy Crime Thriller Release Date January 17, 2020 Runtime 124 Minutes Director Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah Cast See All Will Smith Martin Lawrence Kate del Castillo Joe Pantoliano Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY
Writers Joe Carnahan, Chris Bremner, Peter Craig Prequel(s) Bad Boys, Bad Boys II (2003) Sequel(s) Bad Boys: Ride or Die Powered by Expand Collapse