Bad Boys: Ride or Die proves that Will Smith will always be a movie star

Smith plays a version of himself just to show no ill feelings towards Ollie and shower his children with praise, encouraging Ollie to give up his career and return to his daughter and father. And in this one scene, Smith oozes charisma and command of the screen that no one, not even Affleck and co-star George Carlin, can match.

The joke in it Jersey Girl Did Ollie feel embarrassed because he doubted the prince could become a star name, especially in a film about fighting aliens? But with time Jersey Girl When it hit theaters in 2004, we obviously all knew Ollie was wrong since we saw Smith in it Independence Daythe first two Bad boys films, Enemy of the state, Men in Blackand more. In fact, most people didn't even think of him as the Fresh Prince anymore.

Yet Smith still faces the same skepticism today. It's not just the much-discussed “slap” when the actor attacked comedian Chris Rock for making jokes about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. It's also the case that Smith has gotten old and, according to some online naysayers, is more interested in Oscar bits than being an action star. Sure, he'll team up with David Ayer to play Deadshot Suicide Squad (a terrible film, but not because of Smith) or with Ang Lee for the 90s throwback Gemini man (underrated!), but he tries harder in dreary dramas like emancipation, concussionAnd King Richardthe last film ultimately earned him a Best Actor award.

One could easily say that the prince has grown into a stale king with age. Yes, still a king, but no longer exciting in the eyes of many critics. And then the Bad Boys are revived.

For life

The Bad Boys films have always relied on the buddy-cop dynamic of their two stars. Marcus, the healthy, albeit motor-speaking, father of the family, and Mike, the brilliant man-child. It's easy to see how Lawrence can return to his Marcus role and begin the revival film Bad boys for life with a sequence in which he settles into an armchair to enjoy retirement and then plays a buffoon who gets a second chance at life Ride or die. But while Mike can grow up and have a son in the first new film and a wife in the second, he can't slow down.

During the aforementioned candy-colored gunfight sequence, Marcus commands attention as his sense of invincibility is enhanced by a sugar rush, but this only works because Mike is nearby to take the right action. As Mike, Smith dives under tables, looks tough while firing a gun, and even finds time to scold his crazy partner. And he looks great doing it every time.