Will Smith and Martin Lawrence star in “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.”
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back with Bad Boys: Ride or Die, the fourth in the Bad Boys movie series. Read on if you want to stream the first three movies before catching the new Bad Boys adventure.
Smith, of course, has been largely absent from movie marquees since his infamous Oscar slap of presenter Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.
And while AppleTV+ quietly released Smith’s historical slave drama Emancipation in 2023, Bad Boys: Ride or Die marks the star’s return to the big-budget summer movie realm that started in the mid-1990s with Independence Day and Men in Black.
Just before The Fresh Prince of Bel Air star’s film career took off with Independence Day in 1996, Smith was getting warmed up with director Michael Bay’s 1995 hit action-comedy Bad Boys, which teamed the actor with Lawrence on the big screen for the first time. The pair reunited for Bad Boys II in 2002 and 18 years later they teamed up once again for 2020’s Bad Boys for Life.
Since all four Bad Boys films are spread out over 30 years, it’s nice to know there are streaming options out there to refresh your memory of what the Bad Boys movies are all about.
Luckily, Hulu has the first three Bad Boys films streaming on its platform, so—provided that you are a subscriber you can see Bad Boys, Bad Boys II and Bad Boys for Life all in the same place.
The first two Bad Boys films, however, are included in AppleTV+’s streaming package if you’re a subscriber to the service. If you want to see Bad Boys for Life on AppleTV+, you’ll have to rent it $3.99.
If you’re looking for a third option to see the first three Bad Boys films, you stream Bad Boys and Bad Boys II for free on the Pluto TV app, but you will have to watch the film with ads. Bad Boys for Life is also part of the FUBO subscription package.
Note: A crucial spoiler from Bad Boys for Life is discussed in the next section.
How Important Are ‘Bad Boys’ 1-3 To The Plot Of ‘Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’?
Of course, it’s always beneficial for viewers to get a sense of what a movie franchise like Bad Boys is all about instead of going into a movie like Bad Boys: Ride or Die cold.
As such, if you’re new to the Bad Boys movie series or want to reacquaint yourself with the two main characters in the franchise—Miami detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence)—you might want to start at the beginning by watching 1995’s Bad Boys.
Another reason to see the films would be to witness the brotherly bond Mike and Marcus develop with each other and with their superior, Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano). Apart from getting to know Mike, Marcus and Howard, there’s nothing major, story-wise in Bad Boys or its first sequel that is tied into Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
It is necessary, though, that you see Bad Boys for Life before Bad Boys: Ride or Die since the new film is a continuation of the plot of its predecessor. In Bad Boys for Life, Captain Howard is shot to death and worse yet, the gunman, as Mike shockingly discovers, is Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio), the son he never knew he had.
In Bad Boys: Ride or Die, the nefarious operation behind Howard’s murder tries to cover their tracks by framing the deceased cop with records to imply he was corrupt and in bed with a vicious drug cartel. As such, Mike and Marcus risk their lives to clear their late superior’s name, going so far as to get the imprisoned Armando involved.
Bad Boys for Life also stars Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Rhea Seehorn, Ioan Gruffud and Pantoliano—who is creatively worked into the plot with footage taped before Howard’s death in the third film.
Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Bad Boys: Ride or Die opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.
