Michael Bay has to be one of the wildest action directors of all time. And the BAD BOYS series has produced some jaw-dropping stunts. Part of it has to do with Bay’s ingenuity with massive action set pieces. And part of it has to do with BAD BOYS stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence willing to do just about anything to raise the pulse of an audience member. It’s a winning formula.
Michael Bay isn’t back for BAD BOYS FOR LIFE, but the latest trailer suggests that Smith and Martin will be raising the bar for action stunts. These are the top three examples from the BAD BOYS series, while we wait for more in BAD BOYS FOR LIFE, opening January 17, 2020.
The Florida Bridge Chase
This one HAS to be the top choice. No question. Super cops Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) chase after gang members who have stolen a car transport vehicle. As the cops get closer to the criminals, the bad guys start to drop cars off of the transport. And as you might imagine, all hell breaks loose.
The bridge sequence is a beautiful blend of practical effects and digital enhancement. You can tell that Bay actually took over the long bridge in South Florida to stage this chaos, and then had stunt teams drop massive cars off the back of an even bigger truck. This is the high-water mark that BAD BOYS FOR LIFE has to top.
The Club Hell Bathroom Fight
This scene is also a favorite for the pure shock and style of it all. While on a low-key mission meant to find a witness, Mike and Marcus are jumped and overwhelmed, mainly because they chose to split up. Marcus gets caught in the men’s room, leading to a brutal fist fight.
This sequence showed the type of visual tricks Michael Bay could use to enhance his movies. There’s slow-motion. There’s water everywhere, thanks to sinks and toilets being decimated. And there’s a stunning glide across the floor before Marcus gets the upper hand on his nemesis. It’s a wildly memorable scene in a spectacular movie.
The Cuba Escape
As BAD BOYS II concludes, Marcus and Mike infiltrate the Cuban compound of the drug kingpin they have been chasing all movie. They need to rescue Marcus’ sister, Syd (Gabrielle Union). And they want vengeance on the criminal who has made their lives a living hell.
But as they flee Cuba, they destroy numerous local villages with a powerful Humvee, an action deemed as "patriotic" in ways that only Michael Bay could celebrate. No matter how many times we watch this car chase, we have no clue how Bay filmed it without actually destroying Cuba.
What does BAD BOYS FOR LIFE have in store? We’ll find out when the anticipated sequel reaches AMC theatres on January 17, 2020.
