UB Film Spotlight: Will Smith & Martin Lawrence Reunite in ‘Bad Boys For Life’

UB Film Spotlight: The Story Behind “Bad Boys for Life”

“The film is action-packed with incredible stunts, great new characters, and surprising revelations. But even if you haven’t seen the previous Bad Boys films, you’ll jump right into this one and fall in love with these characters and the ride they take you on.”

That chorus from the hit song “Bad Boys,” by the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle, became the memorable anthem for not one but two pop culture landmarks, including the blockbuster Bad Boys motion picture franchise. It speaks to the films’ attitude, vibe, beat – and to the two global superstars who headline them.

The first Bad Boys film introduced Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, who each had previously headlined a hit television series, to motion picture action-comedy fans. Smith and Lawrence, under the direction of action maestro Michael Bay, electrified audiences with their performances as Miami narcotics detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The film’s triumphant reception led to an even more successful second chapter, Bad Boys II (2003). Now, Marcus and Mike are back for one last ride in Bad Boys for Life.

Everybody’s favorite crime-fighting duo is back on their beat – and they’re as fun, dangerous, and unpredictable as ever. Smith and Lawrence return in two of their signature roles, Lowery and Burnett, but this time they’re joining forces with an elite Miami P.D. team to take down the vengeful head of a drug cartel.

The film also stars Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Nunez, Kate Del Castillo, Nicky Jam, and Joe Pantoliano.

[Small Spoilers] 25 years after Bad Boys, 17 years after Bad Boys II, Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are back for one last ride in Bad Boys for Life. For producer Jerry Bruckheimer, there’s one simple reason why the time is right for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence to return to their signature roles. “It’s always the right time for good movies, fun movies, entertaining movies, like this one is,” says Bruckheimer. “People love good entertainment. We have these two wonderful actors coming together with their humor and their edge. It’s very exciting for an audience and for me to make a movie like this.”

As Bad Boys for Life opens, a sexy new 992-Generation Porsche screeches through the streets of Miami; as usual, Burnett and Lowrey are in hot pursuit … of something. At last, they somehow make it to their destination, only to reveal there is no shootout to be had or bad guys to ‘cuff. The two have arrived at a hospital … just in time to see the birth of Marcus’ granddaughter.

For Bruckheimer, it’s an opening that’s perfectly emblematic of the tone of the Bad Boys films. “The chases are fantastic, because there’s so much humor in them,” says Bruckheimer. “There’s edge too, so it’s serious, but it’s always peppered with fun.”

“We wanted to immediately embrace the fact that time has gone by for Mike and Marcus, as it does for everyone,” says Smith. “The opening sequence with Marcus becoming a grandfather is new territory that launches these characters’ stories into another chapter.”

Smith’s on-screen partner adds that he couldn’t wait to “get back with Will to do another Bad Boys movie. Audiences wanted to see us together again because the two characters work so well together. But as Marcus says in the film, ‘This ain’t the same old song. This here’s the remix.’”

To helm Bad Boys for Life, Bruckheimer and Oman brought aboard two young filmmakers, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. Oman recalls how he and Bruckheimer became aware of the talented partners. “About four years ago, we screened a movie called Black, an action-crime drama about gang warfare in Brussels, which Adil and Bilall had directed, and we loved it. The film had so much edge, texture and beauty. It’s very emotional but also intense. We loved their work on it, and always kept them in mind for a new Bad Boys film.”

The filmmakers conceived Bad Boys for Life as an opportunity to delve into what it means to be a Bad Boy after all these years. “What happens when Bad Boys become men?” asks Belgrad. “Do they lose that maverick quality and become soft? Or do they mature?”

“Of course, Mike and Marcus are still badasses,” Belgrad continues. “They are always going to do whatever it takes to get the job done. While they may not be quite as fast as they once were, they’re still damn good at their jobs. They’re resourceful and when push comes to shove, they have the skills to get it done.”

At the same time, the new film amplifies the comical differences between Mike and Marcus by exploring how each deals with getting older. “Mike is in a position in his life where he wants to hit it harder than he ever has before,” says Oman. “Meanwhile, Marcus has settled in on the idea of retirement. He’s decided that it’s time to hang up his spurs. He’s had a grandchild and wants to hang out the rest of his life.”

Marcus definitely doesn’t want his legacy to be muscle shirts and body counts.

“These two dudes are total opposites in every way, but that’s why they work so well together,” Smith adds, with Lawrence interjecting, “It’s the yin and the yang that pulls it all together.”

Aside from their personal struggles, Mike and Marcus must contend with the elite new police unit Advance Miami Metro Operations (AMMO), which has introduced high-tech investigative tactics to the Miami P.D.

The old school versus new school interplay is highlighted in the guys’ dealings with this state of the art, elite squad. “It’s the Bad Boys versus this new style of policing,” Smith offers. “That was another aspect that really drew me into this story – Mike and Marcus know how to get it done by kicking down doors, but then these AMMO guys come in and show there’s different way, guys.”

“And you know Mike Lowrey loves kicking stuff,” Lawrence adds. “He doesn’t just kick the door open; he kicks it off the hinges. And now this new wave of cops come in and wants them using non-lethal weapons.”

“The contrasting approaches to police work is hilarious, because we all think of Mike and Marcus as these young, go get ‘em fighters,” elaborates Vanessa Hudgens, who plays AMMO weapons specialist Kelly. “They still have that taste for getting the job done, and the AMMO team is fresh, young, and focused, and they do things by the book – which they’re writing.”

The mastermind behind AMMO is the notoriously high-strung and risk averse Captain Howard, played by the beloved character actor Joe Pantoliano, returning to the franchise.

The AMMO team, joined, reluctantly, by Mike and Marcus, certainly has its work cut out for it. Their prey – and vice versa – is a beautiful criminal overlord from Mike’s past, Isabel, along with her strong-willed and lethal son, Armando. Noted Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo (Under the Same Moon) takes on the role of Isabel.

And then there’s Manny, a butcher who knows too much and falls victim to a Lowrey-style interrogation. Manny is played by producer/songwriter/media personality DJ Khaled. Who also lends his creative talents to some of the music in the film as executive music producer.

While the Bad Boys films have the turbo-charged action and mayhem expected of a Hollywood franchise, El Arbi and Fallah were determined to inject some new elements into the picture. “The challenge is to create super exciting action but at the same time getting something kinetic, gritty, real and raw that audiences are not necessarily used to in a film like this,” says El Arbi. Adds Fallah: “We definitely sprinkled some action ‘flavors’ in the movie.”

The opening car chase – to the hospital where Marcus is about to become a grandfather – points to that upping of the stakes. Although there were no bad guys to chase or shootouts to orchestrate, Gunther explains that that sequence was challenging in an unexpected way. He was tasked to not scratch the Porsche because that’s how the scene was scripted – and because the super-sleek and futuristic vehicle was the new 992-Generation model and replacements weren’t readily available at the time of filming. “They wanted to have the big car chase, but we were not allowed to scratch anything while still making it look dynamic and cool,” says Gunther, with a laugh.

Then, of course, as scripted, Marcus dings the door after arriving safely at the hospital.

“It’s not all babies and family time though,” notes El Arbi. “This is kind of our way of throwing viewers off the trail because what starts out as an innocent rush to the hospital turns out to be a wild ride.”

In addition to delivering on the warm aesthetics of the previous films, El Arbi and Fallah wanted to create a Miami, Florida – home base for our heroes – that was more urban, electric, and colorful. “We embraced the club culture in Miami and added a unique look that wasn’t seen in the other two installments,” says production designer Jon Billington.

“Miami is a vibrant city, with rich colors,” Bruckheimer adds. “Adil and Bilall and Jon jumped right in to bring those colors to life. They have an interesting style that’s aggressive and a little avant-garde, but again, it’s always about the humor and action, and they certainly delivered on those.”

After filming in Atlanta, production moved to Miami, where it shut down the sleek new Brickell Shopping Center to drive Lowrey’s Porsche straight through it. The spectacle drew quite a crowd in the open-air shopping mall, while fans patiently waited to snap a photo of Smith and Lawrence back together again in the streets of Miami.

The Bad Boys are always stylish, and it fell to costume designer Dayna Pink to make sure the guys were dressed in their iconic finery. Pink was pleased to be collaborating with Fallah and El Arbi, whom she describes as having a “fresh sensibility that’s edgy and fun. Adding the two of them to the mix of this franchise is not only interesting but fitting.”

Fallah and El Arbi gave Pink the creative freedom to explore. “Their marching orders were to ‘push, push, push’ – to go as far as we could,” she remembers.

Sometimes, “pushing” involved actually pulling back from the garb the guys donned in the previous films. “In the first two pictures, Mike and Marcus wore bulletproof vests and they’re always tacked up,” Pink states. “That really isn’t this movie. Will wanted to make sure they were only wearing tactical gear when it was absolutely necessary.”

Lowrey’s outfits evolved with his character arc. “When we first see Mike in this film, he’s wearing bright colors – bright orange and super fine,” Pink states. “And he’s got glasses that match. A littler later he’s wearing yellow, and then there’s all the fun pieces you’d expect Mike to wear.”

It’s only appropriate to leave the last word on Bad Boys for Life to the filmmaker who played a central role in launching the franchise. For Jerry Bruckheimer, revisiting these iconic characters and their world was something he and his team had long been planning. So, he’s especially pleased that audiences will have the opportunity to again spend some time with Mike and Marcus – and their bad boy ways. “The film is action-packed with incredible stunts, great new characters, and surprising revelations,” he points out. “But even if you haven’t seen the previous Bad Boys films, you’ll jump right into this one and fall in love with these characters and the ride they take you on.”

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#BadBoysForLife hits theaters January 17th, 2020!