All 4 Bad Boys Movies, Ranked From Worst To Best

In its original conception, "Bad Boys" didn't have the makings of a sure-fire hit franchise. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's return to the buddy cop movie world after his hit "Beverly Hills Cop" series had all the makings of a lame copy, with Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz initially signed to lead the project –- and we certainly can't imagine Lovitz becoming a major action star off the back of it.

Luckily, two better suited sitcom stars, Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, took their place, with then-hotshot music video director Michael Bay giving the world its first glimpse of his signature Bayhem. The rest was history, and with talks of a fifth entry in the works, audiences are still hungry for more.

No matter how many times they both threaten retirement, the two Miami detectives are roped in for more chaos; each legacy sequel that seems to say goodbye only leaves fans wanting more. For this ranking of the four "Bad Boys" movies –- we're not counting the cancelled TV spinoff "L.A's Finest" –- we're not looking at metrics like critical consensus or box office success, instead ranking them based on how much they deliver on the exhilarating action we keep coming back for. Whether you agree with our countdown will depend on your appreciation for the series at its most unhinged ...

Revisiting the 1995 original after seeing its more over-the-top 2003 sequel does diminish its impact. The chemistry between Martin Lawrence and Will Smith already felt lived-in -– even if it is surreal seeing Smith taking more of a supporting role, with Lawrence leading the show –- and Michael Bay, in his directorial debut, proved that his stylish, hyper-maximalist approach to filmmaking could elevate even the most formulaic action script. 

The series found its darkly comic personality with the sequels, but this introduction to Marcus (Lawrence) and Mike (Smith) is far too indebted to then-recent buddy cop successes like "Lethal Weapon" and "Beverly Hills Cop" to ever forge an identity of its own. It's no fault of the talent both on and off the camera, but it's clear they're doing all they can to polish run-of-the-mill material, with creative sparks only occasionally flying.

If anything, the biggest success of "Bad Boys" was proving Smith could make the leap from sitcom star to action hero, leading to starring roles in some of the biggest blockbusters for the rest of the decade onwards. However, his transformation from bantering co-worker to fully fledged co-lead in the sequel gave us the comic potential this movie never quite grasped. This feels like a deliberate stepping stone, relying on his quick-witted strengths from the small screen, but not making him a driving factor in the unfolding action.

If you forgot where "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" appeared in Will Smith's career, an early joke alluding to his infamous Oscars slap of Chris Rock sets up this fourth entry as his big comeback following a public meltdown. But rather than throwing more meta jokes on the table, returning directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, as well as new-to-the-franchise screenwriters Chris Bremner and Will Beall, instead give Martin Lawrence's Marcus what seems like a fourth-wall-breaking storyline about Smith's career at this point. 

After recovering from a long coma following a heart attack at Mike's wedding, a vision of the departed Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) has Marcus firmly believe that he can't be killed, and this newfound notion makes him more heroic than ever. This would probably be too on the nose if it was Mike's narrative in Smith's first big studio movie after the incident.

"Ride or Die" is an absolute blast, with the duo going undercover to prove Conrad's innocence from beyond the grave after laundered money is discovered in his account, leading to them discovering a grander corruption scheme. With plenty of double-crosses, explosive set pieces building up to a memorable shoot out at an alligator farm, and some great new additions to the series (hello, Rhea Seehorn as Conrad's U.S. Marshal daughter!), it proved that the franchise's second lease on life after the 2020 legacy sequel was no one-off.

We're living in the age of the legacy sequel, and few recapture the magic of why a franchise worked in the first place. That wasn't the case with "Bad Boys For Life," the highest-grossing movie in the franchise which got a new lease of life courtesy of Adil & Bilal. The then-unknown Belgian duo, who found success with their over-the-top indie Euro crime flicks, turned a direct continuation of a franchise that neatly wrapped up in 2003 into one of the freshest studio action movies in years.

Returning to work after a failed assassination attempt, Mike (Will Smith) aims to coax Marcus (Martin Lawrence) back from retirement, ignoring all orders from Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano, who spoke to us about his return) to refrain from investigating who was behind the hit and the links to other killings around Miami. It leads to secrets from Mike's past that could affect his closest friendship bubbling back up, as well as discussions about retirement and mortality itself. 

Not realizing the hit they had on their hands, "Bad Boys For Life" equally functions as something of a farewell to the series, with middle-aged leads realizing –- in the words of another buddy cop saga -– they're too old for this s**t. Thankfully, this was the beginning of a new chapter, playing to the strengths of the series without coasting on nostalgia.

It received the worst reviews of the series and went out of its way to offend seemingly every demographic with a nihilistic streak not present in any other movie in the franchise. And yet, that mean spirited sense of humor, combined with some of Michael Bay's most over-the-top set pieces, gives "Bad Boys II" an edge, as accomplished in the staging of its action sequences as a buddy cop movie had been up to this point as it was mercilessly abrasive to its audience. 

It's the most heightened cop fantasy the genre had ever produced, and an assault on any notion of good taste. It's the perfect encapsulation of Bayhem, throwing everything at the walls and not pausing to let you catch your breath, joyously jumping beyond parody as our heroes all but destroy the city they've been hired to protect.

The tone is set with the opening set piece, as Mike and Marcus infiltrate a Ku Klux Klan meeting, culminating with Lawrence's character getting shot in the butt by Smith's. This sequel leans further into the chemistry between the two actors, with a who's who of then-up and coming Hollywood comedy writers doing uncredited script rewrites, including Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen, just before becoming household names. Under appreciated upon release, it's now the definitive buddy cop movie with how much it dares to stretch audience sympathies.