BAD BOYS (1995)

The emergence of Don Simpson (Crimson Tide) and Jerry Bruckheimer (Days of Thunder) as a producing powerhouse in the 1980s signalled a pivotal shift in action cinema. Their refinement of the buddy-cop formula fused high-concept storytelling with mismatched partnerships, defining the tone and texture of the decade’s most commercially successful blockbusters. While Walter Hill’s 48 Hrs. (1982) laid the groundwork, Simpson and Bruckheimer’s breakthrough came with Beverly Hills Cop (1984).

Originally conceived as a straightforward crime thriller, it was retooled into a comedic action juggernaut centred around Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley navigating upscale Beverly Hills. However, it was their crowning achievement, Tango & Cash (1989), that truly crystallised the genre’s evolution. Its combination of glossy visuals and high-octane thrills redefined the possibilities of the action-comedy hybrid. Under Simpson and Bruckheimer’s stewardship, the buddy-cop formula became a finely tuned machine fuelled by character dynamics as much as by gunfire and explosions. They understood the commercial power of delivering a sensory experience anchored in personality clashes, emotional simplicity, and visual spectacle.

The gravitational pull of this formula extended into the 1990s when Simpson and Bruckheimer’s formula reached new levels of bombast. At the turn of the century, the pair acquired a relatively generic screenplay originally written by George Gallo (Midnight Run). Originally titled Bulletproof Hearts and designed as a vehicle for Saturday Night Live funnymen Dana Carvey (Wayne’s World) and Jon Lovitz (Happiness), Bad Boys was a standard buddy-cop framework with little distinctiveness. Unsurprisingly, the project languished in developmental purgatory before it was shelved by Columbia Pictures. However, circumstances shifted when Michael Bay’s visually arresting music video for Days of Thunder (1990) caught the attention of Simpson and Bruckheimer. Despite his inexperience, Bay was tasked with turning Bad Boys into a high-adrenaline throwback to the rambunctious action movies of the ’80s, reframed for the MTV generation.

Best friends Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) are hotshot detectives in the narcotics division of the Miami Police Department and have recently seized $100M worth of heroin. When the drugs are stolen from inside the evidence vault, the duo find themselves thrust into a high-stakes investigation to trace the culprits behind the audacious heist. With internal suspicion mounting, Captain Alison Sinclair (Marg Helgenberger) places the entire narcotics division under scrutiny, demanding the drugs be recovered within 72 hours or face permanent shutdown. However, the mission takes a deadly turn when former informant and close associate, Maxine (Karen Alexander), is executed by the ruthless French drug lord Fouchet (Tchéky Karyo). As Burnett and Lowrey investigate the crime, they find themselves forced to protect a key witness and Maxine’s best friend, Julie (Téa Leoni). In a desperate bid to protect Julie and keep her cooperating, the partners must swap identities to maintain her trust and keep one step ahead of both the killers and their own department.

After shaking up Los Angeles with his audacious attitude for five years, Will Smith was perhaps best known as the affable and mischievous lead of TV’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-96). Although that sitcom showcased his sharp comedic instincts and irrepressible charm, he was still widely regarded as a television personality. However, Bad Boys provided him with a bold cinematic reintroduction that allowed the actor to reinvent himself as a credible action hero. As Miami narcotics detective Mike Lowrey, Smith is undeniably magnetic as he leans into the archetype of the debonair action hero. Whether he’s exchanging comedic witticisms with his colleagues or launching into high-octane pursuits through the sun-drenched streets of Miami, he commands the screen. During a decade dominated by action stars who relied heavily on physical presence, his performance stands out for his natural charisma and comedic timing. It was a role that catapulted the actor from television stardom to the upper echelons of Hollywood, laying the foundation for a blockbuster trajectory that would include Independence Day (1996), Men in Black (1997), and Wild Wild West (1999).

Similarly, Martin Lawrence had already cultivated a strong presence in the world of comedy and established himself as an electric talent. Much like what Saturday Night Live did for Eddie Murphy before him, his sitcom Martin (1992–97) showcased his incredible range as he played a collection of colourful personalities. Bad Boys allowed him to fully translate his television success into box office clout. As Marcus Burnett, Lawrence displays impeccable comedic timing, crafting a character that was at once hilarious and unexpectedly heartfelt. Unlike many action-comedy archetypes of the decade, Lawrence’s wasn’t just about delivering punchlines. His portrayal of a beleaguered family man juggling marital responsibilities with the unpredictability of being a detective offers a surprisingly relatable anchor. His escalating frustration, neurotic monologues, and exasperated panic serve as an intelligent foil to the encroaching danger and increasing tension around him. Lawrence’s gift for physical comedy, his magnetic presence, and his ability to combine charm with vulnerability opened the door to a string of headlining roles in a variety of comedies such as Nothing to Lose(1997), Blue Streak (1999), and Big Momma’s House (2000).

t’s unfortunate that time hasn’t been kind to Michael Bay’s filmmaking reputation. In the decades following his ludicrously enjoyable disaster flick Armageddon (1998), his uncompromisingly explosive style has ossified into an unintentional caricature that now stands as a monument of cinematic bombast and superficiality. Yet, long before his Transformers franchise disassembled into incomprehensible carnage and Ambulance (2022) sacrificed emotional resonance for nauseating drone cinematography, his visual idiosyncrasies were considered tolerable novelties. With his feature-length directorial debut, Bad Boys, Bay harnessed the kinetic energy of his widely acclaimed career directing music videos and commercials to create something raw and aesthetically distinctive. Building on the template set by contemporaries such as Tony Scott (True Romance) and John Woo (Face/Off), he helped forge a new visual vernacular that would soon define an entire strain of American action cinema.

Indeed, Bay’s hyper-kinetic approach is completely superficial, and many detractors could argue that his stylish idiosyncrasies completely obliterate substance. Audiences and critics alike are completely justified in accusing him of favouring bombast and motion at the expense of narrative and nuance. However, these criticisms risk overlooking the cultural and stylistic jolt Bad Boys delivered to a genre that had begun to stagnate. The early 1990s were replete with formulaic and uninspired action fare including Delta Force 3: The Killing Game (1991), On Deadly Ground (1994), and Barb Wire (1996), that felt more like mechanical exercises than visceral experiences.

In contrast, Bad Boys arrived with a kind of manic assurance and the stylistic excesses that would later define Bay’s oeuvre. Though the filmmaker’s signature traits are deployed with a measure of restraint, the opening sequence instantly establishes his taste for the operatics. Howard Atherton’s (Fatal Attraction) richly saturated compositions and unconventional sweeping camera movements, combined with Christian Wagner’s (Man on Fire) epilepsy-inducing editing, implicate the viewer in every movement. It’s visual dynamism driven by momentum, sensation, and the poetry of perpetual motion. The influence of Bay’s aggressive camera movements, kinetic editing rhythms, and stylish action continues to reverberate throughout the genre three decades since Bad Boys’ release. Whether consciously or not, directors such as J.J Abrams (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) and Justin Lin (Star Trek: Beyond) are indebted to his visual grammar. 

While Bay’s propulsive rhythm may stimulate the senses of the MTV generation, the director can’t quite compensate for the ordinariness of its narrative. George Gallo (Midnight Run), Michael Barrie (Oscar), and Jim Mulholland’s (The California Dolls) screenplay hews closely to genre conventions and fails to offer anything new to the buddy-cop formula. A large seizure of heroin goes missing from the evidence locker, and two detectives are given a short deadline to recover the evidence while protecting a reluctant witness. It’s a framework audiences had encountered previously with Lethal Weapon (1987), Tango & Cash, and countless other imitators. However, what lends Bad Boys a degree of distinction is the comedic ingenuity nestled within its otherwise conventional premise. The narrative gains a spark of originality through a classic mistaken-identity farce, requiring Marcus and Mike to temporarily swap identities to protect Julie.

The anxious and henpecked Marcus is forced to masquerade as the swaggering Mike in a luxurious bachelor penthouse he can barely navigate. Meanwhile, the suavely composed Mike is forced into the unfamiliar domestic routine of suburban life, living with Marcus’ suspicious wife, Theresa (Theresa Randle), and their children. There may be an overabundance of incessantly chaotic bickering, but their combustible energy is engaging, and the mismatched dynamic transcends the screenplay’s more derivative beats.

From the outset, Bay was dissatisfied with the screenplay, stating it was a “piece of shit” in the DVD commentary. He recognised the limitations of the scripted dialogue and actively encouraged his actors to improvise a good deal of their confrontational agitation. One such standout improvisation involves a tense liquor store standoff where a panicked clerk screams “Freeze, mother bitches”. This prompted Smith’s hilarious impromptu response “No, you freeze, bitch! Now back up, put the gun down, and get me a pack of Tropical Fruit Bubbalicious”. It’s this naturally humorous, combative chemistry between Lawrence and Smith, alongside the amusing interactions with their short-tempered, cigar-chomping superior (Joe Pantoliano) that transcends the formulaic screenplay above the mediocrity.

As Michael Bay’s penchant for cinematic bombast became increasingly excessive and superficial in the later stages of his career, the quality of his work suffered a noticeable decline. However, Bad Boys remains a striking reminder of what made his style so impactful in the first place. His directorial debut still commands respect as one of the defining action pictures of the 1990s that injected a much-needed jolt of adrenaline into a genre teetering on the edge of creative exhaustion. It’s wholeheartedly formulaic, and audiences with even a cursory understanding of the genre will understand what little there is to grasp beneath the surface.

However, it overcomes its deficient screenplay thanks to the incredible comedic chemistry and improvisational skills of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Although the critical reception during its theatrical release was mixed, Bad Boys proved a commercial triumph. From a modest $19M budget, it grossed around $65M worldwide and established the foundation for a franchise that would span decades and continue to evolve. Three decades later, Bad Boys ensures not only for its audacious set pieces and slick visuals but for its cultural imprint. Alongside The Rock (1996), it stands as one of Bay’s most focused and entertaining works.

USA |1995 | 119 MINUTES | 1:85:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH • PERSIAN

Cast & Crew

director: Michael Bay.
writers: George Gallo, Michael Barrie & Jim Mulholland (story by George Gallo).
starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni, Joe Pantoliano, Tchéky Karyo & Karen Alexander.