Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: June 7, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 50 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
29
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Rolling StoneDavid FearJun 9, 2024
Like the other Bad Boys movies, this is the cinematic equivalent of exquisitely prepared fast food, empty-calorie entertainment that people love to eat because it tastes good going down. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicKaely MonahanJun 5, 2024
You know what you’re getting when you walk into this film. And it delivers exactly that. Lots of gunfights, ridiculous stunts (with some killer drone camera work), and just enough emotional pull to give this movie some substance — although not much. Read full review
60
EmpireNick de SemlyenJun 4, 2024
Scruffy and overstuffed, but contagiously good-natured. And frankly more films need to feature showdowns at abandoned alligator-themed amusement parks. Read full review
60
Time OutIan FreerJun 4, 2024
The film is at its most entertaining when it’s a showcase for Smith and Lawrence’s easy chemistry, whether improvising a Reba McEntire country song to appease some rednecks or bantering about Burnett’s bad eating habits during a convenience store hold-up. They’re eminently watchable. Then again, when the highlight of an action movie fourthquel comes with the two stars watching a younger man do his stuff, it might be time to call it a day. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyJun 4, 2024
The star’s comeback isn’t quite as entertaining as his 2022 Oscars punch-up – but it comes close. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJun 4, 2024
Bad Boys: Ride or Die has learned a few valuable lessons from the Fast & Furious franchise – dumb and loud, executed with right enthusiasm, can feel like a warm hug. Read full review
60
The Daily BeastNick SchagerJun 4, 2024
A rehash that—in the interest of staving off franchise death for a little while longer—could stand to learn a few new tricks. Read full review
60
ScreenCrushMatt SingerJun 4, 2024
Bad Boys was written off for good after Bad Boys II, and yet here we are more than 20 years later, with two solid sequels in four years. Somehow, these guys really have become Bad Boys for life. And perhaps even beyond that. Read full review
60
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiJun 4, 2024
Bad Boys continues chugging along with Ride or Die. Watching the sequel reminded me a bit of the Fast and Furious franchise — it tries to go bigger than before, while also maintaining its core relationships as a key to its success. Read full review
60
Total FilmAnna SmithJun 4, 2024
While it's stronger on gunplay and horseplay than plot, this is a solid entry for BB fans. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 4, 2024
The Bad Boys are still providing innocent amusement. Read full review
59
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJun 4, 2024
The plot’s believability is stretched to the point of emaciation, even for this series. The comedy, which arrives on cue every other scene, is pained. And the action is now a fully cribbed and inferior sizzle reel of Bay’s greatest hits. . . Still, there are a few flashes of fun. Read full review
50
We Got This CoveredMarco Vito OddoJun 9, 2024
Bad Boys: Ride or Die leans heavily on nostalgia and fan service. While Smith and Lawrence's chemistry remains, the film's predictable plot and over-reliance on past glories make it a forgettable experience for all but diehard fans. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJun 9, 2024
It’s cinematic fast-food but not of the delicious, addictive variety. It’s a little overcooked and has gone cold – still edible but by no means satisfying. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJun 7, 2024
Bad Boys: Ride or Die serves as passable entertainment. But one does miss the gonzo action spectacles of yore, which this franchise once embodied. Read full review
50
ABC NewsPeter TraversJun 7, 2024
The fourth round for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence isn’t a bad movie, really, just another mediocrity trying to cash in on what came before, the kind of money grab that’s killing movies by serving leftovers as the main course. Resist, people, before it's too late. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshJun 5, 2024
It’s a thin tapestry of lore with some interesting creative embellishments, but without any real interest in character, it feels flimsy and disposable. You could do worse, but you could certainly do better. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 5, 2024
Arriving in theaters nearly three decades after Will Smith and Martin Lawrence proved to be a hilariously likable duo in the original “Bad Boys” and four years after the entertaining, midlife-crisis threequel, the bombastic and cartoonishly over-the-top “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is one loud misfire. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 4, 2024
Going into this movie, there was a question whether “Bad Boys” might just feel like entertainment from an earlier time, but instead it feels like a cozy return — at least as cozy as possible, given that the movie is extremely violent. Read full review
50
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiJun 4, 2024
With a formulaic plot and adequate supporting players, Smith phoning it in presents a major roadblock for a series as reliant on two leads’ chemistry as this one. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJun 4, 2024
It admittedly comes to life in spurts primarily through its hyperkinetic photography and editing. Still, it lacks enough spontaneity or ingenuity, completely content to go through the motions by taking as few risks as possible. It turns out that there was a third option: Ride, Die, or Tread Water. Read full review
45
CNNBrian LowryJun 5, 2024
The result has that calculated, tired feel about it, with a few moments of kinetic action but not enough to make the film play like anything more than a relic. Read full review
45
PolygonJoshua RiveraJun 4, 2024
Ride or Die, the joys of Smith and Lawrence’s characters getting on each other’s nerves during improbably explosive shootouts is constantly derailed, as the script workshops or retcons every previous element from prior movies into the grand scheme of this one. Read full review
40
Film ThreatDan LybargerJun 20, 2024
There isn’t much story before the shooting starts, so watching the stuff that doesn’t blow up adds nothing. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeJun 4, 2024
The downside to all this is that it reminds us that video games tend to manage cleaner storytelling than the makers of Bad Boys: Ride or Die do. The film plays as a muddle of set pieces – some impressive, most unintelligible – that fail to form any kind of coherent line. One almost longs for Bay’s return. His satanic mayhem at least had a consistency to it. Read full review
40
NMEJames MottramJun 4, 2024
The cast is given a boost by the star power of Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig and Paolo Núñez all reprising their roles as members of AMMO (Advanced Miami Metro Operations), plus Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn joining as the ballsy US Marshall daughter of the accused Captain Howard. It’s just a shame they’re all woefully underused in a story that feels so same-old-same-old. Read full review
40
BBCNicholas BarberJun 4, 2024
The film is fun enough in its chaotic, grungy, rough and ready way. It may not propel Smith back to the top of the A-list, but it proves that he can get through a B-movie. At this stage in his career, that counts as a win. Read full review
40
Screen DailyNikki BaughanJun 4, 2024
Ultimately, Ride Or Die is such a relentless bombardment of bombastic effects whipped up by a pounding soundtrack, rapid-fire editing and frenzied camerawork — which, at times, emulates a first-person video game — that it becomes exhausting, rather than exhilarating. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckJun 4, 2024
Watching Will Smith’s Mike and Martin Lawrence’s Marcus go through their familiar comedic bickering routines has become like spending an evening with a long-married couple whose constant sniping has grown wearisome. Read full review
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