Curator Watchlist
A loud, glossy buddy-cop romp with real star chemistry and an early glimpse of Michael Bay’s signature style. The plot is thin and often silly, but the movie’s energy, banter, and action set pieces make it an easy watch if you’re in the mood for swagger over logic.
Where to watch: Buy
Fri · 1h 59m
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni
Marcus Burnett is a henpecked family man. Mike Lowrey is a footloose and fancy free ladies' man. Both Miami policemen, they have 72 hours to reclaim a consignment of drugs stolen from under their station's nose. To complicate matters, in order to get the assistance of the sole witness to a murder, they have to pretend to be each other.
Michael Bay
Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni
A loud, glossy buddy-cop romp with real star chemistry and an early glimpse of Michael Bay’s signature style. The plot is thin and often silly, but the movie’s energy, banter, and action set pieces make it an easy watch if you’re in the mood for swagger over logic.
Bad Boys is less about the mystery than the momentum. The setup is pure studio-era action-comedy: two mismatched cops, a ticking clock, and enough attitude to power the whole movie. What gives it lift is the chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, who make the bickering feel like a real comic engine rather than just a script requirement.
Michael Bay arrives already leaning into the glossy, hyperactive style that would define his career. Even when the story is flimsy and the character work is shallow, the film keeps finding ways to look bigger, louder, and more expensive than it probably was. The action has a brash confidence, and the movie understands that momentum can cover a lot of sins.
It’s also very much a product of its era, for better and worse. The humor can be juvenile and the gender politics are rough, but if you can accept that as part of the package, there’s a genuinely entertaining rhythm to it. As a star vehicle and a calling card for a future blockbuster director, it still lands as a watchable, if uneven, piece of 90s studio entertainment.
Patrick Willems (3★) · 2002 likes
There's a moment in the scene where Will Smith chases down a speeding SUV on foot where you can witness Michael Bay being born. I applauded, alone in my living room.
adambolt (2.5★) · 1202 likes
the secondhand embarrassment i feel for women in michael bay movies
matt lynch (2★) · 779 likes
You can feel Bay struggling to make a real movie out of this.
comrade_yui (4★) · 687 likes
michael bay makes a low budget buddy cop film look like one of the most expensive and stylish blockbusters of the 90s, while most action directors today can barely muster enough style to look slightly better than television.
liam f (3★) · 613 likes
every now and then, it's quite refreshing to watch a film where every single character is an idiot
The template for mismatched-cop chemistry, mixing action, banter, and escalating chaos with a sharper script.
A foundational buddy-cop movie with rough edges, comic friction, and a strong sense of momentum.
Shares the same appeal of star chemistry carrying a lightweight crime plot through big set pieces and jokes.
Another Will Smith vehicle that balances slick studio action with playful comedy and easy charisma.
For viewers who want more of Bay’s muscular, crowd-pleasing action style at full throttle.
Big, absurd, and unapologetically maximalist action with the same kind of glossy 90s excess.
A wild identity-swap action thriller that leans into operatic style and outrageous momentum.
A lighter buddy-action setup built around mismatched partners and comic friction.
Keeps the buddy-cop formula moving with more spectacle, sharper banter, and bigger stakes.
A modern buddy-cop riff that pairs crime, comedy, and chemistry with smarter writing.
A terrific road-movie crime comedy where the relationship between leads drives everything.
Not the strongest entry, but it fits the same broad lane of action-comedy and wisecracking cop energy.
buddy-cop partnership, undercover identity swap, crime and corruption, male friendship, police procedural, 90s action spectacle, comic banter, Miami nightlife
action-comedy, buddy cop, crime thriller, 90s blockbuster, stylized action, male bromance, Miami, fast-paced, juvenile humor, police