25 years after Bad Boys, 17 years after Bad Boys II, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are back for one last ride in Columbia Pictures’ new action thriller Bad Boys for Life (in Philippine cinemas January 22).
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.”
And Bruckheimer says that though so many years have passed, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have picked up right where Lowrey and Burnett left off. “It’s the same fun as it was twenty years ago,” he says. “They have a good time. Will is the friendliest person in the world, and Martin is just funny – anytime you cut to Martin, you’re gonna get a laugh. You want to be in the presence of these two guys. That’s what it’s all about.”
The key to the Bad Boys saga is the energy and chemistry between its stars. The relationship between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence is so powerful and entertaining that today it seems obvious to pair them.
The fun of the movie in 1995, is the same fun in 2020: the odd-couple pairing of Lowrey and Burnett. “They’re entirely different,” Bruckheimer says. “One is a bachelor and wealthy. The other is a middle-class family man, a straight-ahead guy who tries to do things the right way.” But while Smith and Lawrence are still the bad boy cops you know and love, the new film picks up the dynamic duo after many years have passed, so the guys have certainly evolved – well, at least Marcus has. “Mike is the same guy he’s always been – he loves catching the bad guys,” Bruckheimer continues, “but Marcus is starting to think it’s time to retire. Mike has slowed down a little, but doesn’t want to accept it, while Marcus realizes he’s slowed down and tries to make Mike appreciate that.”
“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.’”
Bad Boys for Life is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #BadBoysForLife
