Will Smith Make His Way Back?

In one of those dumb ironies that can abound in Hollywood, the first Will Smith movie to be greenlit since the slap in March 2022 hinges on an innocent man trying to clear his name. Previous iterations of the odd-couple, cop buddy movie Bad Boys, starring Smith and Martin Lawrence as two foul-mouthed Miami cops quibbling as they tear through traffic, have centred on missing drug busts, money laundering and Klansmen.

In the latest instalment of the franchise, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, released next week, a criminal cabal frames the errant duo, turning them into fugitives from their own police department. Because nothing signals your earnest desire to give public restitution for assaultinga presenter at the Oscars like a burst of automatic-weapon fire, exploding propane tanks and Lawrence doing his “Oh shit” face.

Along with Smith’s recent appearance at Coachella to perform the song Men in Black, as if to neuralise everyone of unwanted memories, the movie represents a muscular attempt on Smith’s part to shore up and secure his base – the solid core of action-comedy fans who are the least likely to be perturbed by his actions at the 94th Academy Awards, which he turned into a slow-motion car crash worthy of Michael Bay.