Will Smith gets slapped three times during a scene in his new movie Bad Boys: Ride or Die in what is being described by some as a 'tasteless' reference to the infamous Oscars slap.
The scene serves as not-so-subtle image rehabilitation tactic for the disgraced 55-year-old, whose career was nearly canceled two years earlier over his violent assault against Chris Rock onstage the 94th Academy Awards.
In the scene, Will's character Miami Police Detective Lieutenant Mike Lowrey suffers from a panic attack in the middle of a shoot out and his partner Detective Lieutenant Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) slaps him and calls him a 'bad boy' to snap him out of it.
Variety critic Owen Gleiberman wrote: 'The scene acts as a kind of pop exorcism. It's "punishing" Smith, making cruel fun of his transgression, and just maybe, in the process, allowing him to crawl out from under the image of it.'
New York Post critic Johnny Oleksinski gave Bad Boys: Ride or Die two out of four stars and called the slap 'the best part' of the 'mediocre' four-quel.
On Tuesday, film critics published their early reviews rating Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which revealed Will Smith gets slapped three times during the film's climax
The scene served as not-so-subtle image rehabilitation for the disgraced 55-year-old, whose career was nearly canceled two years earlier over his violent assault against Chris Rock (L) onstage the 94th Academy Awards
'What a shame that it's fake,' Oleksinski wrote.
'Perhaps in years to come, audiences will enjoy this action-comedy, the fourth entry of the past-its-prime, three-decade-old series, without thinking about its star smacking comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars in 2022. But, for the time being anyway, that bizarre incident is still fresh on viewers' minds, and the Independence Day actor remains a very challenging guy to like — even in an easily digestible buddy-cop movie.'
The Daily Beast critic Nick Schager called the slap a 'tasteless nod' to the Oscars and 'does less to enliven the proceedings than merely fulfill expectations' in the 'groan-worthy sequel.'
'That wink-wink gag proves to be a self-aggrandizing inversion of Smith's Academy Award meltdown, with his detective Mike Lowrey overcoming his unmanly panic attacks via some open-handed smacks to the face,' Schager wrote.
'The slaps, you see, restore Mike's inherent virility and confidence, and while recasting the incident in this way is pure, unadulterated ridiculousness on the star's part. To say that Bad Boys: Ride or Die is an act of reputation rejuvenation by the headliner would be an understatement.'
Overall, Bad Boys: Ride or Die currently has a 68% critic approval rating (out of 73 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Belgian directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah admitted as much to UNILAD last Thursday: 'If you watch the movie, you see that there are some parallels between what's happening in the movie and real life. You know, it's almost like a meta experience that Will in the character of Mike Lowrey goes through with some themes. So obviously, it had something, there is a connection between real life and the story of the movie in the movie itself.'
The $100M-budget buddy cop continuation - hitting US theaters this Friday - also features Joe Pantoliano, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Jacob Scipio, DJ Khaled, Tasha Smith, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Rhea Seehorn, Melanie Liburd, and Tiffany Haddish.
In the scene, Will's character Miami Police Detective Lieutenant Mike Lowrey suffers from a panic attack in the middle of a shoot out and his partner Detective Lieutenant Marcus Burnett (R, Martin Lawrence) slaps him and calls him a 'bad boy' to snap him out of it
Variety critic Owen Gleiberman wrote: 'The scene acts as a kind of pop exorcism. It's "punishing" Smith, making cruel fun of his transgression, and just maybe, in the process, allowing him to crawl out from under the image of it'
New York Post critic Johnny Oleksinski gave Bad Boys: Ride or Die two out of four stars and called the slap 'the best part' of the 'mediocre' four-quel:'What a shame that it's fake'
The Daily Beast critic Nick Schager called the slap a 'tasteless nod' to the Oscars and 'does less to enliven the proceedings than merely fulfill expectations' in the 'groan-worthy sequel'
Overall, Bad Boys: Ride or Die currently has a 68% critic approval rating (out of 73 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes
Belgian directing duo Bilall Fallah (L, pictured May 27) and Adil El Arbi (R) admitted as much to UNILAD last Thursday: 'If you watch the movie, you see that there are some parallels between what's happening in the movie and real life'
The filmmakers (pictured last Thursday) continued: 'It's almost like a meta experience that Will in the character of Mike Lowrey goes through with some themes. So obviously, it had something, there is a connection between real life and the story of the movie in the movie itself'
The $100M-budget buddy cop continuation - hitting US theaters this Friday - also features Joe Pantoliano, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Jacob Scipio, DJ Khaled, Tasha Smith, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Rhea Seehorn, Melanie Liburd, and Tiffany Haddish
Following Smith's scandal, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banned him from attending any of their events - in person or virtually - until 2032
The West Philly native said in a statement at the time:'Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable'
Following Smith's scandal, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banned him from attending any of their events - in person or virtually - until 2032.
'Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason,' the West Philly native said in a statement at the time.
'My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home.
'I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.'
The original Bad Boys trilogy (spanning 1995-2020) amassed a combined $841.2M at the global box office, and the third film received the best reception from critics and audiences - according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Creator George Gallo's action franchise also spawned a dismally-reviewed Spectrum Originals spin-off series L.A.'s Finest, starring Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union, which aired for two seasons spanning 2019-2020.
