Summary
Bad Boys: Ride or Dietakes the franchise in a variety of different directions, and part of the story copies a sequel to Harrison Ford’sThe Fugitive. As the fourth entry in theBad Boysseries, the movie follows somewhat of the same formula that has made the films so successful. This includes leaning into the buddy-cop dynamic between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence that has helped define theBad Boysmovies. But,Bad Boys: Ride or Die’s story does take the franchise down a fresh path by making Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett wanted men working with Mike’s son.
This portion ofBad Boys: Ride or Dierevolves around Mike and Marcus being on the run with Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio). Through a wild series of events, they become lost in the wilderness and must find their way back to Miami in an attempt to finally clear their names. Mike, Marcus, and Armando being pursued by federal agents beforeBad Boys: Ride or Die’s endingmight be a new story for this particular franchise, but what happens to them that makes them wanted fugitives is very reminiscent of another popular sequel.
Bad Boys 4 Killed Two Major Characters Off-Screen 29 Years After Their Last Appearances
Bad Boys: Ride or Die killed major characters, and it also confirmed two original franchise stars died off-screen years after they last appeared.
There are some notable similarities betweenBad Boys: Ride or Die’s story and what happens inU.S. Marshals. The 1998 movie was a sequel to Harrison Ford’s 1993 filmThe Fugitive, with the second installment once again following Tommy Lee Jones’s character and his team of U.S. Marshals. The plot revolves around themlooking for a convicted criminal who escapes custody after an airplane crashand is tracked through the wilderness and city by the U.S. Marshals, even though the fugitive is innocent of the crimes he was accused of.
Whether intentional or accidental,Bad Boys: Ride or Diedoes the exact same story asU.S. Marshals. Mike and Marcus are declared fugitives by Captain Howard’s daughter, who is a U.S. Marshal. This comes afterthe plane carrying Mike, Marcus, and Armando is hijacked, leading to a crash landingand the Miami detectives being framed as part of a larger conspiracy. Mike and Marcus are innocent of the accused crimes, but they still go on the run to evade Judy’s team after their plane crash - just like what happens inU.S. Marshals.
Joe Pantoliano Connects Them All
The similarity betweenBad Boys: Ride or DieandU.S. Marshalsonly helps highlight how the two franchises are connected. In addition to both being action crime series,all the movies include Joe Pantoliano.The Fugitiveoriginally had Pantoliano play Cosmo Renfro, one of the members of Tommy Lee Jones’s character’s U.S. Marshals team. It was only two years after playing Cosmo that the actor made his debut in the firstBad Boysas Captain Howard.
Joe Pantoliano went on to reprise his role as Cosmo inU.S. Marshalsin 1998. He has since played Captain Howard three more times in each of theBad Boyssequels, includingBad Boys: Ride or Die. Although the two characters are very different,the combined six appearances carve out a nice trend for Pantolianoplaying members of law enforcement in financially successful franchises. So even if the mirrored fugitive storylines were not intended, the Joe Pantoliano link betweenU.S. MarshalsandBad Boys: Ride or Diemakes it harder to ignore.
