In Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Will Smith’s Mike Lowrey finds himself on the receiving end of Martin Lawrence’s Marcus Burnett’s slap-happy hands.
The scene seems to allude to Smith’s notorious Oscars incident two years ago when he walked onstage during the awards show and slapped Chris Rock in the face in front of millions. This was in response to a joke made at his wife’s expense.
In the climactic action scene, reviews describe Smith’s character Mike experiencing a panic attack. To snap him out of it, his detective partner Marcus, played by Lawrence, slaps him several times.
The scene, intended for humor, reportedly elicited audible reactions from advance screening audiences, who seemingly drew parallels to the Oscars slap.
For example, Nick Schager, a critic for the Daily Beast, referenced the incident in his review. He described it as a “tasteless nod to The Slap intended to rehab Smith’s image.”
Schager added that the “late meta joke about Smith’s Oscar scandal proves a predictable bit of self-consciousness. [It] does less to enliven the proceedings than merely fulfill expectations.”
Meanwhile, Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post thought Will Smith getting slapped was the most inspired moment in the new Bad Boys film. “The best part of Bad Boys: Ride or Die arrives near the end of the film. Martin Lawrence slaps Will Smith in the face and yells ‘bad boy!’ What a shame that it’s fake,” Oleksinski quipped.
Will Smith Later Apologized for ‘The Slap’
Smith later issued an apology for the Oscars incident, describing his actions that day as “unacceptable.” Subsequently, the actor resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy also imposed a 10-year ban on his attendance at its events.
In the latest trailers for the new Bad Boys film, Smith and Lawrence’s characters, Mike and Marcus, are plunged into a dangerous situation after the death of their commanding officer, Captain Conrad Howard (played by Joe Pantoliano). Framed in a corruption case, they find themselves on the run, navigating a treacherous web of danger and deception.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die slaps into theaters on June 7.