Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah, Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) dials up the drama. Our favorite detectives, Mike and Marcus, are older and dealing with health scares but still itching for a fight. This isn’t about national security anymore; it’s about something that hits close to home. That’s where the emotional punch comes in. The film ditches the lighthearted plots of the past for a deeper story. We even see an unexpected team-up: Mike joins forces with Armando, his ex-partner’s son, to crack a case. This father-son duo fighting crime together is a definite highlight. But what exactly is this case? Let’s dive in and find out what puzzle Mike and Marcus are determined to solve.
Spoilers Ahead
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” opens with Marcus getting nauseous because Mike is driving very fast. Marcus says that he needs to find some drink. However, Mike knows that Marcus will never stop at only one drink as he eventually ends up getting a hamburger. Meanwhile, a robber comes and threatens the store owner, including Marcus. Mike enters the scene, and they get rid of the robber. Soon after, we see Mike getting married to his therapist, Christine. This happened almost four years after Isabel Aretas died. Mike has moved on to a new life as he celebrates his marriage with his closest friends, including the family of the late Captain Conrad Howard.
Amidst the party, Marcus faces a heart attack as everyone gathers around to take him to the hospital. In his subconscious, Marcus sees everyone. Later, he meets with Howard near an island. Howard tells him in the dream that his time has not yet come, and he whispers something in his ear. Later, Marcus regains consciousness and runs straight to the roof of the hospital building. Mike follows him as Marcus says to him that something big is coming and Mike will be tested. After that, Mike brings him home, and the two families reunite with each other.
What do the Bad Boys learn from Howard’s Recordings?
Meanwhile, McGrath, a leader of a cartel, manages to send money to Howard’s account. It proves his involvement with the cartel as the media highlights the issue. Mike and Marcus gather to prove Howard’s innocence as many within the department start disbelieving Howard’s motives throughout his tenure. While McGrath’s team is trying to hack into Howard’s personal data, a failsafe option is activated. The Bad Boys receive a video on their phones. Howard has it recorded because he knew when this video would be found, he would have been dead already.
From that video, Marcus realizes that Howard is asking them to meet with their former colleague Fletcher. When they reach Fletcher, he says that he has kept Howard’s secret in a place that will be very hard to find. But before he can spill it out, McGrath shoots him. After a round of gunshots being fired, McGrath’s men run away since Mike faces a panic attack. Later, Kelly, one of Mike’s most trusted allies, finds out where Fletcher had hidden Howard’s secret. Since Howard has already notified through his video that there is a rat in the police department, Mike asks Kelly to stay quiet about this.
Later, inside a van, Dorn plays the other part of the video where Howard tells them about how he used to get stopped from above while investigating the cartel. He also adds about a 2003 incident where he secretly conducted an operation. Howard tells them to go through the files so that they can understand it all, including who the rat is, and finish the cartel once and for all. Mike asks Dorn and Kelly to look for the files while Mike and Marcus try to figure out what should be done next. Mike has previously talked with Armando in jail right after Howard’s link with the cartel was published in the media. He told the Bad Boys that Howard had never indulged himself with the cartel.
How do Mike, Marcus, and Armando Turn into Fugitives?
Meanwhile, Armando is attacked in prison by some random prisoners. Luckily, Armando is able to fight against them and stay alive. Since Armando is the only person who has proof that Howard is not involved in the drug cartel and is already being attacked inside the prison, Mike asks Captain Rita Secada and Lockwood, who is running for Mayor, to move Armando to a safer place in Miami.
They think that Mike is more worried because Armando is his son. But Lockwood thinks that if Howard’s name is cleared, everything will fall into their own place, so they arrange for him to be air-lifted. Here, too, McGrath and his men sneak onto the plane, killing the pilot. Before that, he makes him read out a message where it will be proved that Mike and Marcus tried to escape with Armando, but they all eventually died.
However, a huge chaos erupts when McGrath tries to escape the plane. After a near-death experience, Mike, Marcus, and Armando somehow manage to survive the crash. Unfortunately, McGrath escapes. Soon, the message is discovered. It is proven that Mike and Marcus are on the run with Armando. Now, they are labeled as fugitives. McGrath informs the bounty hunters and puts up a bounty on them as well. Both law enforcement and criminals hunt Bad Boys along with Armando.
Who is the Rat?
Mike, Marcus, and Armando save themselves from a couple of bounty hunters and finally end up seeking help from Dorn and Kelly. Kelly at first tries to shoot Armando since he has killed Howard. But Mike tries to make her understand the real deal. Armando has already clarified to Mike that someone from the inside added Howard’s name to make it look like the cartel people had killed him. But Armando is here to help Mike and Marcus find the person who is responsible for all of this. After a lot of research, Armando finds a photograph and tells them the man who hired him to kill Captain Howard is James McGrath.
McGrath is a former Army Ranger who became a DEA agent. While undercover, the cartel captured McGrath and tortured him. He gave up his associates and has been working with the cartel since then. McGrath already has all of this information about the Bad Boys, knowing he is involved in this. Now, he plans the kidnapping of Christine and Callie, Judy’s (and Howard’s) daughter. He then sends his men to attack Marcus’ family as well. However, Marcus’ Marine son-in-law, Reggie, fights back and kills all the attackers. Amidst all of this, Mike realizes that McGrath receives all of their information as well.
Marcus tells him that he only shared the information with Rita, but Mike realizes that, along with Rita, there was always someone who heard them talking. It is her boyfriend, the Mayoral candidate, Lockwood. Mike shares this information with Rita. Soon after, they capture Lockwood. Lockwood confesses that he only wanted to maintain the settlement between law enforcement and the cartel, as the crew recorded his voice and managed to replicate it. Now, when Mike tells McGrath to gather Christine and Callie so that they can move them to a different place as the police are chasing, McGrath hears it in Lockwood’s voice, believing every word.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Is Mike Able to Save Marcus and Christine from McGrath?
The team heads to a former alligator-themed amusement park where McGrath’s men are holding the hostages. After a huge gunfight, the Bad Boys and the crew manage to put McGrath’s men into a position of surrender while Marcus is beaten by a giant alligator. Meanwhile, McGrath takes Christine to the edge of the island. He has both Mike’s wife and Marcus standing in front of his gunpoint while Mike finds himself in a difficult situation. He remembers the words that Marcus told him on the roof of the hospital and shoots at Marcus’s shoulder to get McGrath within his shooting range. Mike kills McGrath and rescues both his wife and best friend.
Meanwhile, Judy is informed about this zone of gunfighting, and the whole military force arrives on the island. They start securing the area while Callie is still unable to escape from McGrath’s men. Armando, however, fights against the men to make sure Callie is safe and sound. Later, when Judy tries to shoot Armando dead, Callie tells her that he has risked his own life to save her. Mike arrives, and together, they leave as Judy decides to set Armando free. Armando leaves the island in a boat, and there is a chance that in the upcoming movies, we will see him helping the Bad Boys once again.
Lockwood meets with his destiny after shooting Dorn on his shoulder. He gets eaten by the giant alligator that lives inside the amusement park. They all leave the island as we reach the end of the film. Howard’s name is cleared from the books as the mission comes to an end for Mike and Marcus. Dorn is out of danger right now as the family meets for a picnic in the park. In the end, we see the Bad Boys arguing about who will do the barbecue when Reggie arrives to grill chicken.
At first, the Bad Boys scold him and ask him to go away. Later, they realize that Reggie has killed at least 15 men to make sure the family is safe. They offer their respect and move away so that Reggie can do his chores. This signifies an end to the Bad Boys era, where the old leaves the place for the young. It is arguable, but there can only be one more film to conclude Mike and Marcus’ journey once and for all.
Read More: The Bad Boys Movies (Including Bad Boys: Ride or Die) Ranked, according to Rotten Tomatoes
Trailer:
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, Letterboxd
Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Jacob Scipio, Melanie Liburd, Tasha Smith, Tiffany Haddish, Joe Pantoliano
Genre: Action/Comedy | Runtime: 1h 55m
