It was dubbed “The Slap Heard Around The World.”

Well, it was heard around Hollywood anyway.

Will Smith leaped on stage March 27, 2022, in the Dolby Theatre Hollywood, and slapped 94th Academy Awards ceremony host Chris Rock across the face for a smart-aleck insult that Rock made during the international telecast about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Will Smith, who received a best actor Oscar for “King Richard” at the very same 94th Academy Awards, resigned his Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership and was banned from attending Academy events for 10 years.

There was a sense that Will Smith would never work in Hollywood again.

That was until Hollywood studio executives got a look at opening weekend box office numbers for “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” which reteams Will Smith with Martin Lawrence, and which grossed $56 million at the theatrical movie domestic weekend box office and $104.6 million worldwide June 7 - 9.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is a box-office smack-down, second only at the time of its release in summer 2024 box office opening weekends to “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which had a $58.4 million opening weekend May 10-12.

The repercussions of “The Slap” on Will Smith’s career would be, shall we say, moot, if “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” with a $100-million budget, was not such a box-office success. Will Smith hit his way out of the penalty box.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is a hit for a simple reason. It’s simply entertaining. And it’s just what fans of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence want: a wise-cracking, urban cowboys’ shoot-’em up action-comedy.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is as in-your-face cinema as “The Slap.”

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are one of the great buddy cop teams in cinema. And the “Bad Boys’ franchise is one of the best.

Buddy cop movie franchises include “Lethal Weapon,” Mel Gibson, Danny Glover; “Beverly Hills Cop,” Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, and “Rush Hour,” Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is the fourth for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the franchise, including “Bad Boys,” 1995; “Bad Boys II,” 2003, and “Bad Boys for Life,” 2020.

In “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” Miami detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) try to clear the name of the late Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano), accused of money-laundering for a drug cartel.

Burnett and Lowrey are up against cartel leader James McGrath (Eric Dane), who stops at nothing, including kidnapping Lowrey’s wife Christine (Melanie Liburd).

This sets up fierce and tension-filled set pieces of spectacular shoot-outs and chases, There’s an abandoned giant crocodile attraction (not completely abandoned, but that would be a spoiler) and an aerial confrontation aboard a helicopter.

Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who directed “Bad Boys for Life,” reteam with an emphasis on rapid-fire scenes, Dutch angles (tilted camera), extreme close-ups, crisp cinematography, bristling dialogue, dramatic back-lighting, slick dance-club neon, fast edits, video game style first-person shooter point of views, and incredibly intense action. The Miami skyline and shoreline backdrops are glitzy.

The brilliant cinematography is by Director of Photography Robrecht Heyvaert.

The screenplay is by Chris Bremner (“Bad Boys for Life”), Will Beall (screenplay, “Aquaman,” 2018) based on characters created by George Gallo (“Bad Boys”).

There’s humorous psychological babble by Burnett about the meaning of life and his and Lowrey’s friendship after Burnett has end-of-life visions after a heart attack.

Lawrence is frequently hilarious as Burnett, with put-upon expressions and quick on the come-back.

Smith is smooth, confident and sensitive as leader of the good guys known as the “Bad Boys.”

Memorable in the supporting cast: Vanessa Hudgens (Kelly, weapons expert), Jacob Scipio (Armando, Lowrey’s son), Paolo Núñez (Rita, police captain), Ioan Gruffudd (district attorney), Alexander Ludwig (Dorn, tech expert), Dennis Greene (Marine sergeant), DJ Khaled (cartel henchman), Rhea Seehorn (U.S. Marshal), Tiffany Haddish (club owner), Tasha Smith (Theresa) and Quinn Hemphill (Callie).

Oh, and about that slap? Lowrey suffers an anxiety attack and Burnett smacks him out of it.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” will be enjoyed by fans of the franchise, Martin Lawrence and forgiving fans of Will Smith.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die,”

MPAA rated R (Restricted Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.) for strong violence, language throughout and some sexual references; Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy; Run time: 1 hour, 55 minutes. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing.

Credit Readers Anonymous:

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” has fun with the “Bad Boys” theme song, heard in several versions, including Martin Lawrence and Will Smith singing it.

At The Movies:

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” was seen in the Dolby Cinema at AMC, AMC Center Valley 16. You feel the action rumble through the movie theater seat.

Theatrical Movie Domestic Weekend Box Office,

June 21-23: Now that it’s officially summer, as of the June 20 Summer Solstice, the summer movie season is hotter than ever and cooler in air-conditioned movie theaters, with “Inside Out 2,” $100 million in 4,440 theaters, $355.1 million, two weeks. It’s the best second weekend ever for an animated film.

2. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” stayed in place, $18.7 million in 3,781 theaters, $146.9 million, three weeks. 3. “The Bikeriders,” opening, $10 million in 3,781 theaters. 4. “The Garfield Movie,” stayed in place, $3.6 million in 3,013 theaters, $85.1 million, five weeks. 5. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” dropped two places, $3.6 million in 2,410 theaters, $164.3 million, seven weeks. 6. “IF,” $2.7 million in 2,504 theaters, $106.6 million, six weeks. 7. “The Exorcism,” opening, $2.4 million in 2,240 theaters. 8. “Thelma,” opening, $2.2 million in 1,300 theaters. 9. “The Watchers,” $1.9 million in 2,423 theaters, $17.7 million, three weeks. 10. “GHOST: Rite Here Rite Now,” $1.5 million in 751 theaters, $2.6 million since opening June 20.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of June 23 is subject to change.

Unreel,

June 28:

“Kinds of Kindness,”

R: Yorgos Lanthimos reteams with Emma Stone (Oscar actress winner, “Poor Things”) and Willem Dafoe (Oscar actor nominee, “Poor Things”) and also directs Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Tessa Bourgeois and Joe Alwyn in a comedy drama fable about the meaning of life.

“Horizon: An America Saga - Chapter 1,”

R: Actor-director Kevin Costner apparently bet the farm on the Western Drama, in a two-part epic about post-Civil War American West. Costner directs and stars with Sienna Miller, Jena Malone, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Ella Hunt, Giovanni Ribisi, Danny Huston, Will Patton, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Jim Lau and Sam Worthington. Chapter 2 is scheduled for Aug. 16 theatrical release.

“A Quiet Place: Day One,”

PG-13: Michael Sarnoski directs Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou, Thea Butler, Alex Wolff in the Science-Fiction, Drama Horror film. It’s a spin-off of “A Quiet Place” (2018).

“Revival69: The Concert That Rocked the World,”

No MPAA rating. Ron Chapman directs the documentary film about the 1969 Toronto Rock and Roll Revival music festival with a concert lineup that included John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Alice Cooper, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and The Doors.

“How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer,”

No MPAA rating. Jeff Zimbalist directs the documentary about the controversial two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist.

Movie opening dates from Internet Movie Database as of June 23 are subject to change.

This column is dedicated to actor Donald Sutherland (1935-2024), known for “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), “M*A*S*H” (1970), “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970), “Klute” (1971), “Ordinary People” (1980), “Backdraft” (1991), “Six Degrees of Separation” (1993) and “The Hunger Games” (2012-2015).

Three Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes