BAD BOYS FOR LIFE: Ending Explained + Mid Credits Scene Breakdown

It’s time to break down Bad Boys For Life.

The film is a hell of a fun ride and it has a great mid-credits scene that has a lot to unpack from it. It sets up a big sequel coming down the line and we may be getting Bad Boys 4 a lot sooner than you think.

Throughout this, we’ll be going through the movies final few scenes and giving our thoughts where it could all be going and the film as a whole.

There will be heavy spoilers here, so if you haven’t seen the movie yet and don’t want to know what happens then I highly suggest that you turn off now.

With that out the way I just wanna give a huge thank you for clicking this video, now let’s get into our breakdown of Bad Boys For Life.

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE PLOT RECAP

Bad Boys For Life once more centers around Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey. The film opens with the former telling the latter that he wishes to retire in the wake of his Grandson because Marcus…I’m too old for this ish.

Marcus sort of jumps back and forth between whether it looks like he’s gonna retire and I loved seeing the once lifeful Martin Lawrence dealing with the fact that he may not be a spring chicken anymore.

As we get older it’s something that we all have to deal with and his performance against the ever-youthful looking Smith is really well portrayed. I feel bad that he has to try keep up with Smith but he still does a great job.

Early on it looks like everyone could be getting a happy ending but things take a big turn when Mike is shot several times by an assassin named Armando.

This kick starts the story with Mike trying to take down the assassin whilst also learning some home truths.

Armando is completely cutthroat and he takes out high ranking members of the authorities which really shows that he’s such a danger.

Joe Pantalino gets whacked which is a big moment and the movie also brings back some characters such as Reggie, has Michael Bay makes a cameo and features DJ Khaled as an informant.

Will Smith

Similar to Lawrence, Smith does a fantastic job and the actor is arguably one of the best of our generation. Whether he’s chewing up the scenery, pitching dramatic heart-wrenching roles or just being the funniest guy in the film, Smith is pretty much up there with the best at whatever he puts his hand to and here it’s no different.

The guy just oozes charisma and it feels like the guy hasn’t aged since we last saw him in 2003 playing the same part.

He provides the real heart of the movie and for what was once a pretty carefree and irresponsible character, Mike sure has a lot of growing up to do in this movie.

Mike’s Past

We learn that before the events of the first Bad Boys film that Mike was pulled from the Police Academy and placed undercover in a Mexican Drug Cartel. During this mission, the character fell in love with the Cartel’s leader named Isabel.

Mike took down the Cartel and as Isabel was included in this she went down with them. Mike genuinely loved her and he even promised to run away with her. However, duty came before dishonor and he ultimately had her arrested too as he was well aware of how dangerous she was.

We see this exemplified in the film with Isabel becoming one of the big bads. She is pretty much the Emperor Palpatine of the film, controlling it all from behind the shadows and you can see how Mike was captivated by her and also why he realized that it was for the best not to have her running around unchecked.

Isabel went to jail but it turns out that she was pregnant with Mike’s child and this is revealed to be Armando.

If you’ve seen Smith’s last film, Gemini Man then you’ll know that it followed a similar sort of plot aesthetic. In that, the character’s offspring was too a very highly skilled assassin but here it feels like it has a lot more heart to it. Armando is a great character and you can see why they’re planning on moving ahead with him in a sequel which I’ll talk about later in the breakdown.

After he helped her escape prison, Isabel has been instructing Armando to take down all of the people involved in the Cartel’s demise and it’s up to Mike and Marcus to catch him.

Bad Boys Better Than Ever

From the off, Bad Boys For Life doesn’t miss a step and it really is a thrilling ride.

Considering it’s been almost 20 years since Bad Boys 2 you would think that this would feel a bit dated and obsolete but it doesn’t at all. I really went into the movie expecting this to be a disaster, even though I loved the second film and thought the first was ok, there was just something about the trailer that seemed pretty meh to me.

I’m happy to say that I completely misjudged the film and it’s brilliant.

The movie perfectly balances humor, action, and drama and this feels like it restarts the franchise on the right footing and then kicks a field goal with it.

Mike and Marcus really feel like their lives are at stake here and whilst the other movies had their tongues placed firmly in their cheeks, here it feels like they could go down at any second.

That’s no easy task and the script is helped massively by it’s supporting cast made up of Mike’s Ex Rita who is the lead on a group named AMMO which stands for Advanced Miami Metro Operations.

Bad Boys For Life Ending

Mike, Marcus and AMMO go to Mexico City to confront Isabel where Mike argues with her about how she raised Armando and hid the truth. Isabel tries to escape in a helicopter but Marcus manages to down it and he incapacitates the character. This causes a blaze to start that plays into the ending and the big turn of one of the main villains.

Mike confronts Armando to convince him that he’s his father and though he initially doesn’t believe it, Isabel confirms it much to his surprises him.

Isabel tries to kill Mike but shoots Armando instead and she is taken out by Rita.

With the fire raging at the location, it looks like it’s over for our heroes but Armando actually risks his life to save them. It’s a big move for him as the character almost dies himself.

They manage to make it out and though Mike tells Armando that he will have to pay for his crimes, Mike will be there for him.

After this Rita is named the new Police Captain and whilst Mike and Marcus are put in charge of Ammo.

Though this closes the main plot of the movie, that doesn’t mean it’s over and the movie actually sets up another film that we now know is being fast-tracked by Sony.

Bad Boys For Life Mid Credits Scene

The Mid Credits scene shows Mike visiting Armando in jail. The latter seems to have come to terms with his sentence and he actually seems to repent for all the bad things that he’s done in his life.

He’s ready to pay his debt to society however, Mike has actually come to him with a proposition, a deal that will help him get right in the eyes of the law.

Though we don’t know exactly what this is I think it’s safe to assume that this will help to shorten his sentence and it may involve the two working together in order to get him out of jail faster than a chance card in Monopoly.

It looks like Mike’s son will be getting a redemption arc next time and though it is possible that he could just be providing intel from his cell because lets face it, why would the Miami PD want him out in the wild, I actually think that the two will team up together on a mission.

This scene clearly sets up a followup film and we might be seeing a sequel sooner than the agonising 17 year wait between this film and the last one.

Bad Boys 4

The Hollywood Reporter recently broke the news that Chris Bremner, a writer on Bad Boys For Life is currently writing the script for a fourth movie.

Sony really had difficulties getting this sequel off the ground and moved through several scripts and directors but it now looks like they have the foundations in place to build upon this and we will be seeing a follow up to Bad Grandpas I mean Boys For Life very soon.

Bad Boys 3 Review

As for the film itself I had a hell of a lot of fun with it and this is definitely my favorite out of the trilogy.

I never thought that we would get to this point but I’m so glad that we did as the film is a really fun time.

Januarys are normally terrible for theatrical releases but with this, Underwater, The Gentlemen and 1917 there’s been some brilliant entries that have pretty much made the month better than a lot of last year’s summer.

I’m really glad that Sony took their time with this because I’m sure they could have just got whoever to write and direct the movie and dropped it in 2005 or something.

All the pieces were in place here for a great film and it doesn’t disappoint at all.

Bad Boys For Life is a brilliant ride that brings everything to the table and seems to exceed in all of the elements that it tries to.

I doubt this will be a late oscar contender but what’s here is a blast and that’s why it gets a…