Summary
WithBad Boys: Ride or Dieset to hit theaters,Will Smithnames the four movies that best define his career. He’s been a sitcom star and a rapper, and he’s headed up some of the most iconic Hollywood movies of recent decades, including blockbusters likeIndependence DayandMen in Black. In 2022, Smith achieved a new artistic height when he won the Best Actor Oscar forKing Richard– a moment that was marred by The Slap. Still trying to bounce back from that controversy, Smith is back in theaters with the sequelBad Boys: Ride or Die.
With a Hollywood resume spanning decades and including huge hits as well as critically-acclaimed films, Smith was recently asked to name his own personal Mount Rushmore of his own movies, and picked out a quartet of interesting titles:The Pursuit of Happyness,Men in Black,I Am LegendandKing Richard(also giving shout-outs toAladdinandBad Boys). Check out his remarks below viaHot Ones(around 19:37 of the clip):
I think the individual best movie all around that I’ve ever made is The Pursuit of Happyness. Right behind that is the first Men In Black. … I think among the most fun I’ve ever had making a movie is Bad Boys and Aladdin, just the most fun. All around best movies, best performances, if I had to put four of them in a time capsule, it would be Pursuit of Happyness, the first Men in Black, it would be I Am Legend and probably King Richard.
What Are Smith’s Four Best Movies According To Rotten Tomatoes
Smith has personal reasons for choosing the four movies he selected, picking an acclaimed but perhaps surprising role inThe Pursuit of Happyness, a star vehicle inMen in Blackthat helped propel him to huge commercial heights, a later hit film inI Am Legendand his Oscar-winningKing Richard. If Rotten Tomatoes were to choose Smith’s Mount Rushmore, the list would look a little different.
91%
80%
90%
98%
88%
71%
73%
Critical consensus (as represented by Rotten Tomatoes) concurs with half of Smith’s own top 4, agreeing thatMen in BlackandKing Richardbelong there.I Am LegendandThe Pursuit of Happynessdo not make the RT top four, however. A pair of very early and relatively unheralded Smith movies make the RT-approved Mount Rushmore instead:Six Degrees of SeparationandWhere the Day Takes You.
The Pursuit of Happynessis available to watch on Hulu
I Am Legend(68%) andPursuit of Happyness(67%) both come in as “fresh” according to Rotten Tomatoes, but don’t rank highly enough to make the top four. It’s yet to be seen whereBad Boys: Ride or Diewill fall on the ultimate rundown of Smith movies, either at the box office or in the estimation of critics and audiences. It could represent a career highlight for the star, or it could prove to be another setback on his road to making the public forget about The Slap.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Cast
Bad Boys: Ride or Die continues the action-packed saga of Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The film follows the duo as they face new threats and personal challenges, blending intense action scenes with the camaraderie fans have come to love in the Bad Boys series.
