Smith plays a version of himself just to not show Ollie any grudges and praise his children, which encourages Ollie to give up his career and return to his daughter and father. And in that one scene, Smith radiates charisma and commands the screen that no one, not even Affleck and co-star George Carlin, can match.

The joke in it Jersey girl Ollie has embarrassed himself by doubting whether the Fresh Prince could become a big name, especially in a film about fighting aliens. But by the time Jersey girl hit theaters in 2004, we all clearly knew Ollie was wrong after seeing Smith Independence Daythe first two Bad boys movies, Enemy of the state, Men in blackand more. In fact, most people didn’t even think of him as the Fresh Prince anymore.

Yet even today, Smith faces the same skepticism. It’s not just the much-discussed ‘slap’, when the actor attacked comedian Chris Rock for making fun of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. It’s also that Smith has gotten old and, in the minds of some online naysayers, is more interested in Oscar plays than being an action star. Of course, he’ll be teaming up with David Ayer to play Deadshot Suicide squad (a terrible movie, but not because of Smith) or with Ang Lee for the 90s throwback Gemini man (underrated!), but he puts more effort into somber dramas like Emancipation, ConcussionAnd King Richardthe latter of which ultimately earned him a win for Best Actor.

It would be easy to say that the Fresh Prince evolved into a Stale King. Yes, still a king, but no longer exciting in the eyes of many opponents. And then the Bad Boys revival happens.

For life

The Bad Boys movies have always relied on the buddy-cop dynamic of the two stars. Marcus, the healthy but motory family man, and Mike, the shiny man-child. It’s easy to see how Lawrence could step back into his Marcus role and begin the revival film Bad boys for life with a sequence in which he settles into an easy chair to enjoy his retirement, then plays a madman who gets a second chance at life Ride or die. But even though Mike is able to grow up and have a son in the first new film and a wife in the second, he can’t slow down.

During the aforementioned candy-colored shootout sequence, Marcus gets the spotlight as his sense of invincibility is heightened by a sugar rush, but it only works because Mike is around to take the right action. While Mike, Smith ducks under tables, looks badass while firing a gun, and even finds time to berate his crazy partner. And he looks great doing it, every time.