Will Smith’s return to the big screen, two years after the slap in the face of comedian Chris Rock during the Oscar ceremony. The American actor appears this Wednesday from Bad Boys: Ride or Diethe fourth installment of the successful action franchise.
The star, one of the most popular on the planet, is, however, very discreet. Will Smith’s first film project since the incident with Chris Rock, Bad Boys: Ride or Die In fact, he has reduced his advancements and promotion.
Far from the avalanche of content that accompanied the premiere of the previous film, on this occasion we were only able to see a video with the footballer Lionel Messi. And a brief making of that shows Will Smith operating a camera during an action scene.
Limit the damage
However, these short videos aim to rehabilitate the star. For Scott Mendelson, American journalist and box office specialist, Will Smith relies on what has made him successful since the 90s: his self-deprecation and his involvement in his projects.
In interviews given to the press before the premiere, the film’s directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah also insisted on the way in which Will Smith had invested in this project, even going so far as to train for almost a year before filming.
“Bad boys ride or die.” It’s a nice movie, but through certain traits of his character he seems to want to do ‘damage control’, limit the damage like Tom Cruise did in Mission Impossible III“writes Scott Mendelson.
In 2006, Tom Cruise attempted to restore his image with his popular action franchise, just a year after his now-famous appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, where he jumped on the host’s couch.
A start below the 3rd part?
With Bad boys ride or dieWill Smith hopes to perform the same sleight of hand. “Is the public willing to support Will Smith again after his slap at the Oscars?”, however, asks the specialized magazine Variety.
It is difficult to answer since Will Smith’s outburst of violence deeply shocked the public. The comedian slapped Chris Rock live on television when he made fun of his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s bald head.
The scene still seems to be present in people’s minds: the blockbuster, which cost 100 million dollars, would raise, according to the first projections of specialists, revenues estimated at 30 million dollars.
A score much lower than that of the third part of the franchise, bad boys for lifewhich surpassed expectations in January 2020 with a $62 million opening weekend, the franchise’s biggest start.
Low profile
Since the slap episode, which led to his exclusion from the Oscar ceremony for 10 years, Will Smith has repeatedly apologized and kept a low profile, while Chris Rock has increased the number of monologues in which he talks about the incident.
Since then, Will Smith has only appeared in one Apple production, Emancipation. Filmed before the Oscars and released secretly nine months after the incident, this moving film chronicles the escape of a slave through the swamps of Louisiana.
At the time, Will Smith said in an interview that he understood those who were not ready to see him on screen again after the slap. “If someone is not ready, I will completely respect them and give them the freedom to never want to see me again.”
“My main concern is the film crew. My greatest wish is that my actions do not penalize the team,” she added later. Respond in the coming days to find out if the public has forgiven him or if he will continue to be a “Bad Boy.”
Source: BFM TV
