Palm trees. Colorful buildings. Fast cars. Will Smith. Everything about the opening of Bad Boys: Ride Or Die is even more Miami than his hit song that stayed on the Billboard charts for 21 weeks.
And even when the wedding scene happened two shots later, with New York native Victor Grimmy Owusu’s song “Wobble” blasting, the Mariachi band doing the choreography brought viewers right back to Miami Beach and South Beach vibes.
If the first movie location wasn’t obvious enough, gown-wearing Detective Marcus Burnett (played by Martin Lawrence) shouting “Miami! 305 for life!” from the hospital roof certainly made it clear.
This comical scene, in which Burnett sees his deceased boss (Captain Howard played by Joe Pantoliano) in a hallucination from the hospital sets the tone for the rest of Bad Boys: Ride Or Die. Burnett believes he’s temporarily immortal, and it’s “not my time” to die. So of course he was totally on board with the secret recording Howard filmed in hopes that Detective Mike Lowrey (played by Will Smith) and Burnett could find crooked police officers involved in a drug crime.
With the “bad boys” moving around to solve crime, that may have left vacation planners and moviegoers wondering where Bad Boys: Ride Or Die filming location was.
Where Was the Fourth Installment of the ‘Bad Boys’ Movie Series Filmed?
While the majority of the fourth film in the Bad Boys series is in Brickell, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, additional filming locations were recorded in Atlanta and Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Florida (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Brickell)
- Key Scenes: Car chase scenes, wedding, gas station shooting
- Best Time To Visit: It’s cheaper to visit Miami during the winter months, and the weather is great between December and May.
- Transportation Options: While driving is extremely common (and a fun way to see the city), locals may use the Metrorail and Metrobus to commute to work. However, the ease of access to highways and limited public transit reach is why the heavily vacationed area is so car-centric.
There are some live events that tourists enjoy attending from March to May, including the Miami Music Week and the Air & Sea Show. There’s also the American Black Film Festival in June, the Florida Supercon in July and the Coconut Grove Food & Wine Festival in August.
Things to Do in Miami: For tourists who may not want to attend the large-crowd events, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, shopping in the Bayside Marketplace or the Wynwood Walls museum may be more appealing.
Where to Eat in Miami: Rappers like Pitbull, Rick Ross, Flo Rida and Trina are crazy about Miami, and both locals and tourists are crazy about 4.8-star Crazy About You restaurant. CVI.CHE 105 and Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita are a couple other highly rated restaurants in the city.
Where to Stay in Miami: For restaurant goers and shoppers, hotels near Downtown Miami and Brickell (where Bad Boys: Ride Or Die was largely filmed) are ideal to mingle, party and enjoy the view. For beachgoers, find hotels near Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, North Beach and South Beach.
Georgia (Atlanta, Stone Mountain)
- Key Scenes: Recreational vehicle area with the shoot-out and the stolen truck
- Best Time To Visit: Georgia hotel rates are lower during winter, but music festivals bring vacation goers to ATL all yearlong.
- Transportation Options: Like Miami, Atlanta is a car-centric city as well as Stone Mountain. However, the MARTA transit rail system is simple to use and easy to access, especially for travelers from places like New York and Chicago who are used to riding the trains.
While Hollywood gets a fair amount of attention for aspiring actors, Atlanta is getting a noticeable amount of attention lately too. ATL has become a filming hub for popular movies such as Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther.
Things to Do in Atlanta: Some common events that make people visit throughout the year include the Atlanta Film Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the Atlanta Street Food Festival and the Great Southern Food Truck Rally. For teenage and college-aged visitors, a campus tour around Clark Atlanta, Spelman and Morehouse are a given.
Where to Eat in Atlanta: From Slutty Vegan to Desta Ethiopian Kitchen, Atlanta has a little bit of everything for a wide variety of taste buds. Real Housewives of Atlanta viewers won’t want to leave before they visit Old Lady Gang either.
Where to Stay in Atlanta: If you love to shop, Buckhead is where you’ll want to be. For a quieter visit, Decatur has a smaller-town feel to it with restaurants nearby. To be near the movers and the shakers, reserve a hotel in Midtown or Downtown Atlanta.
