10 Movies Way Better Than They Have Any Right To Be

Michael Bay's first feature could have gone either way, but somehow he pulled it out of the bag. And, given everything he has done to the world of cinema since, it is even more miraculous that this was the case.

Bad Boys created a new breed of young, dumb hero in Will Smith, before Independence Day and Men In Black launched him into global superstardom. His co-star and sparring partner Martin Lawrence had already experienced his cinematic breakthrough as Cee in Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing (1989), but he was still years away from becoming a household name.

The critics were not overly fond of the film, but audiences loved it, and still do. The plot is recycled from every other buddy cop actioner, the action is by-the-book and the whole affair is cheesy as hell, but it somehow works in ways that Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop and any of a thousand more recent imitators (including the Fast & Furious films) can only dream of.

The recent threequel has failed to uphold the original's charm, risking any firm footing the franchise might have had, but no amount of mid-life crisis dad jokes can ruin the appeal of what has become a stone-cold genre classic.