Bad Boys: Ride or Dieincludes several major deaths, ranging from characters from the original movies to new ones introduced in the sequel.Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s return for the fourthBad Boysmoviepits Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett against the law. They are framed for being corrupt cops working in league with Captain Howard, who was posthumously framed for crimes he did not commit. The search to find the real mole within Miami PD includes Mike and Marcus teaming up with Mike’s son, Armando, and fighting to save the people they love.
Even before the epic shootout ofBad Boys: Ride or Die’s ending, death is a key part of the story. Similar to Mike’s near-death experience inBad Boys for Life, Marcus has a heart attack in the fourth installment that momentarily puts his life in jeopardy. When he wakes, he thinks he’s invincible and incapable of dying, no matter the circumstances. The movie evenbrings Captain Howard back from the deadby using video recordings to speak to Mike and Marcus. ButBad Boys 4also includes many actual deaths, with some significant characters meeting their end.
5Fletcher
Killed By James McGrath
John Salley returns as Fletcher inBad Boys: Ride or Die, but he’s ultimately killed as part of the early investigation into the belief that Captain Howard was a rat. Howard leaves Mike and Marcus a video recording telling them that"the coke-bottle giant is the key"to uncovering the truth, and Marcus figures out that he is referring to Fletcher. This leads them to Fletcher’s new art gallery/club in Miami. But when they get there, they’ve been followed by McGrath and his men, and they do not let them get the information from Fletcher that they need.
Fletcher appeared in Bad Boys and Bad Boys II
The reason for Fletcher’s death is pretty vague inBad Boys: Ride or Die. It is unclear if McGrath knows who Fletcher is or about his connection to Howard. However, he likely deduces that Mike and Marcus have come to him as part of their investigation and believe he has key information for them. That is whyMcGrath shoots Fletcher in the head, killing him instantly. That leaves Mike and Marcus to deal with the rest of his armed followers without knowing what Fletcher knew about Howard’s investigation of Miami PD and the cartels.
Although McGrath succeeded in killing Fletcher and hindering Mike and Marcus' investigation briefly, they still got the information they needed through the QR code included in one of Fletcher’s pieces of art. That gave them access to another video from Howard and more details about the initial case. Fletcher ultimately died for nothing, making him a casualty of McGrath’s attempt to continue to cover up the connection between his work with the cartels.
4Manny
Hit By Car By Marcus & Burned By Molotov Cocktail
DJ Khaled’s Manny was introduced inBad Boys for Lifeas a butcher who worked as an informant for Mike at times. He returns inBad Boys: Ride or Dieonce Mike, Marcus, and Armando return to Miaim as wanted fugitives. As Mike, Marcus, and Armando are about to be escorted to McGrath, Manny and his crew roll up and take out Tabitha’s men. Manny is still angry about Mike hitting his hand with a hammer a few years ago and wants to get even by getting the $5 million bounty on the trio.
Manny’s death inBad Boys: Ride or Dieis fairly elaborate. Marcus hits him with a van and pins him between two cars in the process. The impact alone would be enough to probably kill Manny immediately or in the near future due to the injuries he’d sustain. But,Bad Boys: Ride or Dieleaves no doubt about Manny’s fate as one of the henchmen light a Molotov cocktail and drop it on the hood of the van. This results inManny’s body catching on fire, and he continues to burn as Marcus, Mike, and Armando drive away.
Instead of Manny becoming a side character who could continue to pop up in futureBad Boysmovies, his role in the franchise ends after two appearances. The very clear death scene leaves no room for him to come back in a surprise twist. He ultimately dies because of his own ambitions and greed.
3Adam Lockwood
Eaten By An Alligator
One of the more notable deaths inBad Boys: Ride or Dieis Adam Lockwood. He’s a new character introduced as a former attorney running to become Miami’s mayor. As Rita’s boyfriend, Adam is part of a power couple in Miami who appears to have a bright future ahead of him in politics. However,Bad Boys: Ride or Diereveals that he is the mole who has been informing the cartel about the government and police’s activities and plans over the years. The discovery turns Rita against him, and he’s meant to be a pawn in bringing down McGrath after.
Lockwood plays his part inBad Boys: Ride or Die’s ending, but the plan goes awry when Mike doesn’t take the shot on McGrath. This leaves Lockwood alone amidst the gunfire and he takes the chaos that ensues as an opportunity to try and escape. This does not end well for him, as he hijacks a plane and crashes into Gatorville. Lockwood survives the crash, but Rita finds him as he tries to escape again. After he starts to raise a run at her, she kicks him off a ledge into the alligator-infested waters below.
Lockwood’s death occurs whenthe albino alligator eats him at the bottom of Gatorville. The remains of his body are not shown, but the blood-soaked water that surrounds the gator during the attack makes it fairly evident that he does not survive. This is the end of his story in the franchise, as the power-hungry politician goes out after once again putting his own desires above anyone elses.
2James McGrath
Killed By Mike Lowrey
As the main villain ofBad Boys: Ride or Die, James McGrath’s death was always expected. The former DEA agent turned cartel ally and smuggler was the one who helped orchestrateCaptain Howard’s death inBad Boys for Life, as revealed in a retcon by the fourth installment. Howard was onto McGrath’s dealings and was getting close to exposing the corrupting he and Lockwood were responsible for spreading across Miami, which made him a target. Mike and Marcus being two of Howard’s closest allies made them targets then inBad Boys 4, while Armando saw him once before.
Bad Boys 4 Completely Changes Captain Howard’s Death With Major Retcon
Bad Boys: Ride or Die makes the death of Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) a major part of the story, and even retcons the motives behind it.
The movie pits McGrath against Mike, Marcus, and Armando for most of the runtime, and it all culminates at Gatorville. However, the ultimate showdown comes between Mike and McGrath. The villain has taken Mike’s wife, Christine, hostage at this point, and he also captures Marcus on the beach. McGrath thinks he’s put Mike in an impossible situation where he must choose whether Marcus or Christine will die. However, Mike shoots Marcus in his vest so he can get a clean shot on McGrath.
After shooting the villain a few times in the chest,Mike kills McGrath with a bullet through the head. He falls back into the ocean after this and his body is recovered by law enforcement after. This continues the franchise’s trend of having the main villain die in the end of the movie, as every other mainBad Boysantagonist did not live through the credits either.
1Sanchez & Ruiz
In addition to the major character deaths that happen on-screen inBad Boys: Ride or Die, the movie also sneaks in the confirmation of two other significant deaths. Former Miami PD detectives Sanchez and Ruiz were featured in the originalBad Boysas Mike and Marcus' older rivals, but they had retired by the time thatBad Boys IIhappened. They were also left out ofBad Boys for Life, andBad Boys 4explains that this is because they both died between the second and third installments.
Captain Howard confirms this surprising revelation during one of his video messages to Mike and Marcus. He needed help on his investigation at one point and called upon Sanchez and Ruiz to come out of retirement and secretly work on the case. However,they were killed in a car crashone week after Howard pulled them back into police work. It’s unclear if the car crash that killed Sanchez and Ruiz was a true accident or a purposeful event caused by the cartel as they began getting too close during their investigation work.
The confirmation thatSanchez and Ruiz were killed off-screenbeforeBad Boys: Ride or Diehas two ultimate purposes. It further connected Howard’s investigation with the franchise by including additional known characters and tied up loose ends about what happened to them. Knowing that Sanchez and Ruiz came back to work only for it to end in their deaths is a tragic reveal, as they otherwise could have had happier endings. But, it mirrors real life to a certain degree, as Ruiz’s actor Julio Oscar Mechoso died in 2017, years beforeBad Boys: Ride or Dieconfirmed his character’s fate.
