Will Smith insists Bad Boys 4 'isn't a victory lap'

Will Smith has insisted that Bad Boys: Ride or Die "isn't a victory lap".

The actor has told how the upcoming fourth instalment in the hit franchise is valid as a standalone film.

"We agreed after Bad Boys 2, that we would never, like, come back to this franchise without a story that deserved to be attached to this franchise," he told Extra's Melvin Roberts.

"We wanted to make sure that the movie lived on its own and not just, you know, 'People like it, so we're going to take a victory lap.'"

He told how he and co-star Martin Lawrence loved making the latest film together.

"Martin, like, literally the first day of this movie, he, like, stopped me," Will said. "He was like, 'No, no, no - we're not rushing through this one. Like, we got to part four, we are going to enjoy every second of this, right?'"

Martin added, "(We didn't want to) put something out there for a money grab."

The actors, who first appeared together in the original Bad Boys movie in 1995, have remained friends over the past 30 years.

"I've seen his growth. You know, from Fresh Prince and to movies and all the way to what he's accomplished, it's just, I'm just really impressed, really impressed," Martin said of Will.

Will shared how he loves Martin's attitude: "Just with Martin, how absolutely honest and, like, open his heart is, you know? It's like there ain't no faking in that dude, you know? And it's like I just love that he can be calm and firm and (have) no problem saying what's absolutely true in his heart."