James McGrath, or more simply known by his surname McGrath, is a former army ranger turned DEA agent who became a drug lord after being forced to by the cartel and is the overall main antagonist of the Bad Boys franchise.
He serves as one of the two overarching antagonists of (alongside Adam Lockwood) of Bad Boys II, one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside Benito Aretas) of Bad Boys for Life and the main antagonist of Bad Boys: Ride or Die. He was portrayed by Eric Dane.
Biography[]
Background[]
James McGrath was a former an Army Ranger and worked in counterintelligence and with the DEA until 2005, when he was deployed in Mexico for operations on drug cartels for several years. However, after 9/11, he and Adam Lockwood began secretly working with the cartels in smuggling drugs into Miami in the hopes they could secure the border and prevent further terrorist attacks, as well as obtaining wealth from their cartel associations, with this conspiracy eventually spreading across Miami law enforcement. As such, he also had a hand in Johnny Tapia's smuggling of ecstacy into Miami in 2003.
However, in 2015, in Colombia allegedly, he and his squad were abducted by the cartel, where McGrath was tortured, received something he calls "the Colombian manicure", and gave up his entire squad to be killed, leaving him the sole survivor. After this event, McGrath lost sight of his initial goals, seeking to do whatever it takes to keep his position of power. Eventually, Miami PD Captain Conrad Howard caught on his business which led him to being assassinated with the help of Isabel Aretas. During all of this he became a person of interest on a international level.
Present Day[]
McGrath was first seen when he came to a corrupt banker for money, so that he could transfer it to Captain Howard's account, killing his bodyguard and exposing his affair to his wife over the phone to blackmail the banker, who agrees. He then murders the banker and his mistress, making it seem as a murder-suicide. Therefore, an internal investigation within the Miami Police Department following accusations that Howard, was involved with drug cartels. Determined to clear Howard's name, Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett set out to prove his innocence.
Their search for the truth leads them to Mike's son, Armando Aretas, who is in prison for Captain Howard's murder. Armando asserts that Howard was not corrupt and offers to help find the real killer. When McGrath and his hacker Nicole try to access Captain Howard's computer, a fail-safe, pre-recorded video is sent to Mike and Marcus, warning them of corruption within federal and state law enforcement. Howard uses the phrase "Coke bottle" as a codephrase and it is revealed that he gave information to their former hacker colleague Fletcher. They go to Fletcher's club to retrieve the "files", which turns out to be a QR code hidden in wall art that unlocks a second video from Captain Howard. However, McGrath kills Fletcher and escapes with his team.
Meanwhile, Armando is attacked by several of McGrath’s henchmen disguised as prisoners, but he fends them off. Mike and Marcus arrange for Armando to be air-lifted to a more secure location in Miami. However, McGrath and his right-hand man Lintz sneak on board and kill the pilot and US Marshals and blow up the plane, causing the helicopter to crash. Mike, Marcus, and Armando survive but are branded as wanted fugitives by McGrath and his men. Both loyal and corrupt officials along with various gangs lead by unknown thugs and people who personally knew people like Mike such as Tabitha and Manny being on the hunt for the trio after McGrath puts a bounty on all three.
With the assistance of AMMO team members Dorn and Kelly, who are secretly dating, Mike and Marcus uncover a conspiracy involving McGrath, who is in league with mayoral candidate Adam Lockwood. He then sends his men to get Marcus' family, but his Marine son-in-law, Reggie, single-handedly kills them all. They later orchestrated the kidnapping of Christine and Callie, the daughter of U.S. Marshal Judy Howard, who is Captain Howard's daughter. Rita, Dorn, and Kelly apprehend Lockwood after he is exposed to be working with McGrath.
Using Lockwood as bait, the team engages in a fierce gunfight with McGrath's men at a former alligator-themed amusement park to rescue Christine and Callie, where Lockwood died being devoured by an alligator. During the confrontation, McGrath corners Mike, giving him an ultimatum: either Christine or Marcus must die. Remembering Marcus' belief in his own invincibility, Mike shoots Marcus in his bulletproof vest. This distraction allows Christine and Marcus to break free, and Mike shoots McGrath multiple times in the chest and later in the head, avenging Howard and Fletcher in the process.
Trivia[]
- McGrath is the first main villain to be a corrupt official which is why his crimes fall under treason and is also the second overall villain to be one. The first being Eddie Dominguez.
- McGrath originally was going to be a banker but they changed to script into something higher for the film.
- What differs James McGrath from Benito Aretas from their roles as the overarching antagonists of Bad Boys for Life is McGrath being unseen yet actively present during the events of Howard's assassination in the film. Aretas on the other hand, being from the past, posthumously affects the events due to his infertility, arrest, death, and his non-biological relation to Armando.