The Bad Guys 2 - Review: Bigger and Badder

 

DreamWorks’ last adventure with the anthropomorphic bunch of criminals-turned-heroes known as The Bad Guys hit theatres in 2022 and proved to be a great time, adding another notch to the studio’s growing belt of franchises. Now director Pierre Perifel and co-writer Etan Cohen (“Tropic Thunder,” “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”) return, joined by co-writer Yoni Brenner (“Rio 2,” “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”), to this team of lovable furry antiheroes returns with a sequel that’s bigger, badder, and choked full of even more stylish animation, heist sequences, and celebrity voice talent.

The sequel follows the titular group reformed thieves made up of Mr. Wolf, played by Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Galaxy Quest”), Mr. Snake, played by Marc Maron (“Maron,” “GLOW”), Mr. Shark, played by Craig Robinson (“Hot Tub Time Machine,” “The Office”), Mr. Piranha, played by Anthony Ramos (“Twisters,” “In the Heights”), and Ms. Tarantula, played by Awkwafina (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “The Farewell”), as they struggle to prove their goodness to the distrusting population as well as the Governer Diane Foxington, played by Zazie Beetz (“Deadpool 2,” “Joker”), and police commissioner Misty Luggins, played by Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Family Guy”). Things are further complicated when they become entangled with a trio of criminals, Kitty Kat, played by Danielle Brooks (“Orange is the New Black,” “A Minecraft Movie”), Doom, played by Natasha Lyonne (“Poker Face,” “But I’m a Cheerleader”), and Pigtail, played by Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “Bodies Bodies Bodies”), who blackmail them into performing one last heist.

Perifel, Cohen, and Brenner keep the same kind of freewheeling, charismatic comedy that helped the first film make an impact amongst DreamWorks’ other animated fare. Each moment in the film feels as though it moves with a kind of energy and attitude only comparable to the likes of the “Oceans” trilogy or other heist films of the genre. This sequel does lose some of its simplicity in the third act though, as the film feels the need to go bigger for this second adventure. It’s still a delight, and the first film also went big in its third act as well, but it robs the tale of the kind of simplicity that it had to begin with.

The vocal cast is as stellar as they were the first time around. Each performer in the titular Bad Guys are simply a ton of fun, and they have a genuine comradery and sense of banter that make their misfit family relationship immediately believable. The newcomers are also just as great: Bakalova has a big warm-hearted sense of silliness in her role, and Lyonne’s trademark raspy voice gives her character an immediate sense of coolness before she’s even done anything. Brooks, like Rockwell, has the sort of air about her that makes what could have been a paycheck role something a bit more. Like the best animated voices, even those not from career voice actors, she sinks her teeth into it and really runs away with the character.

As before, the animation is completely stellar, arguably becoming the sole reason to see the film. It feels a hair more expressive and colorful than the first film, which was already a step above in that regard. An early sequence focusing on Neon colors stands apart, and each moment is propped up by the film’s expressive use of impact bursts, speed lines, and other hand-drawn effects to accentuate the 3D animation work. It might not be as daring and experimental as the “Spider-Verse” films or even DreamWorks’ own “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” but it's still a great bit of slick, cool, sly animation thievery. Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7”) returns for the musical score as well and, like the animation, it works with the same building blocks while elevating them slightly, going bigger and brasher than before.

“The Bad Guys 2” is more of what came before and, like its titular newly reformed group, that’s not at all a bad thing. It takes the same slick animation, now bolstered by some even more polished work, a great script and talented voice cast and delivers another adventure that slots right alongside the first film. It doesn’t seek to reinvent the formula or world established from the first, but it does plenty well and manages to run away with 100 minutes of your time, and you’ll be none the wiser. 4/5