THE BAD GUYS 2 Reviewed by GREG KING
Directors: Pierre Perifel, J P Sans
Stars voices of: Sam Rockwell, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Marc Maron, Zazie Beets, Natasha Lyonne, Alex Borstein, Colin Jost, Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, Omid Djalili, Jaime Camil, Hugo Savinovich, Kelly Stables, Jorge R Gutierrez.
The Bad Guys 2 is an entertaining and enjoyable sequel to 2022’s animated comedy caper about a gang of anthropomorphic animal criminals led by the cunning Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell). The film was based on the popular series of illustrated children’s books written by Australian author Aaron Blabey about a gang of scary looking criminal animals trying to change their image by performing good deeds. It was not hard to compare the film to Zootopia, which also featured anthropomorphic animals involved in crime in an urban environment, although The Bad Guys was arguably the more accessible for family audiences. The film subverted the heist genre and tropes that have become familiar through films such as Ocean’s Eleven, et al.
The gang included Mr Shark (voiced by Craig Robinson), the disguise expert; Mr Snake (voiced by Marc Maron), the safe cracker; Ms Tarantula (voiced by Awkwafina), the computer hacker; and Piranha (voiced by Hamilton star Anthony Ramos), the team’s muscle man. When the film opens, the gang have attempted to go straight but are struggling to be accepted into society. Their attempts to find jobs are proving unsuccessful because of their reputation and obvious gaps in their resumes. Wolf is romantically involved with the governor Diane Foxington (voiced by Zazie Beets, from the tv series Atlanta, etc), but they have to keep their relationship a secret. And she also has to keep her past as the criminal known as the Crimson Paw a secret. And meanwhile Snake has found love with Susan (Natasha Lyonne).
When a crime spree erupts which emulates their methodology it becomes clear that the bad guys are being framed by a criminal mastermind. With the gung-ho police commissioner Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein) on their trail and determined to lock them up Wolf and the gang set out to expose the identity of the so-called Phantom Bandit and clear their names. The heists prove to be the work of a mob known as the Bad Girls, led by Kitty Kat (voiced by Danielle Brooks, from Orange Is The New Black, etc). The Bad Girls have their sights set on hijacking the experimental Moon-X rocket and committing an epic act of grand larceny on a global scale using a giant magnet to grab up all the world’s gold.
With this clever film, returning writer Etan Cohen expands on the original concept to develop the characters and their relationships, with the original vocal cast returning to breathe further life into the characters. They relish the banter between the characters. Returning to the director’s chair is French animator and filmmaker Pierre Perifel, and he ups the ante here with some colourful, richly detailed animation and lots of slapstick humour and fast paced shenanigans that will amuse younger audiences.
Perifel imbues the material with a sense of mischief and some sly humour and plenty of energy. He maintains a fast pace throughout. Most of the jokes land successfully. There are a couple of standout sequences, including the opening gravity defining Fast & Furious-like car chase through the streets of Cairo and a climax set in outer space. The action is accompanied by a bouncy jazz influenced score from Daniel Pemberton.
Bad Guys 2 is a solid sequel that is an improvement on the original film and will appeal to family audiences. Blabey’s books have sold over 35 million copies. There are 20 books in the Bad Guys series so it would not be a surprise to see another adaptation hit the screens in the new future. The Bad Guys 2 certainly sets up expectations for yet another sequel, which is apparently already in the works.
★★★☆
