‘The Bad Guys 2’ Review: Good Girls Gone Bad and Energetic Set Pieces Up the Ante of Animated Heist Sequel [B+]
In the recent wave of animated films released post-COVID, it’s fascinating that The Bad Guys (2022) seemed to capture an audience that most other original animated films didn’t. The Dreamworks film was a solid hit for Universal, but it never broke the bank or truly gave any indication of further continuation. Even with these potential caveats though, The Bad Guys 2 is an absolute blast of a sequel. With even more energetic animated sequences and a further lean into the film’s roots of classic heist and crime capers, the animated sequel is even more of a dazzling surprise than its predecessor. Some may argue that the lack of anything truly new or an even more absurd storyline than the previous film weighs this sequel down, but the sequel’s slick and fun zany energy elevates it above most of its contemporaries.
After a flashback 5 years ago to when they were in their hey day, we cut to the present day where Bad Guys Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Snake (Marc Maron), Shark (Craig Robinson), Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Tarantula (Awkwafina) are newly reformed and trying their very best to now be good guys. Unfortunately for them, society isn’t so open to giving jobs or opportunities to former notorious criminals, something that isn’t too dissimilar to real life. However, when the bad guys are framed for stealing a wrestling tournament belt containing a valuable substance known as magufinite, they guys must go on yet another globetrotting heist where the stakes are higher than ever and come to learn it’s all been planned by the new trio of criminals, Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), Pigtail (Maria Bakalova), and Doom (Natasha Lyonne), known as The Bad Girls.
The world of heist and spy films such as Steven Soderbergh’s Oceans trilogy and the now eight Mission: Impossible films, it’s important to have a slick atmosphere to ease viewers into the environment and action and I love how much The Bad Guys 2 wears the influence of this on its sleeves even while keeping a younger audience in mind. Director Pierre Perifel is able to pay homage to the classically enduring tropes of heist films while also maintaining the wacky, slick, and stylistic charm that made the first film stand out so well despite its more cliche elements. Even when comparing the broader beats of each film equally, this sequel outshines the original with its more playful and less sappy energy. The movie’s entirety is set up on the execution of each set piece, giving it an even larger playing field to stretch out its creative horizons.
Even within the film’s more tropey borders, it still has a great amount of creative sequences like an entire climax that takes place in space. Even though this world clearly takes place in a much more heightened reality, sometimes the film admittedly reaches amounts of silliness that only the youngest of audience members can enjoy. Still, these characters are surprisingly enduring to watch, and it’s nice to see the growth they had from the previous film come into play, specifically with Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz) and Commissioner Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein).
Of course, as with its predecessor, the level of animation here is absolutely staggering to witness, to the point where it’s not very far at all from the same prowess that the Spider-Verse films reside in. The main element of mixing 2D and 3D elements of animated filmmaking is still present, but I was most surprised by how fresh Perifel and his team still make this style despite it becoming somewhat of a trend in recent years. The storyboarding and camera movement through action and fight scenes are always in step with the often manic motion of characters, giving the film an infectious energy that’s never tiring. Whether it’s a car chase through Cairo, Egypt, or The Bad Guys scaling a rocketship traveling at hyper speeds, there’s never a dull moment visually, and it often even uses full 2D, giving the film a unique visual flair, and many moments wouldn’t work nearly as well without it.
The Bad Guys 2 isn’t genre-defying with its story, but it knows that and it plays within those confines so creatively. With a witty script bolstered by a great voice cast, cleverly crafted heist sequences, and even more top-notch animation, The Bad Guys 2 doesn’t just meet the quality of its predecessor, it zooms straight past it.
Grade: B+
Universal Pictures and Dreamworks will release The Bad Guys 2 only in theaters on August 1.
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