When the lights came up after The Bad Guys 2, I looked over at my 7-year-old daughter and we were both smiling without regret. There was no eye-roll strain, no existential questioning of “Why did they make this?” It’s fast, it’s funny, and, miracle of miracles, it doesn’t treat parents like mere walking wallets there to fund overpriced concessions. Director Pierre Perifel returns for this second helping of bad guy antics and JP Sans joins in the fun to co-direct. Sans served as head of character animation in the first movie. It seems neither Perifel nor Sans showed up just to cash a check. They kind of out perform the previous effort. The animation’s slicker, and the action hits harder. Mr. Wolf, played by Sam Rockwell, is still doing the smooth criminal thing better than anyone. He is leading the crew on going straight. But wouldn’t you know it, the new do-gooder lifestyle goes up in flames when they are framed for some bigtime heists.
Our other reformed baddies are Mr. Snake, Ms. Tarantula, Mr. Shark, and Mr. Piranha and are on the run with Mr. Wolf. They’re trying to clear their names and possibly pull off one last job. Let’s face it: you can take the bad guy out of the heist, but you can’t take the heist out of the bad guy. The plot isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s a kids movie and that’s not what anyone is there for. Instead, sharp jokes, quick chases, and plenty of hilarious characters fit the bill.
Sam Rockwell is still smooth, Craig Robinson’s Mr. Shark gets some few laugh-out-loud moments, and Awkwafina’s Tarantula is plain fun. Marc Maron’s Mr. Snake adds a new twist with plenty of double takes that’ll have the adults and kiddos laughing. I could do without the fart jokes permeated by Anthony Ramos’ Mr. Piranha, but farts are funny … so I chuckled and my 7-year-old nearly spewed root beer from her nose. Even more impressive? The movie sneaks some decent life lessons without dragging the pace down or getting too preachy. It never forgets it’s a kids’ movie, and never assumes kids are dumb. And that, my fellow over-caffeinated parental units, is worth its runtime in goldfish crackers.
Is it perfect? No. Some of the jokes just don’t land, there’s two competing love stories and one ends up seeming like an afterthought. But honestly, those are forgivable sins made forgivable by decent action sequences. In a year where studios keep rehashing fan favorites to wring a few more pennies from their aging IPs (looking at you, slicker-wearing ghost fisherman), The Bad Guys 2 is a sequel that stands out. It’s entertaining, somewhat clever, and actually made me feel good about taking my kid to the movies and splurging on the popcorn, candy, and drink combo. Solid 7 of 10.
