THE BAD GUYS 2

The Bad Guys 2 features top notch animation, stellar set pieces and a once again terrific voice cast led by the always great Sam Rockwell, and while the story takes the characters and series to new heights, it fails to live up to the natural brilliance of its predecessor.

While audiences are no strangers to great heist films, with popular films like Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job, it was not until the first The Bad Guys film that the animated genre had its go to heist film. Released back in 2022, DreamWorks found itself with another hit film while adapting the children’s book series of the same name, creating a smart, exciting and above all else, incredibly fun heist film for audiences of all ages to enjoy. Given its success upon release, it was no surprise that a sequel was announced after two holiday Netflix specials, once again bringing the chaos and the fun of the Bad Guys to the big screen.

Sequels too often fall into the pitfall of doing exactly what the previous film did, and on that front you have to give The Bad Guys 2 credit for doing something new. The first film was entirely a heist film, in the vein of the Ocean Eleven series, all focused on the heist and developing the individual members of the team. This sequel, while still having heists at its core, levels up and takes the story into the out of this world action thriller of the Mission: Impossible series. From the opening car chase sequence that kicks the film off with a truly great set piece that is one of the standout moments of the film, the adrenaline rush created by that scene never subsides for the rest of the film. It continues with the great luchador scene at the end of the film’s first act, some fun heist sequences fueled by technology and misdirection with the added fun of the Bad Girls entering the picture, before entering the wild final act.

It reaches for the stars, both figuratively and literally, but in doing so, it falls into the trap of becoming too big for what the narrative has to offer. The final act itself is a little too ridiculous at times, asking for the audience to suspend a little too much belief given what they have seen over the two films, and by doing so it loses the grounded and character focus that made the first film such a gem within the DreamWorks Animation catalogue. Thematically, the screenplay knows what it wants to say but it gets lost with the grand nature of the story, not being as character focused but rather focused on elevating the series into something that it is not, especially by the final minutes as it teases the next evolution of the Bad Guys. While it is still an entertaining watch from start to finish, The Bad Guys 2 just does not have that same spark that made the first such a welcomed surprise.

Much like the first film, The Bad Guys 2’s biggest asset in bringing its story to life is the talented voice that creates these wonderful characters. Sam Rockwell continues to shine as Wolf, infusing the character with an undeniable cool that follows in the footsteps of legendary leading actors such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt. At the same time, the introspective reflection Rockwell creates within Wolf helps to develop the themes at the centre of the film’s story. Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson and Anthony Ramos are all commendable as the rest of the Bad Guys, building a true sense of fun and brotherhood among the film’s main characters, each using their own signature voices to create standout moments for each of their characters. Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Alex Borstein and Lily Sing all return and each have some wonderful moments, while Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne and Maria Bakalova are all stellar additions to the cast as the Bad Girls.

From a visual standpoint, The Bad Guys 2 deserves nothing but immense praise. Following in the animation stylings of its predecessor, the animation is gorgeous as it blends 2D and 3D stylings that gives a unique illustrated feel to the images on screen. From the use of colour in the luchador scene that both fuels the excitement of that scene and reflects the culture of that sport, the at times comic book use of motion and graphic art to amplify the excitement of the set pieces, the animation is bursting with energy. And it truly reaches its peak in the third act with the dazzling use of colour to bring to life that truly out of the world sequence, which is arguably the best animated sequence of the entire year to date in any film in terms of artistry on display from the entire animation team.

At the end of the day, The Bad Guys 2 does what it needs to do: it entertains. With great voice performances across the board and some outstanding sequences throughout the film, there is no question that audiences are going to have fun with this sequel. While more narratively ambitious as to the situations the screenplay places the Bad Guys in, and despite these situations leading to some great set pieces, the story itself misses that spark that made the first film such a memorable heist film, instead relegating this to a decent but not nearly as memorable action film. Brought to life on the big screen with stunning animation and a talented voice cast, families are going to have fun with the continued adventures in The Bad Guys 2 even if the film is not the smart heist film that made audiences first fall in love with these characters.