This Friday, moviegoers have the chance to reconnect with the loveable rogues of DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys 2. Directed once again by Pierre Perifel, joined by his Bilby collaborator JP Sans (head of character animation on the first Bad Guys movie) as co-director, the fast and furry family comedy opens August 1 through Universal Pictures.
The sequel sees the reformed criminal crew (voiced by Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos and Awkwafina) dragged into a heist scheme by a new gang known as The Bad Girls (Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, Natasha Lyonne). The voice cast also boasts Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Alex Borstein and Lilly Singh.
Critics have mostly good things to say about The Bad Guys 2, which is ranking at a rosy 86% on Rotten Tomatoes (from 56 reviews) and favorable 64 points on Metacritic (20 reviews). The film has won praise for its sense of fun, with raised action-movie-style stakes paired with the playful, mischievous humor of the first movie.
Here’s what some of the reviewers are saying…
“As a children’s comedy, The Bad Guys 2 is more affectionate than ha-ha funny. But it ties into a trend in animation that I feel is just beginning to take off … [I]n just one sequel, the title characters of The Bad Guys 2 have gone from being kiddified ruffians to a team of saviors protecting the planet. The climactic sequence has James Bond/comic-book DNA, as our heroes swirl around in space and Kitty Kat’s ultra-magnet attracts all the gold objects from earth below. It’s a visually super-cool gambit, and it sets the Bad Guys franchise onto a grand new plane of spectacle.”
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“Here’s one of the few animated kids’ sequels you can approach without strapping into a hazmat suit for protection. DreamWorks’s franchise hits its stride with this minor upgrade — a snappier, funnier and more relaxed movie than the original … There’s more wit and energy this time around, and a genuinely sweet message about friendship. Even the fart joke (every kids’ movie must have at least one) was a cut above and had the adults giggling.”
— Cath Clarke, The Guardian (U.K.)
“The team at DreamWorks Animation utilizes a pop-up book style, where 3D imagery jumps into the foreground, and background illustrations look meticulously hand-drawn, shaded by pencil. The Bad Guys 2 then takes audiences on a digital sightseeing tour, from the streets of Cairo to a space station amongst the stars. Colors explode as celebratory confetti bombs blow out penthouse windows, or magnets in outer space pull swirls of gold-plated objects through the atmosphere in hypnotic patterns. The filmmakers demonstrate an exquisite command over their action-heavy animated film, which moves with rapid pace from chaotic luchador matches to daring launchpad catwalk brawls. It’s polished, captivating, and makes remarkable use of the medium.”
— Matt Donato, AV Club
“The Bad Guys 2 has just enough wit and spirit that you can take your kids to see it without feeling like you’re doing a disservice to their intellectual development. It even, in fact, looks better than its predecessor, since directors Pierre Perifel and JP Sans’s animation team have pushed the physicality of their zoological crew of thieves-turned-heroes […] in a way that wisely and happily borrows from the jerky but imaginative realm of anime.”
— Clarisse Loughery, The Independent (U.K.)
“The problem with The Bad Guys 2 isn’t the cast. They’re all wonderful. The problem certainly isn’t the animation. It’s one of the prettiest films to come out of Dreamworks Animation, and that’s no small compliment. The problem is, we don’t just love these characters, we love them so much we take them seriously … So when they wind up in outer space doing just… just the weirdest dang thing, it’s hard to care. … [I]n a disappointing miscalculation, The Bad Guys 2 swings way too hard for its epic finale, making all its three-dimensional visual wonders feel one-dimensional. It’s nothing more than razzle-dazzle.”
— William Bibbiani, The Wrap
“[…W]hat’s being parodied this time is less Oceans Eleven, the object of fun in the first Bad Guys film, and more James Bond (specifically Moonraker) — the sort of bigger-must-be-better escalation that’s long afflicted live-action sequels. Thankfully, the overkill is offset somewhat by excellent character work by the vocal cast, and the same cleverness and visual flair that charmed kids and their parents in the first film.”
— Bob Mondello, NPR
