In this sequel to the moderately popular 2022 original, The Bad Guys 2 follows the crew of animated animal villains (former villains, actually) down their new path of being Good Guys, which leaves most of them broke and struggling to find purpose and acceptance in the world. No one will hire them because they used to be criminals, and the temptation is strong to turn back to their old ways; even the local police chief (voiced by Alex Borstein) is keeping one eye on them as they help her solve cases from time to time.
Just a quick reminder, the leader of the pack is Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), who is working hard to repair his reputation along with his cohorts Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), a stellar voice cast through and through. Directed by Pierre Perifel and co-director JP Sans, and based on the books by Aaron Blabey, The Bad Guys 2 really kicks off when Snake falls in love with a raven named Susan (Natasha Lyonne, absolutely killing it on the animation scene right now between this film and her role in the new Smurfs movie). Susan seems good for him until it’s revealed that she’s part of an all-female squad of criminals (The Bad Girls?) that includes a wild boar named Pigtail (Maria Bakalova) and snow leopard leader Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), who force Wolf and his team out of bad-guy retirement for one last job.
The film also finds room for Wolf’s potential love interest, Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz), the current mayor who formerly operated as fellow bad guy the Crimson Paw. The Bad Girls threaten to reveal Diane’s former criminal identity as a means of blackmailing the Bad Guys. Wedged into the story is the last film’s actual villain, Prof. Rupert Marmalade IV (Richard Ayoade), who is in jail but is sprung out when public opinion turns on the Bad Guys becoming Good Guys becoming Bad Guys again (don’t ask).
The plot details are really beside the point, since anything that works or doesn’t work in The Good Guys 2 does so because of the voice talent. Nearly all of the performers find ways of allowing their true personality to shine through these characters and really bring them to life in the way a lot of family-friendly animation struggles with. But when you throw folks like Rockwell, Awkwafina, Maron, Beetz, Lyonne, and Brooks into a recording booth, something wildly entertaining seems guaranteed.
I’m not necessarily saying that hearing the voices of these fantastic actors is a reason to shell out your hard-earned money on a film with a subpar story and decidedly average animation, but the action sequences are energetic, and the jokes are more funny than corny, so it seems feasible that both adult and kids will enjoy themselves watching The Bad Guys 2, even if you likely won’t remember the details of it an hour after you see it.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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