SPOILER-FREE PLOT SUMMARY
After turning to a life of good in the first movie, Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) are trying to find honest work. Thanks to their troubled past, landing a job at a bank, a fast food joint or a restaurant has proven hard to come by. Meanwhile, the gang is getting desperate and tries to help the Police Commissioner (Alex Borstein) solve a crime spree that’s clearly trying to frame them. When they attend a wrestling event, Kitty (Danielle Brooks), Pigtail (Maria Bakalova) and Susan (Natasha Lyonne) kidnap the gang and give them a choice: help them steal the MoonX rocket or have the true identity of Governor Diane Foxington released to the world. The group reluctantly agrees to turn bad again but tries to outsmart Kitty and her gang, leading them back to Commissioner Luggins.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
At 104 minutes, it’s a touch long for kids (it’s target demographic) and might be a little convoluted plot-wise for them as well. That said, there’s nothing “wrong” with THE BAD GUYS 2. It’s a fun, action-packed and enjoyable watch for people of all ages. Once it hits streaming, this will be an easy, go-to replay for kids that won’t annoy parents (which is always welcome).
But there’s nothing special here either. No new ground is broken, no plot twist blows you away, no “I can’t believe they did that!” moment happens and no advancements in animation are made. This could’ve been a streaming title and you wouldn’t know any different.
That said, it’s a fun time at the theater and that’s all you need it to be. Nobody’s asking for an installment of THE BAD GUYS series to leave an impression like INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE or INSIDE OUT did. We’re not dealing with deep issues here, just a cute, funny excuse to watch a movie.
The voice work is solid, the humor is there, the characters are fun and the storyline is fine. Nothing is stellar but nothing is poor either. In the end, that’s where THE BAD GUYS 2 lies: right down the middle. You’ll just wish it was shorter.
JKG SCORE: 5.5
Untitled Film Project 