The Bad Guys 2

 Here come The Bad Guys, again.

That’s right, Aaron Blabey’s literary animal crew is back for another kid-friendly crime caper. Let’s see what they have to offer in The Bad Guys 2.

The film opens with Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) on her first mission with The Bad Guys - Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos). You’d think that she’d be the main character with that spotlight. But, no, it’s just a way to introduce the crew, as well as some guy who shows up for another scene. Okay.

After that, we see the now Good Guys trying and failing to get legitimate jobs. A Phantom Bandit starts up a crime spree, and everyone thinks that maybe the former Bad Guys did it. They decide to help now-Commissioner Luggins (Alex Borstein) find the real crook. They suspect, with good reason, that it’s Mr. Snake, but soon find him with his new girlfriend, Susan (Natasha Lyonne). Alas, Susan is a mean bird who nabs the crew for her cohorts, Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks) and Pigtail Petrova (Maria Bakalova).

Kitty Kat and her Bad Girls want The Bad Guys to help them steal the Moon-X Rocket. Otherwise, they’ll leak Gov. Diane Foxington’s (Zazie Beetz) former secret identity as the nefarious Crimson Paw. Mr. Wolf, who’s semi-dating Diane, can’t let that happen, so the crew’s in. The Bad Guys try to outwit The Bad Girls, but they’ll have to settle their differences in space. That’s pretty much it.

The screenplay, by returning writer Etan Krueger and his new accomplice, Yoni Brenner, offers up some clever twists in a seemingly formulaic kid's movie. Some of them involve the cons within cons The Bad Guys pull on their targets, whether they be Mr. Moon (Colin Jost) or The Bad Girls. I was admittedly taken in by Mr. Snake being a red herring, so that's a good twist. It kind of strains when Mr. Wolf breezes through the commonality of the "Phantom Bandit's" loot. It's not that the commonality is called - get this - MacGuffinite, but how he suddenly realizes it. Maybe I'm overthinking it too much. 

The Bad Guys are still the same likable crew from the last movie. It’s fun watching them pull of a few capers during the film’s 104-minutes. It’s also fun watching Diane pull a few capers of her own to investigate the Phantom Bandit. It’s even more fun watching her and Wolf’s relationship play out. But it can’t all be fun and games. You'll feel bad for them as they come up short during a montage of unsuccessful job interviews. You'll feel especially bad for them, and Diane, when they all reach their darkest hour. It makes it all the more satisfying to see them one-up the Bad Girls. One final dark swerve is actually part of the film's best joke.

What can I say about the antagonists? Kitty Kat's smooth voice, ferocious temper, and lack of "thieves' honor" makes her a suitably menacing villain. She gets out of her depth a few times, though the film doesn't dwell too much on the inherent flaw of her masterplan. As for her cohorts, Petrova is considerably nicer than Kitty, while Susan (aka Doom) takes quite a bit longer to show her good side. Overall, the Bad Girls are all right, while returning villain Rupert Marmalade (Richard Ayoade) has a few surprises. Commissioner Luggins, while not truly evil, is very much an antagonist. But, in due time, we see how much a big lug she can be.

What else do we have here? The first film's 2D-style CGI aesthetics are alive and well in this installment. Heck, some of the best gags involve sudden art shifts to plain-old 2D. The action scenes, from the opening car heist to the later wedding heist, are as entertaining as the accompanying Daniel Pemberton score. When the climax hits, we are treated to perhaps the best visualization of outer space in an animated film. It had me thinking of Gravity as a fully animated film, which is a pretty exciting prospect. Still, I don't imagine that film would involve flatulence, which Mr. Piranha supplies plenty of here, but these jokes didn't bother me too much. It's surprisingly as relevant as Mr. Shark's jumpiness.

After nearly a year's wait, The Bad Guys 2 is out to steal your time. Let it, and you might be impressed by its clever twists. Let it, and your kids will surely be amused by its cartoon antics. Let it, and you'll distract yourself from the heat with a fun family action matinee. It's a harmless film, so I say go right in. Is that it for now?

No, for as you see, this film and the next one I'm reviewing were short enough that I doubled-up on them a few days ago. The second feature of my second ever theatrical double feature is coming soon. It might even come just seconds after I post this one. Wait for it, and ...