A Review of The
Bad Guys 2 by Nick Olszyk
Distribution Service: Theatrical
MPAA Rating, PG
OSV Rating, Not Rated
at the Time of this Review
Reel Rating, Three Reels
Disclaimer: This review contains (ridiculously silly)
spoilers
It took the
Fast and Furious franchise nine movies to eventually get their team of
car chasing investigators into outer space; it took The Bad Guys just
two. The film starts as a slow burn but reaches a crazy fever pitch that makes
up for the lackluster first half. Yet once you literally leave Earth, where do
you go from there?
As the
story begins, our five reformed heroes experience the difficulties that many
former convicts have readjusting to civilian life. Despite constant effort,
none of them seem able to land a job. They live together in an abandoned bank,
surviving off cold canned ravioli and an 80s tv set. Worst still is the
crippling boredom that constantly tempts them back into their old ways. At
least they have their dignity. Suddenly, they are pressed back into service,
first by the police who need help finding a thief named the Phantom Bandit,
then by the Phantom Bandit herself who blackmails them into assisting her.
The Phantom
Bandit is really a team of three female villains led by Kitty Kat (Danielle
Brooks) who has been stealing ancient artifacts containing the rare metal
MacGuffinate. At least they didn’t call it unobtanium.
This metal has the unique property of attracting gold like a magnet. Kat
employs the Bad Guys to infiltrate a billionaire’s rocket, bring the metal into
space, and use it to suck all the world’s gold into her waiting arms. It’s the
perfect “stupid villain” plan for a silly movie. Not only does it make no sense
physically but economically as well. If you own all the gold in the world and
have no intention of selling it, the product becomes worthless because nothing
sets the price.
There’s a
classic dilemma involved in films like this. The so-called “Bad Guys” are
portrayed in a positive light: cool, heroic, and smart. As parents, it’s
natural to be weary of seeing bank robbers as subjects of emulation for our
children. However, the first film showed
that immoral actions like theft and deception have bad consequences. Yet, the reformed
life appears dull and uninspired. This changes once the Bad Guys learn to
employ their skills in undoing other schemes, much like a ex-hacker who then
uses his knowledge to protect online privacy. God can take our murky past and
use it for future good. Another facet is the clearly ridiculous nature of the
story and characters. It is so unrealistic that even children can understand
this is metaphor, designed to teach light lessons in a fun manner rather than a
serious discussion of ethics.
Once this
is understood, the film becomes incredibly enjoyable. The animation is bright
and dynamic, taking framing cues from comic books to help the action. The
characters are lovable and good-hearted. I was especially fond of the romance
between Mr. Wolf and Diane Foxington, which was uncommonly charming. Lastly,
the visuals in the final act, deep in outer space, were quite impressive,
giving Interstellar and Gravity a run for their money.
There’s
still several months left, but this has been a great year for animation. The
King of Kings set the bar high, but with The Bad Guys 2, and
more to come I cannot reveal yet, the American movie goer has been treated to
some top-notch cartoon entertainment. This comes after a several-year slump
where films tried to be edgy or culturally hip, only to suffer in both quality
and the box office. It’s good to see, like the Bad Guys themselves, a return to
simple goodness that always prevails.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on August 16th, 2025.
Comments
Post a Comment