The Bad Guys

Initially I sat down to watch the 2022 animated movie "The Bad Guys" with very little expectation. Why? Well, because I wasn't sure what I was getting into here, aside from it being an animated movie that my son wanted to watch. But with it being an animated movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to watch it with my son.

I will say that writers Etan Cohen, Yoni Brenner and Hilary Winston actually put together a good storyline. Now, I am not familiar with the books that the movie is based on, so how true it is to the source material, I cannot tell you. But I found the storyline in "The Bad Guys" to actually be well-written and enjoyable, as well as being entertaining.

The character gallery is what worked so well for me here. I really took a liking to the characters in the story right away, and they are as colorful as they are memorable. Not only did they manage to paint a gallery of interesting characters, but they definitely also had a great voice acting cast ensemble to bring the characters to life.

The animation and art style used in director Pierre Perifel's 2022 animated movie "The Bad Guys" was good. I liked the drawing and art style quite a lot, as it was very dynamic, and had a slight comic book feel to it.

The voice cast in "The Bad Guys" was nicely cast with some great voice actors on the cast list, with the likes of Awkwafina, Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos and more.

If you enjoy animted movies, then you certainly should sit down to watch "The Bad Guys". I was genuinely entertained by this animated movie, and it one that I will warmly recommend.

My rating of "The Bad Guys" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

Low expectations were what I had when the trailer first appeared on my phone screen. I wasn't even interested to watch it 'till the end. I would roll my eyes on the animation style, it's not eye-catching nor it is impressive.

But damnnnnnnn! I wasn't expecting it to be good. It's a feature animated film filled with genuine laughter, comical characters and an above the par plot.

The caper team consists of Wolf, Tarantula, Piranha, Snake and Shark, all of which play a different archetype from one another. This team of 5 is evil and yet, you might find that their personalities are very likable, charming and even approachable. This is the heart of the film, the element that keeps the audience entertained aside from its narrative.

Ocean's 8 meets Zootopia, this is what The Bad Guys is. You may find the first heist somewhat similar to the all-women Ocean's. There's the restrooms, kitchen tray trolleys, red-carpet staircases, hackings (pretty much every heist film), red laser traps, all of which resemble strongly with the mega heist of the Met Gala in the said film. I found TBG better than Zootopia, which I PERSONALLY found it to be overrated. However, those who love Zootopia will also enjoy TBG as it implies similitude to it.

Running for over 100 minutes, The Bad Guys never stops with its steady pacing, putting audience in an enjoyable ride from start until the end.

Lo and behold, you wouldn't expect how many twists they are in this. It's a plot twist on top of another plot twist. Just when you thought, there you go, they have revealed all the twists, the film comes in with another unexpected twist , showing that you have also been deceived by The Bad Guys. When you look back at it, it's amazing that all the twists don't come as a force, but rather it oozes naturally, making it a perfect fit to the whole story.

The animation style is better than what I had visualized in my mind. Looking at the trailer, I thought it was mehh, but the pencil-like motion drawings got better as time went on. It took a bit of time to adjust but eventually, I liked it.

On the other side of the cell, I believe that TBG should offer a larger team than mere 5 animals. It would have been so much fun, exciting and the stakes would be even higher!

All the animal outlaws are excellent however, I must say, I'm a little disappointed with their back stories, because there is almost none to begin with. They did introduce each member in the beginning, but I wanted to know where all of them came from, how they can coexist and walk the earth with humans, and how the group was formed in the first place. I know, I'm aware this is an animated film but what a solid story they could have to an already excellent plot.

Rounding up, The Bad Guys is definitely in my top 5 films of 2022 as we almost end the quarter of the year. Let's see what the future has in store for animated films!

Verdict: If there is one thing The Bad Guys taught us, it's to never judge a film by its trailer.

Of course the animation is a massive highlight, and I also enjoyed the story, characters, and some of the plot twists. It's a tad predictable and not incredibly funny but hey! I had a really good time.

So, it looks to me that the Bad Guys was influenced by the anime Lupin the third. Makes perfect sense, so many animated movies and series are. Sam Rockwell's Big Bad Wolf is a total play on this. Although I did notice that Disney's Seeing Red has a similar look so it looks like anime is getting even more intergraded in everything. I'm good with it!

The actual story is by the numbers. These animated features love the idea of teaching children to think outside the box and rising above what the world thinks you are, in a movie that's story arch could not have been more obvious if they tried, but that animation was so good that I'm too focus on it to care.

It's a good ensemble cast of characters. The Wolf, the Shark, the Tarantula (Played by Awkafina, a fav in this movie, just really cute), the Parana, and the Snake. It was a good crew and it's kind of great how the character and the voices all gel together.

But really, I can't stop talking about the animation. Its realty worth it to watch things unfold. Lots of good kinetic energy, the moving pictures never slow down and consistently lively throughout. Flawless.

Thumbs up.

LIKES:

The Pace: Kid's movies are always entertaining and this movie has all the engaging pieces I like at the speed that is entertaining. Kids will surely love the hasty pace of the film, dazzling you with all the quick paced adventure and comedy that comes with it. Yet, the pace is not breakneck, capable of still giving plenty of time to storytelling and allowing the older audience members to enjoy the movie as well. It really is a fine-balanced movie on this part and wins points for me.

The Voice Acting: These actors give me chills at what they can pull out of their vocal patterns, and The Bad Guys crew is loaded with wonderful performances that fit the bill quite well. Sam Rockwell nails the lead role well, and I feel he did a great job playing the conflicted "hero" who has a lot of soul searching to find. Marc Maron as Snake is stellar, another loaded gun that has his own turmoil to face, but yet holds the sass and vigor of someone who is ingrained in his ways. The two feel very much like the best friends they portray, and I love the ribbing and vigor they have. As for Awkwafina, a bit more of the prop character, the actress normally loaded with comedy craziness, was actually toned down and respectable, still not too out of her comfort zone, but a much more well-rounded performance. Others hit their marks quite well, and if I had more room, I would go into everyone, but the chemistry between them all is fantastic and really a solid pillar to which this group works.

The Character Balance: You've got at least five characters to work into a crime/comedy, and that's not counting a few other characters that have their own involvement in the film. And like a good book, this film does it super well with the characters that they promoted. Each of the animals may not have all the equal time, but they stand out in unique ways, bring their gifts to the table, and provide a meaningful contribution to the film. You, and the younger audiences, will find a character that they absolutely enjoy, and you will get your fill of them in almost every way. The use of each group is fantastic for me, and I appreciate how just about every character had that purpose and meaning to their inclusion.

The Comedy: While a bit juvenile at times, the movie's humor is very fun and appropriate for the family. A witty phrase by a guinea pig, the fickle nature of human trends, even just a perfect phrasing that is comedic gold. The Bad Guys uses it all well and mixes things up to stay fresh, exciting, and filled with variety, all while baking it in naturally and not trying to force it in your face. That's right, you don't have to worry about a catchphrase being repeated like crazy, well mostly, and for that, DreamWorks wins the victory for me on the comedy, even if it is not the most mature, clever, or downright unique.

' The Plot: Much like a good book, The Bad Guys wins points again for a book adaptation that felt fleshed out, complete, and again fun. The Bad Guys starts off in the simple aspect you expect it to, high adrenaline comedy crime, and boasting about it afterwards. Soon, the plot starts to dig into deeper into other elements, trying to give more insight into the morals and characters and trying to twist the plot into new directions. And yet... they never drop the foundation of the movie, keeping those involvements and making the story wrap together nicely and feel organic. It's engaging, it's fun, and again it works on multiple levels, with a great performance to again amplify the tale to a quality I like.

It's Adventure: What do I like highly about this film? It's that it's an adventure film that finally goes back into escaping from the reality of the world, but still teaches a moral lesson. Like the animated films I grew up with, The Bad Guys finally takes me on the adventure and story I like, instead of getting stuck in check boxes and personal issues to make a realistic story. By finally taking a detour back into the world of fun and adventure, the excitement and entertainment stand strong and I had fun watching an animated film. Sure, it's no Oscar tear jerker, but given the style and escape from all the political stuff that's in your face, it excels amazingly in this aspect.

The Animation: I know, it does not look real, it does not look fully fleshed out, and you probably have other CGI focused movies that do things better. However, the Bad guys has a nice unique modality that stands out from the usual manners of making animation come to life. The kids book style is really popping, and the way they make the group come to life is sensational for this reviewer. The theft scenes are just an opening, and the movie does a great job pushing the limits of this style and really giving you a comic book meets story mode and I loved almost every second of it. In fact, this might be one of the best action scenes I have seen in a long time, proving again with imagination, some guts, and some balance, you can get excitement back in these movies. Nice work on the style and pizazz with your animation my friends, for it succeeded big time for this reviewer.

DISLIKES:

Predictable: I did not even know the movie series was based on books, but I have not read them and was still able to decipher all the twists within the first twenty-five minutes. Sadly, the book is not geared for major surprises, it could have used them to spice things up. At the least, they could have avoided the obvious set up that they did, instead of just giving everything away.

More Action: With all the things this movie did, I had hoped to see a little more of that factor I really loved. The Bad Guys could have used a few more crime attempts, maybe some plans, or adding a little more of the Ocean's 13 element they were going for. Even some of the less violent oriented moments could have used some more time, but this is relatively minor to the other two elements I wanted in this movie.

More Time with Some of The Characters: As I said, the cast of characters have their inclusion, but there seemed to be more they could have done with them in the final project. Perhaps this problem is addressed in the books, but several of the other characters needed time to get their own edge and quirks out, other than just being comedic ploys. Shark in particular was funny and has some moments, but there was a lot more potential to work with to make him more than just the comedic punching bag he is. Piranha and Tarantula have a little more ironing out, but again, there is more there, which might be addressed in future installments.

Too Much Revealed in The Trailers: Modern day advertising is both impressive and destructive at the same time. The Bad Guys is one of those moments that gives a lot of the plot away second to the copious number of things they give in the trailer. Though it does not dilute the fun, it did cost me several laughs at the jokes they wanted to hold and in all honesty the surprises they wanted to share. This is probably the biggest thing to take away from the movie for me, but if you avoid the trailers then you are good.

The VERDICT:

In this case, being Bad is so Good and I really had a wonderful time with this movie and the endeavors they built for us. With great cast, music and voice acting the movie already had the elements to be a decent film, however making a story with good animation really sent this movie to new heights for me. It's got pizazz, it breaks from the realistic movie moments that are the hot trend, and it does it so in a natural style that again was just fun. It's totally worth the trip to the theater to see, or at least to enjoy when it arrives on streaming in a few weeks. Sure, the movie is predictable, lots of things ruining from the trailers and still has some smoothing out to do. Overall, though, I definitely give this movie a big thumbs up and approve the film for so many.

My scores are: Animation/Adventure/Comedy: 8.5 Movie Overall 7.5.