Film Review: THE BAD GUYS (2022): Animated Film Has Plenty of Action and the Great Sam Rockwell Voicing the Main Character

The Bad Guys Review

The Bad Guys (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Pierre Perifel, written by Aaron Blabey, Etan Cohen and Yoni Brenner and starring Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, Lilly Singh, Barbara Goodson, Dina Morrone, Michael Godere and Walt Dohrn.

Director Pierre Perifel’s new animated crime caper, The Bad Guys, is a bit too outrageous to be wholly successful but the casting of Sam Rockwell as the movie’s main character, Mr. Wolf, works tremendously to the film’s advantage. Rockwell’s voice as Mr. Wolf somehow makes this character come alive on screen with amazing personality and in a movie where there are at least four other main characters, it’s clear Mr. Wolf is the group leader. Marc Maron’s senior criminal, Mr. Snake, is the definite second fiddle to Rockwell’s wolf. The other central characters referred to in the film’s title are the hot headed Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), the unmissable Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and the wise-cracking Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina).

The Bad Guys has references to Pulp Fiction as well as Ocean’s Eleven but the movie is not intended for audiences of those much more adult-themed pictures. These jokes/throwbacks are just for the parents who bring their kids to the new movie and the film-makers have obviously done the math to figure out the average age of the parents who will be bringing their kids to The Bad Guys which is why those references exist.

Set in Los Angeles, the movie gets off to a fast paced start with a fun scene set in a diner and an exciting car chase sequence. This film’s main story line revolves around the attempts to rehabilitate the master criminals led by Mr. Wolf but the question becomes: How “good” are the good guys anyway? In fact, almost every character in this movie feels like he or she has a little bit of bad in them as well.

As Mr. Wolf and company steal a Golden Dolphin award from a renowned professor named Marmalade (voiced by Richard Ayoade), the philanthropist Marmalade sets out to reform our “bad guys” so they can live productive lives as law abiding citizens. When Mr. Wolf rescues a cat from a tree, he becomes more respectable but Mr. Snake believes that our cool wolf is losing himself in the process of becoming “good.” The friendship between Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake comes into question as the plot progresses and the two seem to be branching away from one another.

The governor, Diane Foxington (voice of the always fantastic Zazie Beetz), has also made Mr. Wolf reconsider his chosen career path as a criminal as well. Our main wolf character seems to be growing a conscience but, no matter, he is how he is seen in the public eye but the real surprise comes when our “bad guys” are framed for a crime they didn’t commit. Marmalade has also tried to win Mr. Snake over enough to join forces with him and steal from the city. Snake isn’t that easily influenced, however. Or is he?

The Bad Guys is a good project for DreamWorks animation to come back alive with a new potential franchise and there’s a nice share of fun characters in the movie making the film move at a quick pace. The supporting “bad guys” are all well-voiced. Robinson makes for a charismatic shark who is the master of disguise, Awkwafina, always a delight, is quite fun as the hacker tarantula and the farting piranha is defined well by Anthony Ramos who even sings in the picture.

Rockwell’s wolf character is the definite standout of the film. You can teach an old wolf new tricks apparently as he develops during the course of the movie with a definitive character arc that works well for the movie. He’s the most relatable character in the movie and Rockwell adds his signature charm and, as always, Rockwell is the definitive “Mr. Cool.” Maron, as our snake here, does add a lot of personality to his role and shines beside Rockwell.

There are minor problems here. This movie’s story line goes back and forth with constant surprise revelations and we never know who we can really trust. I suppose those plot twists are beneficial to keeping the audience guessing where the movie is ultimately headed but it becomes exhausting trying to figure out who is good and who is “bad.” You may want to keep a scorecard to keep track of who’s doing what and why. However, the action scenes are always fun to watch and there is some real unpredictability here that keeps us guessing which way the plot will turn next. It’s just that there is simply too much going on for the film’s own good.

Still, The Bad Guys is an enjoyable picture that makes the audience relate to rehabilitated criminals and the movie teaches us that it’s never too late to turn over a new leaf. It may seem cliched but Rockwell gives the movie the charisma it needs to overcome its familiar theme and the plot twists are always thrown at the audience in a fast and furious way that could keep children and adults alike immersed in the action.

Rating: 7/10

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