Film Review: The Bad Guys

There are bad guys, and then there are The Bad Guys.

The new animated film by Director Pierre Perifel takes us on a crazy joyride of the latter type, starring the five original Bad Guys from Aaron Blabey’s popular cartoon book series.

The ringleader is Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), who will try anything because he is “so good” at being bad. It’s a bank heist we see first. 

Then there’s Wolf’s good buddy Snake (voice of Marc Maron), willing to go along with just about anything Wolf suggests.

Awkwafina the Tarantula is the break-in artist of the group. Anthony Ramos the Piranha does, well, whatever he’s asked.

Then there’s Craig Robinson the Shark, an art fan who once stole the “Mona Lisa” while pretending to BE Mona Lisa. Now that takes guts.

At one point, Wolf starts to rob a little old lady, but she’s about to fall downstairs and he saves her. When she calls him a “good boy,” he’s surprised but can’t control his wagging tail.

When the gang finds out that the local humans are planning a big party to bestow a “golden dolphin” award (a statue) on the person who has done the most good this year, Wolf and the gang begin to plan how they can steal that statue. First they have to figure out how to blend into what will be a swell-looking crowd.

The party is being planned by the lady Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz), who turns out to be a reformed “bad guy” herself, formerly called The Crimson Paw.

You can imagine how this goes. I’m here to tell you it’s fun to watch, but of course, as good as they are at being bad, they do get caught and hauled off to jail. They *really* don’t want to sit in jail, and are offered an option: to start being good.

Oh, get serious. How likely is that? But to avoid a jail cell, wouldn’t you be willing to give it a try?

Can bad guys ever turn good? How about this particular group of bad guys?

See the film to find out what happens. Trust me, you’ll be giggling all the way through this crazy film. It opens on April 22.