The Bad Guys is the new action-comedy from DreamWorks Animation, based on the kids/teen New York Times best-selling book series, with a criminal crew of animal outlaws that are about to attempt their most challenging con yet—becoming model citizens.
The Bad Guys is in many ways a classic heist movie, with an unlikely gang of friends —dashing pickpocket Mr. Wolf (Academy Award® winner Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), seen-it-all safecracker Mr. Snake (Marc Maron, GLOW), chill master-of-disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson, Hot Tub Time Machine franchise), short-fused “muscle” Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) and sharp-tongued expert hacker Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians), aka “Webs.”
But when, after years of countless heists and being the world’s most-wanted villains, the gang is finally caught, Mr. Wolf brokers a deal (that he has no intention of keeping) to save them all from prison: The Bad Guys will go good.
They manage to talk their way out of jail by recruiting mentor Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade, Paddington 2), an arrogant (but adorable!) guinea pig. The Bad Guys set out to fool the world that they’ve been transformed. Along the way, though, Mr. Wolf begins to suspect that doing good for real may actually feel good, and he may be turning into a better person despite his best efforts. So when a new villain threatens the city, can Mr. Wolf persuade the rest of the gang to become … The Good Guys?
The film co-stars Zazie Beetz (Joker), Lilly Singh (Bad Moms) and Emmy winner Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel).
I think this movie is great if you have someone who is a fan of the books, or who is a pre-teen/tweenager. Could it be improved? Oh yes – it needs a musical number or two. I personally didn’t really connect with any of the characters, but maybe I was just ‘in a mood’ at the time.
If you are a parent who is cautious about what your child watches, you may want to check this one out first before you let an impressionable child with a short attention span watch this film. I think I am just concerned about the initial glorification of crime, and that the police are represented as the enemy for most of the first half of the movie. It gets better, but if your kid tunes out halfway through, I am worried about the message they will walk away with.
If your kids have read and enjoyed the books, then I am sure they will love this one.
Bad Guys is released in cinemas March 31.
