Film Review: "The Bad Guys" (2022).

"Good is No Fun at All" in The Bad Guys. This computer-animated heist comedy film directed by Pierre Perifel (in his feature directorial debut), adapted by Etan Cohen, loosely based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey, and produced by DreamWorks Animation Studios. Never have there been five friends as infamous as The Bad Guys—dashing pickpocket Mr. Wolf, seen-it-all safecracker Mr. Snake, chill master-of-disguise Mr. Shark, short-fused "muscle" Mr. Piranha and sharp-tongued expert hacker Ms. Tarantula, 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. Under the tutelage of their mentor Professor Marmalade, 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 give him what he’s always secretly longed for: acceptance. So when a new villain threatens the city, can Mr. Wolf persuade the rest of the gang to become … The Good Guys?

In late July 2017, it was reported that several studios had expressed interest in adapting Blabey's book series The Bad Guys into a feature film. In March 2018, DreamWorks Animation announced the development of a film based on the book series. In October 2019, it was reported that Perifel was hired to direct with Cohen and Hilary Winston set to pen the adaptation. The film was described as having "a similar twist on the heist genre that Shrek did on fairy tales, and what Kung Fu Panda did for the kung fu genre". In late July 2021, Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, Lilly Singh, and Barbara Goodson were cast. The filmmakers cited films such as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), The Fifth Element (1997), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Heat (1995), Ocean's Eleven (2001), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Ernest & Celestine (2012); anime and manga series such as Beastars, Sherlock Hound, Lupin III, and Meitantei Holmes; as well as artists such as Hergé, Akira Toriyama, Albert Uderzo, André Franquin and Jean 'Moebius' Giraud as inspirations. In early October 2019, it was reported that the film would have a September 17, 2021 release date. However, in December 2020, the film was delayed, though it was confirmed that it would get a new date "within the coming weeks" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, the release date was scheduled to April 15, 2022. In October 2021, it was pushed back again by one week to April 22.

Thanks to the performances, the main characters were well rounded, the humor worked, and had enough emotion for us to care about their story.

The film may not raise the bar of this rapidly developing genre, but it manages to pack a lot of fun and spectacle into its running time.

Simon says The Bad Guys receives:

Also, see my review for The Boss Baby: Family Business.