The Bad Guys

By: Jamie Steinberg

Five well-known “bad” animals cause fear when they walk in a room. That is how this team of “bad guys” are able to walk into a bank and steal tons of money. But what happens when the bad guys want to become the good guys? You’ll find out when you watch the fast-paced, yet underwhelming film The Bad Guys.

Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Snake (Marc Maron), Tarantula (Awkwafina), Shark (Craig Robinson) and Piranha (Anthony Ramos) have successfully pulled off another epic heist, much to the dismay of Police Chief Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein). Luggins has made it her life’s mission to take down these bad guys so you can imagine how angry she is that they got away with it again. However, Wolf is not satisfied with this latest win. He feels like they need a challenge and that’s when he suggests they steal The Good Samaritan statue that is being handed out the following evening to guinea pig Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade). Wolf has a whole plan that involves each team member relying on their strengths (Wolf being quick fingered, Snake sneaking through the air vents, Shark offering a distraction, Tarantula using her hacking skills on the security system and Piranha bringing the arm strength). Unfortunately, their task goes awry, and they end up getting caught…But that doesn’t mean they are going to be stuck doing hard time. That is when Wolf gets the notion to charm Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beats) into convincing her that they can change their bad ways with some training and good guy influence from Professor Marmalade.

Sadly, this is where the film goes downhill. Professor Marmalade has three days to help The Bad Guys become The Good Guys. Lifelong criminals are supposed to be able to reform themselves in such a short amount of time? Additionally, the movie lacked those needed moments of levity that would really give the audience a good chuckle. Little kids need something to laugh at other than a snake who is able to spit up previously swallowed objects. It is for those reasons that director Pierre Perifel, unfortunately, fails at having a box-office hit on his hands. I wish I could pick a favorite moment from the film, but there just isn’t any that truly stand out as special or magical to me.

I expected The Bad Guys to be filled with humor, wonderful animation, heart and plenty of action and adventure. Unfortunately, I only got one out of the four. Children looking to see a funny film with a bit of wonder, like other DreamWorks movies such as Trolls World Tour, The Croods or even Boss Baby, will be disappointed. Only expect a mild wag of the tail in enjoyment if you watch The Bad Guys.