Les méchants 2

I feel mostly the same about this one as I did the first. Very stylized, funny, active, and constantly engaging with gorgeous animation, constant movement in the cinematography, sleek production design, and absolutely hilarious gags, jokes, and nods to the crime genre. Really consistent entertainment and very fun for the whole family, with jokes balancing between all- appealing and more kid-centered. Rapid-fire wit and pacing help a story with a marvelous central theme and memorable characters backed by an excellent voice cast who you can tell have so much fun in these roles. It's definitely obvious and predictable, not every joke lands, and some sequences stand out more than others, but I'm surprised at the clever storytelling from both this one and its predecessor. I would happily watch more in the future.

26/7/2025 - Odeon Middlesbrough 12:45

A pretty solid sequel compared to the first, which I only found okay. The animation is top-notch, the story is familiar but still a blast, and I loved the fun nods to Mission: Impossible, Lethal Weapon, and even Silence of the Lambs?!? And yes-the fart jokes actually hit!

Definitely recommended!

Rating - 8.0: Overall, a surprisingly good animated heist movie that is carried by great animation and strong characters, especially Sam Rockwell's Mr Wolf, as the movie is an entertaining ride that makes you really care about what happens next to this cast; I never watched the first movie, but seeing this made me sad that I missed something really special.

Direction - Good: The direction on a macroscale creates a fun, fast-paced aesthetic in a visually appealing world that memorable characters have to navigate; The direction on a microscale is good as the banter makes you really care about the characters; Storytelling is pretty simple as, at the end of the day, this is just a children's movie; It builds tension naturally through its action sequences and does keep you on your toes as it is not as formulaic as you would think a children's movie would be

Story - Pretty Good to Good: The concept is a sequel to *The Bad Guys*, with them coming out of retirement for one "last job" to save their name; the plot structure is pretty straightforward, but not as formulaic as you think; character writing is very strong as it helps personify these characters and make you really care about them, especially Wolf, as you see his struggle with whether or not he should become good

Screenplay - Good: The dialogue is surprisingly strong for a kids' movie as it is pretty well written and entertaining; The humor is fun for all ages; The symbolism is surprisingly well done as it deals with the morality of wanting to be good, despite everyone thinking you can't change; The foreshadowing is actually not present as this movie is more about subverting your expectations

Acting - Good: Sam Rockwell - Good to Very Good (His natural charisma and experienced acting really fits this character as he really brings to life this leader of the group, the Big Bad Wolf; He has good chemistry with the cast), Marc Maron - Pretty Good to Good (Plays his role well and has good chemistry with the cast), Awkwafina - Pretty Good to Good (Plays her role well and has good chemistry with the cast), Craig Robinson - Pretty Good to Good (More of a comedic relief character, but he has good chemistry with the cast and plays his role well), Anthony Ramos - Pretty Good to Good (Plays his role well, and he has good chemistry with the cast), Zazie Beetz - Good (Has really strong chemistry with Rockwell and really brings this Fox character to life), Danielle Brooks - Pretty Good (Plays her villainous role well), Natasha Lyonne - Pretty Good (Plays her villainous role well and has good chemistry with Snake), Maria Bakalova - Decent to Pretty Good (Plays her villainous role decently well), Alex Borstein - Pretty Good to Good (Lois;), Rest of the cast - Pretty Good to Good (There is strong chemistry in the cast, and this helps make the movie enjoyable, as you really care for these characters)

Score - Pretty Good: Help set this heist mood and make the movie feel entertaining and exhilarating

Soundtrack - Pretty Bad: Your typical out-of-touch studio is forcing five-year-old pop music into a movie just to make audiences think you're 'hip'

Editing - Good to Very Good: Well edited as it helped make the movie feel unique and fast-paced, especially when coupled with the changes in animation style

Sound - Good: Well executed and helped make the action sequences really entertaining

Animation - Great: I actually really enjoyed this animation style, as it effectively shows the power this new hybrid 2D-3D style animation can have in building a world and telling a story

Pacing - Pacing is about right as the movie has a short runtime but still feels pretty fast

Climax - Climax is very entertaining, despite it stumbling on the landing a little bit

Tone - Tone is very much an animated heist movie for all ages

Final Notes - Saw an early screening; have not seen the first movie.

Now, I'll admit. The trailers, were not 100% doing it for me. I found it weird that they were doing a sequel about the bad guys, who are no longer bad? And the way the trailer showed us the bad girls, seems extremely forced in there. But I'm pleased to say, that the trailers kind of miss marketed the movie. First off, it's more bad guys. If you like, what the first movie did. If you like these characters. The sequel delivers exactly what that first movie delivered on. The heist, the great character moments, the spy elements. Everything that makes that first movie as good as it is, is all in the sequel. And like I mentioned before, I was worried about the bad guys now being good, I thought making a sequel with them good, would make it feel like a forced sequel. But that is not the case at all, the movie goes down a certain direction that makes the plot work. But I'm glad that we got a sequel now making them good people, because this movie would not have been the same thing without that plot line in there. That I am now excited and want more sequels based on these characters. I want to see a whole franchise built with them! This needs to be DreamWorks next big franchise they have because they can now do so many storylines with them. And since there's books on them, I expect that we will be getting that. Now, let's talk about the bad girls. The main part of this movie. And I gotta say, I love what they did with them. Throughout the entire movie I was just thinking about how great of villains they are, I haven't broke this fully down so I don't know 100% on how I would feel about it, but there's a chance that these villains are a top 10 DreamWorks villain. Take everything great about the bad guys but this time as a villain switching that perspective up. That's why they're such great villains. And I gotta say, I think this movie is better than the original. It's not by much, if you check my ranking is only a spot higher. It really only depends on my mood, but right now I'm feeling the second one is better. I think the villains are 10 times stronger, I think a lot of the character moments and stakes are 10 times stronger, and it's still captures all the magic from the original film. This is a great sequel to the original film. But it's not without its problems. For starters, yes, this movie is fun, it still gives us everything great about the original film. But when leaving the theater, all I thought was, yeah that was fun/cool. And sitting down writing this review, it just seems like a distant memory that happened. It didn't seem like I watched the movie today. So it's a movie you can watch. Enjoy your time with it and continue on with your day. Not really something that sticks in your mind for a long time. And although I do love the villain, I do question the plan in the long run. Although all the set up is great, I was very confused on what the villain wanted to do once they won. But, this is a great sequel to the original film that carries out everything you love about the original film, and in my opinion is slightly better than it. It's as funny, but with higher stakes, better villains, and I can't wait to see what future installments have to bring.

'The Bad Guys 2 (2025)' is, first and foremost, a ton of fun. It's energetic, it's enjoyable, it's exactly what you expect it to be but no worse for it. This propulsive, well-paced sequel is brought to life with expressive, high-octane animation that consistently drops your jaw with its gorgeous storybook-meets-Saturday-morning-cartoon aesthetic. Some of it is undeniably inspired by anime, with exaggerated 2D shock reactions and unmistakable sound effects, and it feels really distinct amongst its peers who strive for cartoon realism. It's stylish, it's slick, its visuals totally compliment its tone and atmosphere. It's a joy to look at from its first frame to its last, and it absolutely sprints through its generic but entertaining narrative without feeling rushed or missing a single step. It's a total blast that sweeps you off your feet, packed full of exciting set-pieces, humourous interactions, and satisfying in-the-moment subversions that often lead to some effortlessly - and genuinely - cool moments (not a lot of movies can pull off being cool without seeming like they're trying too hard to do so) that recall silky smooth heist films like 'Ocean's Eleven (2001)' and often scratch the itch left by the cancellation of the 'Sly Cooper' feature. It's arguably not quite as good as its predecessor, but it isn't far off. It's certainly a worthy sequel and it's one of Dreamworks' better animated efforts (it isn't in the top ten, I'd say, but it's pretty close). It isn't deep, but it is entertaining and that's all you really need it to be. Besides, its story is still really solid. Its characters are well-rounded (even if their arcs aren't as big this time around), its relationships are believable, its messages are (very) subtle but important, and its plot is incredibly efficient. There are some superb action scenes sprinkled throughout, and the cast all do a brilliant job at bringing their characters to life (Sam Rockwell is a phenomenal lead, his acting acumen clearly coming across even when he's playing an animated wolf). It's all just really fun, and it looks as good as it feels. This is a really strong follow-up to one of Dreamworks' most successful new efforts. I'd definitely welcome a third entry.