Movie Thoughts: The Bad Guys (2022)

• Released: 22 April 2022
• Directed by: Pierre Perifel
• Running time: 1 h 40 min
• Rating 4/5

Synopsis

A gang of criminals pretends to be good while planning their ultimate heist that would make them legendary, up until one of them actually starts to like being good.

My Thoughts

The trailers for this movie did not thrill me. I'm not a heist movie person, and aside from the visuals it just didn't really grab me. But I went to see it last week and...it's good. Like, really good.

Okay, so it definitely has its flaws. Is it predictable plot and character-wise? Yes. Is the twist villain obvious from the very start? Yes. Are there one to many gross-out/fart jokes. Absolutely. 

But despite this, the execution is just where the movie really shines. I don't mind things being predictable in a film or series as long as the execution is good. Just think about How to Train Your Dragon, another Dreamworks movie, for example. The concept overall is very predictable but the execution? Chef's kiss. This is very much the same case with The Bad Guys.

What I honestly liked the most about the movie (aside from the visuals, we'll get to that) is the characters. They're predictable as mentioned before, but they're also really likable. The main focus really is on Wolf and Snake, but I liked the others. They weren't just there to fill the crowd or for comic relief (okay, well, Piranha was there for comic relief). They feel like fun characters that all have their own quirks. I also really liked Diane, who isn't a part of the main Bad Guys crew but still plays her own significant role in the story. I like how she served as kind of an example to Wolf of what could happen if he were to follow the path of righteousness. She was once the biggest criminal ever, but she realized that it just wasn't right and redeemed herself. Now Wolf has the chance to do the same, even if his crew isn't too keen on the idea.

The animation looks spectacular. People compare it to Spiderverse, and while I get where they're coming from (both are not focusing on realistic textures but rather stylization), the styles of both movies are very distinct. Both are stylized, obviously, but this one feels much softer and round, whereas Spiderverse was more rough around the edges and had more of a comic-book feel to it. Both look fantastic, and I can't appreciate what Spiderverse did for modern CGI animated movies enough, even if I don't care for said film itself. 

My main real gripe with this movie has to be the twist villain, though. I've had enough of these for quite a while now, and Marmelade really feels like just any other one. He doesn't stand out, he isn't funny or intimidating, he's just another boring twist villain. I'll give him that he was really good at thinking his plans through, but overall his execution was by far not as good as the rest of the movie. He was just plain predictable and boring.

Another issue I have is the amount of fart jokes regarding Piranha. I'm just no fan of those. I'll give the movie credit for making it an actual plot point (it makes sense if you've seen the film, I promise), but it still feels gross and just isn't funny.

Despite these gripes, however, The Bad Guys is a movie I unapologetically enjoyed. It looks great, and despite how predictable it is, the execution (for the most part) is great and very charming. I look forward to getting this one on DVD whenever it releases.