It's out in theaters Wednesday: the villains of "Bad Guys" are back and switching sides
The animal criminals struggle to adjust to their new lives as good guys. But they're pulled out of retirement and forced to do "one last job" by an all-female team...
Our opinionA big bad wolf who abolished the cheesy image given in many tales. A snake as mischievous as it is sarcastic. A spider expert in piracy. An energetic piranha. A shark with a strong character and an expert in disguise. A cunning and political vixen...
In 2022, The Bad Guys , under the impetus of Frenchman Pierre Perifel, dynamited the world of animation in a stylish film that did not hesitate to multiply the action scenes, for a result that was both funny and punchy.
The references to classics like Tarantino films and the plot full of twists and turns managed to keep both young and old audiences on the edge of their seats. So seeing the gang back is anything but a surprise...
And guess what, since the end of the previous installment, they've become nice. And better yet, they're not even pretending!
If the concept of calming down fictional characters is commonplace in blockbusters ( Fast and Furious ) and series ( Prison Break ), putting Wolf and his gang on the right side of the law is relevant...
Yes, because it's not just a pretext to soften their characters. On the contrary, it's about evoking through them the difficult reintegration that follows a period of confinement.
A topic rarely addressed in a family proposal. For example, one of the scenes shows the protagonists applying to different employers and being systematically rejected.
Another good idea: don't hesitate to develop romantic feelings, even if some are not shared.
This is an opportunity for the director, supported this time by Juan Pablo Sans, to show the feelings and fragility of these special animals by developing their tender side.
This spirit is the essence of Bad Guys 2 , where our anti-heroes are once again involved in a scam, trapped by a gang of funny ladies who blackmail them odiously.
The plan of these villains? To build a gold magnet, before flying into space to suck up everything that glitters. An idea that allows for a variety of registers and, in the final act, a glimpse of a science fiction film.
Although the whole thing can be appreciated if you haven't seen the first feature film, we recommend discovering the latter to appreciate all the subtleties of this "sequel" such as the presence of the dangerous guinea pig, Professor Marmalade, in a sequence in reference to The Silence of the Lambs .
Biting and spirited, Bad Guys 2 , while failing to create a surprise, is original enough to establish itself as the anime of the summer.
BY PIERRE PERIFEL and JUAN PABLO SANS (United States), with the French voices of Pierre Niney, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Alice Belaïdi... Animation. 1h44. Our opinion: 3/5.
Var-Matin
