The Bad Guys 2 is an even better gateway heist movie than the original

The Bad Guys 2 isn’t subtle, nor is that a hazard. Brenner and Cohen never overcomplicate a story about bad-turned-good characters seeking acceptance in a judgmental society, and poke fun at their own ideas in doing so. Kitty Kat’s master plan requires an unknown element called MacGuffinite; the film keeps things simple, but hardly in a stupid way. Unavoidable heist clichés are recalibrated, filtered through a child’s innocence and immaturity, getting back to covert basics. 

The art style, though, is anything but basic. The team at DreamWorks Animation utilizes a pop-up book style, where 3D imagery jumps into the foreground, and background illustrations look meticulously hand-drawn, shaded by pencil. The Bad Guys 2 then takes audiences on a digital sightseeing tour, from the streets of Cairo to a space station amongst the stars. Colors explode as celebratory confetti bombs blow out penthouse windows, or magnets in outer space pull swirls of gold-plated objects through the atmosphere in hypnotic patterns. The filmmakers demonstrate an exquisite command over their action-heavy animated film, which moves with rapid pace from chaotic luchador matches to daring launchpad catwalk brawls. It’s polished, captivating, and makes remarkable use of the medium. And, driving things along, Daniel Pemberton’s score matches the upbeat vibes of a soundtrack including new originals from Busta Rhymes and Rag’n’Bone Man, keeping pace with Mr. Wolf’s pedal-to-the-floor antics.

But fitting with the scope of that grand tour, The Bad Guys 2‘s story is overstuffed. New additions Kitty Kat, Pigtail Petrova (Maria Bakalova), and the dagger-hurling raven Doom (Natasha Lyonne) are delights, but they steal time from the core team. Not everyone is granted developmental arcs, and those we do get—Mr. Wolf and Diane’s (Zazie Beetz) romance, Mr. Snake’s (Marc Maron) infatuation with Doom—are truncated. Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) is mainly a sight gag in ridiculous outfits, while Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) is merely a loose cannon who toots green gas. There’s already so much going on in the follow-up; did the original’s guinea pig villain, Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), need to return as a now-shredded take on Hannibal Lecter?

When “The Bad Guys” are putting their skills to the test, though, everything flows like a well-oiled getaway vehicle. What The Bad Guys 2 has to say about turning over a new leaf isn’t profound, but it’s effective nonetheless, especially when accentuated by so many goofy laughs and sticky-fingered thrills.

Director: Pierre Perifel, JP Sans (co-director)
Writer: Yoni Brenner, Etan Cohen
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, Alex Borstein, Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, Natasha Lyonne
Release Date: August 1, 2025