In this new action comedy from Dreamworks Animation, based on the book series, a crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws are about to attempt their most challenging con yet--becoming model citizens. Never have there been five friends as infamous as The Bad Guys--dashing pickpocket Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), seen-it-all safecracker Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), chill master-of-disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) short-fused "muscle" Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) and sharp-tongued expert hacker Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) AKA "Webs", but when, after years of countless heists and being the world's most-wanted villains, the gang is finally caught; Mr. Wolf brokers a deal (that he has no intention of keeping) to save them all from prison: The Bad Guys will go good. Under the tutelage of their mentor Professor Marmalade Richard Ayoade), an arrogant (but adorable!) guinea pig, The Bad Guys set out to fool the world that they've been transformed. Along the way, though, Mr. Wolf begins to suspect that doing good for real may give him what he's always secretly longed for: acceptance, so when a new villain threatens the city, can Mr. Wolf persuade the rest of the gang to become...The Good Guys?
Others to round out the cast are Zazie Beetz as Diane Foxington, Alex Borstein as Police Chief Misty Luggins, Lilly Singh as Tiffany Fluffit and Barbara Goodson as Old Lady.
This was energetically directed by Pierre Perifel (shorts). Usually most animated films are directed by two directors; sometimes with a co-director to complete the film, however not only was this film directed by only one director, he was one with no theatrical film experience to his credit. This is an amazing feat for even a team of seasoned directors, which tells me that this filmmaker is a natural. The sequence in which this was played out was cohesive and concise. He will assuredly be handed more work in the near future. It was also creatively written by Etan Cohen ("Idiocracy" '06, "Tropic Thunder" '08, "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" '08, "Men in Black 3" '12, "Get Hard" '15, "Holmes & Watson" '18) plus TV, a short and a video. There was also additional screenplay material by Yoni Brenner and Hilary Winston. And this was based on the book series by Aaron Blabey. This has one of the best scripts of an animated film I've seen in quite a while. I almost didn't see this since, in my opinion, the trailer simply didn't sell the film to me. Wow, so much for marketing! This film is written incredibly well in that it followed the story effortlessly along with amazing order of sequence in the script. The chemistry between the different characters was effective as it was entertaining, and, of course, Dreamworks Animation was spot on. If you like this writer's style, his "Brothers" has been completed.
If you like animated films, this will be one you'll have to see, and even if you're not, the story is funny, well thought out, all with a great message that everyone is redeemable no matter how much they have strayed. It's entertaining as it is a great roller coaster ride. Grab the popcorn and enjoy this gem!
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG 100mins.
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