MOVIE REVIEW: THE BAD GUYS 2

 

Reformed criminals Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Shark and Ms. Tarantula are trying very hard to be good. However, they soon find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes heist that's masterminded by a new team of delinquents they never saw coming -- the Bad Girls.

Director: Pierre Perifel

Cast: Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, Natasha Lyonne

Release Date: August 1, 2025

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family, Mystery

Rated PG for action/mild violence, rude humor and language.

Runtime: 1h 44m

Review:

The Bad Guys 2 is an energetic follow up to the original that's more than capable of standing on its own two feet with bigger action sequences, paired with a fun script and confident voicework from its cast.  Pierre Perifel follows up his original film with another blast of colorful, kinetic pop that's able to deliver fun for kids and adults alike.  The film's animated Ocean's Eleven energy is a fun departure from the standard family fare.  It’s still got a solid underlying message about finding redemption after making mistakes but it’s never overly didactic in its messaging which allows it to keep an adventurous sense of fun.  Sam Rockwell, Craig Robinson, Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos and Marc Maron all return from the original as the titular Bad Guys who are now finding their way after they've reformed.  They share an established chemistry together that works well for the story especially when the script lets them bounce back and forth with slyly witty dialogue.   Sam Rockwell again serves as the film's backbone as the Wolf who still possess the natural confidence from the first film, but the character is given some actual growth as he tries to navigate the straight and narrow while keeping his crew together.  Danielle Brooks is a perfect foil to his character as a fan/competitor who drags him back for one last heist by blackmailing him.  Brooks brings a similar sort of confidence as the leader of the Bad Girls who feels wants to leave her mark regardless of the consequences.  Maria Bakalova and Natasha Lyonne are fun as her lackey's although the script gives them the short end of the stick with neither getting fleshed out the way the other characters are.  Lyonne manages to make the most of scenes especially early when paired with Marc Maron's Snake.  Once we arrive at the extended final act, the film starts to lose a bit of steam as it struggles with the same energy which could have been fixed with some judicious editing to knockdown the film's runtime by 15 minutes or so.  That being said The Bad Guys 2 proves to be one of the better animated sequences that improves on nearly everything that made the original work.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: BODIES BODIES BODIES

 

A party game leads to murder when young and wealthy friends gather at a remote family mansion.

Director: Halina Reijn

Cast:  Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha'la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Pete Davidson

Release Date: August 5, 2022

Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller

Rated R for violence, bloody images, drug use, sexual references and pervasive language.

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a fun pitch black whodunit that effectively captures a moment in time for millennials including all their worse tendencies much like the slasher films from the 80's and 90's. Halina Reijn's film has a chaotic energy about it which persist throughout the film's lean runtime.  The script is sharply written with dialogue that skewers millennials on multiple levels.  It's aided greatly by a strong cast who lean into their characters with impressive aplomb.  Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova are the film's central duo with each delivering strong performances as the party interlopers.  Stenberg gives her character an unsteady, unreliable feel that makes you question her motivations at various points.  Bakalova delivers a believable sense of naivety as she watches the gaslighting descend into more extreme madness.  Rachel Sennot who plays Alice, an airhead people pleasing podcaster, steals practically every scene she in especially in the final act.  Lee Pace and Pete Davidson have smaller supporting roles with each making the most of their screen time.  Bodies Bodies Bodies plays like a modern version of the 80's cult slasher April Fool's Day as it shares that film's basic premise and it's fun but dark sense of satire.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

 

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a 2020 American mockumentary comedy film directed by Jason Woliner in his feature directorial debut.

Director: Jason Woliner

Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova

Release Date: October 23, 2020

Genre: Comedy

Rated R for raw language, nudity and general filthiness.

Runtime: 1 h 35 min

Review:

In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm pulls off the same magic trick he did in the original film with such an audacious fearlessness that once you stop laughing you’ll be left wondering how he pulled it all off.  The story itself is the thinnest grating that holds the whole thing together.  Its biggest gift is adding a new character to proceeding in the form of his daughter played by Maria Bakalova.  Going into this you’d expect Cohen to go all in with the performance like he’s done his whole career but Bakalova is just as impressive here.  She’s just as committed as Cohen and they make for a hilarious pair as they traverse the underbelly of Trump’s America much in the way the original held a mirror to the Bush era.  It’s consistently hilarious and rather terrifying when you step back from it for a minute especially since much of what is presented is happening now.  The situations are incredibly outlandish and dangerous with the much talked about Rudy Giuliani sequence is even more gross in live action than described.  If there is a minor drawback its that the character and tropes have been done by Cohen as recently as his own 2018 Showtime’s Who is America.  This sequel feels more like that show than the original movie because the American landscape has changed from the Bush era and not in a good way but you might as well laugh at it exposed.

B