Low expectations were what I had when the trailer first appeared on my phone screen. I wasn't even interested to watch it 'till the end. I would roll my eyes on the animation style, it's not eye-catching nor it is impressive.
But damnnnnnnn! I wasn't expecting it to be good. It's a feature animated film filled with genuine laughter, comical characters and an above the par plot.
The caper team consists of Wolf, Tarantula, Piranha, Snake and Shark, all of which play a different archetype from one another. This team of 5 is evil and yet, you might find that their personalities are very likable, charming and even approachable. This is the heart of the film, the element that keeps the audience entertained aside from its narrative.
Ocean's 8 meets Zootopia, this is what The Bad Guys is. You may find the first heist somewhat similar to the all-women Ocean's. There's the restrooms, kitchen tray trolleys, red-carpet staircases, hackings (pretty much every heist film), red laser traps, all of which resemble strongly with the mega heist of the Met Gala in the said film. I found TBG better than Zootopia, which I PERSONALLY found it to be overrated. However, those who love Zootopia will also enjoy TBG as it implies similitude to it.
Running for over 100 minutes, The Bad Guys never stops with its steady pacing, putting audience in an enjoyable ride from start until the end.
Lo and behold, you wouldn't expect how many twists they are in this. It's a plot twist on top of another plot twist. Just when you thought, there you go, they have revealed all the twists, the film comes in with another unexpected twist , showing that you have also been deceived by The Bad Guys. When you look back at it, it's amazing that all the twists don't come as a force, but rather it oozes naturally, making it a perfect fit to the whole story.
The animation style is better than what I had visualized in my mind. Looking at the trailer, I thought it was mehh, but the pencil-like motion drawings got better as time went on. It took a bit of time to adjust but eventually, I liked it.
On the other side of the cell, I believe that TBG should offer a larger team than mere 5 animals. It would have been so much fun, exciting and the stakes would be even higher!
All the animal outlaws are excellent however, I must say, I'm a little disappointed with their back stories, because there is almost none to begin with. They did introduce each member in the beginning, but I wanted to know where all of them came from, how they can coexist and walk the earth with humans, and how the group was formed in the first place. I know, I'm aware this is an animated film but what a solid story they could have to an already excellent plot.
Rounding up, The Bad Guys is definitely in my top 5 films of 2022 as we almost end the quarter of the year. Let's see what the future has in store for animated films!
Verdict: If there is one thing The Bad Guys taught us, it's to never judge a film by its trailer.
