The Bad Guys 2: 'kids will lap up' crime caper sequel starring Sam Rockwell and Awkwafina

I did not have high hopes for this sequel to "The Bad Guys", DreamWorks' animated crime caper from 2022, said David Jenkins in Little White Lies.

Following the adventures of an inter-species crew of bank robbers led by the wisecracking Mr Wolf (Sam Rockwell), that first film was a pretty middling affair. But "The Bad Guys 2", released in time for the school holidays, "wipes the floor with the original", and so joins that "rarefied club" of franchises – "The Godfather", "Toy Story" – in which the second film is superior to the first.

Since we last met them, Wolf and the gang – Mr Snake (Marc Maron), Mr Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr Piranha (Anthony Ramos) and Ms Tarantula (Awkwafina) – have done a stint in jail and gone straight. But life on the right side of the law is proving "frustrating and dull". So when they are approached to pull off one last heist, they readily accept.

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The computer animation looks impressively hand drawn, said Tim Robey in The Telegraph. The plot is "a good deal less sluggish" than that of the latest "Mission: Impossible" film, and is pretty intricate if you bother to follow it; and you really root for Wolf's team of semi-reformed criminals. Still, we're really in this for the anarchic comeback vibes. We know they're "good guys, deep down", but we love seeing them "do bad things". The film's only weaknesses are its many gags about farting and the like – coarse material producers know the "kids will lap up".

Well, I thought even the obligatory fart joke was a cut above, said Cath Clarke in The Guardian. As well as being wittier and more energetic than the original, the film has a "genuinely sweet message about friendship". However, my young companion thought it merely OK, so really, what do we adults know?