Audience/CriticsCritic ApprovedPint-Sized ReviewsTheatrical ReleasesWoke-ish

The Bad Guys 2

The Bad Guys 2 is a fast-paced but largely unnecessary sequel that repeats the original’s formula with less charm, weaker character work, and far lower stakes.
6656
Starring
Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson
Directors
Pierre Perifel, JP Sans
Rating
PG
Genre
Action, Adventure, Family
Release date
Aug 1, 2025
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Story/Plot/Script
Visuals/Cinematography
Performance
Direction
Age Appropriate
Parent Appeal
Non-Wokeness
Rating Summary
With some of the best animation in years, The Bad Guys 2 starts out strong, but quickly peters out as it becomes clear that the writers are as lost with what to do with the core cast as the characters themselves are about their future.

In The Bad Guys 2, the reformed animal crew—Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, Mr. Piranha, and Ms. Tarantula—face a new challenge when a cunning female crime squad forces them into a global heist. With Governor Diane Foxington’s past at stake, they tackle betrayal and a wild plot involving a space station heist, testing their redemption in a thrilling showdown.

The Bad Guys 2 REVIEW

Unplanned sequels to self-contained films that tell the complete story are often challenging. By the film's end, all of the interesting character conflicts have been resolved, and their arcs are complete—they are now fully realized. Throw into the mix a complete reformation from bad to good, and what does one do in the follow-up? Unfortunately, the answer for The Bad Guys 2 is to contrive a poor excuse for the main characters to return to a life of crime and to then rinse and repeat the original's plot but with less finesse.

There's really not much to say about The Bad Guys 2. The pacing is solid, and it comes in at a crisp 1h 44m. The animation, especially in the opening sequence and hinted at again throughout some of the action sequences, is a stunningly beautiful mix of styles and perspectives that dazzle without sending viewers into seizures, like it often can in the Spider-Verse cartoons.

Otherwise, The Bad Guys 2 is fairly mundane—sure to entertain the kids, but parents will likely find their attention wandering.

Parental Notes

PARENTAL NOTES

Important Information for Parents

Our Parental Notes flag the material parents may want to know about before pressing play, including profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, frightening intensity, hyper-stimulating sequences, and other family-content concerns.

UNLOCK PARENTAL NOTES.Profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, hyper-stimulating intensity, and more.
Woke Report

WOKE REPORT

You're Only Getting Half the Picture.

This section is our site's secret sauce, and what truly separates us from the rest. If you don't read it, you haven't read our review.

Have the filmmakers chosenradical progressive messaging over story?
Unlock the insightsthat could change your viewing experience and protect your family.
Try it for just $1!Unlock now

James Carrick

James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.

previous
Sketch
next
Chief of War
Leave a Review

No comments yet.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

No audience reviews yet. Be the first to leave one.

Related Posts

Little Brother

Little Brother

83
James Carrick
The Bear (season 5)

The Bear (season 5)

226
James Carrick
Young Washington: A Founder’s Story

Young Washington: A Founder’s Story

591
James Carrick

 

 

 

'; win.document.open(); win.document.write(html); win.document.close(); return true; } function escapeHtml(str){ return String(str || '').replace(/[&<>"']/g, function(ch){ return ({'&':'&','<':'<','>':'>','"':'"',"'":'''})[ch] || ch; }); } function renderShareOptionsWindow(win, landscapeUrl, squareUrl, shareUrl, heading){ if (!win || win.closed) return false; var safeHeading = escapeHtml(heading || 'Share options'); var safeLandscape = escapeHtml(landscapeUrl || ''); var safeSquare = escapeHtml(squareUrl || ''); var safeUrl = escapeHtml(shareUrl || ''); // Keep this HTML script-free. A nested script tag inside this inline footer script can break under Cloudflare Rocket Loader. var html = '' + safeHeading + '' + '' + '

' + safeHeading + '

' + (wiowCanAdminNext ? '' : '') + '
'; win.document.open(); win.document.write(html); win.document.close(); try { var doc = win.document; var btn = doc.getElementById('copyLinkBtn'); var status = doc.getElementById('shareStatus'); var field = doc.getElementById('shareUrlField'); var urlToCopy = String(shareUrl || ''); function setCopied(){ if (status) status.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (btn) { btn.textContent = 'Copied!'; win.setTimeout(function(){ btn.textContent = 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } function focusField(){ if (!field) return; field.removeAttribute('readonly'); field.focus(); field.select(); field.setSelectionRange(0, field.value.length); field.setAttribute('readonly','readonly'); } function legacyCopy(text){ var ta = doc.createElement('textarea'); ta.value = text; ta.setAttribute('readonly','readonly'); ta.style.position='fixed'; ta.style.top='0'; ta.style.left='0'; ta.style.opacity='0.01'; ta.style.pointerEvents='none'; doc.body.appendChild(ta); ta.focus(); ta.select(); ta.setSelectionRange(0, ta.value.length); var ok=false; try{ ok=!!doc.execCommand('copy'); }catch(err){} doc.body.removeChild(ta); return ok; } win.__wiowCopyShareLink = async function(){ if (!urlToCopy) { if (status) status.textContent='No share URL available.'; return false; } focusField(); try { if (win.navigator && win.navigator.clipboard && typeof win.navigator.clipboard.writeText === 'function') { await win.navigator.clipboard.writeText(urlToCopy); setCopied(); return false; } } catch(err) {} if (legacyCopy(urlToCopy)) { setCopied(); return false; } if (status) status.textContent='Press Ctrl+C or Cmd+C to copy the selected link.'; focusField(); return false; }; if (btn) btn.addEventListener('click', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); win.__wiowCopyShareLink(); }); var nextBtn = doc.getElementById('nextComboBtn'); if (nextBtn) nextBtn.addEventListener('click', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); if (win.opener && win.opener.__wiowRefreshShareOptions) win.opener.__wiowRefreshShareOptions(win); }); var mainBtn = doc.getElementById('mainComboBtn'); if (mainBtn) mainBtn.addEventListener('click', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); if (win.opener && win.opener.__wiowResetShareOptions) win.opener.__wiowResetShareOptions(win); }); Array.prototype.slice.call(doc.querySelectorAll('.preview-frame img')).forEach(function(img){ img.addEventListener('click', function(){ var overlay=doc.createElement('div'); overlay.className='overlay'; var full=doc.createElement('img'); full.src=img.getAttribute('data-full') || img.src; full.alt='Preview'; overlay.appendChild(full); overlay.addEventListener('click', function(){ overlay.remove(); }); doc.body.appendChild(overlay); }); }); } catch(err) {} return true; } async function buildShareImage(container, options){ options = options || {}; var postId = container.getAttribute('data-post-id'); var sharePage = container.getAttribute('data-share-page'); var kind = (container.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').toLowerCase(); var posterUrl = container.getAttribute('data-poster-url') || findPosterUrl(); if (!posterUrl){ posterUrl = ''; } var isRatings = (kind === 'ratings' || kind === 'ratings-admin' || kind === 'ratings-question'); var isAudience = (kind === 'audience' || kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'audience-question'); var action = isRatings ? 'wiow_build_ratings_share_image' : (isAudience ? 'wiow_build_audience_share_image' : 'wiow_build_share_image'); var payload = new URLSearchParams(); payload.append('action', action); payload.append('post_id', String(postId)); payload.append('poster_url', posterUrl); payload.append('share_context', kind); if (options.force) { payload.append('force', '1'); } if (options.reset) { payload.append('reset_combo', '1'); } if (kind === 'ratings-admin') { payload.append('admin', '1'); } if (kind === 'ratings-question' || kind === 'audience-question' || kind === 'critics-question') { payload.append('questions', '1'); payload.append('mode', 'questions'); } if (kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'critics-teaser') { payload.append('mode', 'teaser'); } var res = await fetch('https://worthitorwoke.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', { method: 'POST', credentials: 'same-origin', headers: {'Content-Type':'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8'}, body: payload.toString() }); var data = await res.json(); if (!data || !data.success || !data.data){ throw new Error((data && data.data && data.data.message) ? data.data.message : 'Share build failed.'); } return { image_url: data.data.image_url, share_url: data.data.share_url || sharePage, cycle_image_url: data.data.cycle_image_url || '', poster_url: data.data.poster_url || posterUrl || '' }; } async function buildShareSquareImage(container, cycleImageUrl, posterUrl, options){ options = options || {}; var postId = container.getAttribute('data-post-id'); var sharePage = container.getAttribute('data-share-page'); var kind = (container.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').toLowerCase(); var isRatings = (kind === 'ratings' || kind === 'ratings-admin' || kind === 'ratings-question'); var isAudience = (kind === 'audience' || kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'audience-question'); var action = isRatings ? 'wiow_build_ratings_share_image_square' : (isAudience ? 'wiow_build_audience_share_image_square' : 'wiow_build_share_image_square'); var payload = new URLSearchParams(); payload.append('action', action); payload.append('post_id', String(postId)); payload.append('share_context', kind); if (kind === 'ratings-admin') { payload.append('admin', '1'); } if (kind === 'ratings-question' || kind === 'audience-question' || kind === 'critics-question') { payload.append('questions', '1'); payload.append('mode', 'questions'); } if (kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'critics-teaser') { payload.append('mode', 'teaser'); } if (cycleImageUrl) { payload.append('cycle_image_url', cycleImageUrl); } if (posterUrl) { payload.append('poster_url', posterUrl); } if (options.force) { payload.append('force', '1'); } if (options.reset) { payload.append('reset_combo', '1'); } var res = await fetch('https://worthitorwoke.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', { method: 'POST', credentials: 'same-origin', headers: {'Content-Type':'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8'}, body: payload.toString() }); var data = await res.json(); if (!data || !data.success || !data.data){ throw new Error((data && data.data && data.data.message) ? data.data.message : 'Square share build failed.'); } return { image_url: data.data.image_url, share_url: data.data.share_url || sharePage, cycle_image_url: data.data.cycle_image_url || cycleImageUrl || '', poster_url: data.data.poster_url || posterUrl || '' }; } window.__wiowRefreshShareOptions = async function(win){ if (!wiowCanAdminNext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext.row) return false; var ctx = window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext; var row = ctx.row; var heading = ctx.heading || 'Share options'; var targetWin = win || ctx.win; try { renderShareOptionsLoadingWindow(targetWin, heading); var built = await buildShareImage(row, { force:true }); var builtSquare = await buildShareSquareImage(row, built.cycle_image_url || '', built.poster_url || '', { force:true }); if (!built || !built.image_url || !builtSquare || !builtSquare.image_url) throw new Error('Share build failed.'); window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext = { row: row, heading: heading, win: targetWin }; renderShareOptionsWindow(targetWin, built.image_url, builtSquare.image_url, built.share_url || row.getAttribute('data-share-page') || '', heading); } catch(err) { if (targetWin && !targetWin.closed) { var msg = (err && err.message) ? err.message : 'Could not build next combo.'; targetWin.document.open(); targetWin.document.write('

Could not build next combo

' + escapeHtml(msg) + '

'); targetWin.document.close(); } } return false; }; window.__wiowResetShareOptions = async function(win){ if (!wiowCanAdminNext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext.row) return false; var ctx = window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext; var row = ctx.row; var heading = ctx.heading || 'Share options'; var targetWin = win || ctx.win; try { renderShareOptionsLoadingWindow(targetWin, heading); var built = await buildShareImage(row, { force:true, reset:true }); var builtSquare = await buildShareSquareImage(row, built.cycle_image_url || '', built.poster_url || '', { force:true, reset:true }); if (!built || !built.image_url || !builtSquare || !builtSquare.image_url) throw new Error('Share build failed.'); window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext = { row: row, heading: heading, win: targetWin }; renderShareOptionsWindow(targetWin, built.image_url, builtSquare.image_url, built.share_url || row.getAttribute('data-share-page') || '', heading); } catch(err) { if (targetWin && !targetWin.closed) { var msg = (err && err.message) ? err.message : 'Could not build main combo.'; targetWin.document.open(); targetWin.document.write('

Could not build main combo

' + escapeHtml(msg) + '

'); targetWin.document.close(); } } return false; }; // Unified capture-phase share handler. Chrome incognito can allow the visual // pointer animation while another script prevents the later bubbling click // handler from ever running. Handle all top-level share buttons here first. document.addEventListener('click', async function(e){ var targetEl = e.target && e.target.nodeType === 1 ? e.target : (e.target && e.target.parentElement ? e.target.parentElement : null); var btn = targetEl && targetEl.closest ? targetEl.closest('.wiow-share-btn') : null; if (!btn) return; // Ignore the Audience modal "Rate" button (it also has wiow-share-btn class in your CSS usage) if (btn.hasAttribute('data-wiow-audience-open')) return; var row = btn.closest('[data-wiow-share="1"], .wiow-share-row'); if (!row) return; var platform = btn.getAttribute('data-platform'); // Public top-level controls must work even when AJAX generation or membership-gated data is unavailable. // Options still uses the full image-builder path below. if (platform === 'x' || platform === 'link') { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); var quickStatus = row.querySelector('.wiow-share-status'); var quickUrl = btn.getAttribute('data-copy-url') || row.getAttribute('data-share-page') || row.getAttribute('data-post-url') || wiowShareFallbackUrl(row); if (!quickUrl) { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'No share URL available.'; return; } if (platform === 'x') { openPopup(btn.getAttribute('href') || btn.getAttribute('data-wiow-x-intent') || wiowShareXIntentUrl(row)); if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = ''; return; } if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Copying link…'; var copiedQuick = await wiowCopyShareText(quickUrl); var quickLabel = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var quickOriginal = quickLabel ? quickLabel.textContent : 'Copy link'; if (copiedQuick) { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (quickLabel) { quickLabel.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ quickLabel.textContent = quickOriginal || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } e.preventDefault(); var previewWin = null; if (platform === 'copy') { previewWin = openShareOptionsWindow(); var preloadKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var preloadHeading = (preloadKind === 'audience' || preloadKind === 'audience-teaser' || preloadKind === 'audience-question') ? 'Audience share options' : ((preloadKind === 'ratings' || preloadKind === 'ratings-admin' || preloadKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'Ratings share options' : 'Critic share options'); renderShareOptionsLoadingWindow(previewWin, preloadHeading); } var statusEl = row.querySelector('.wiow-share-status'); if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (platform === 'link') ? 'Copying link…' : 'Preparing share…'; try { var publicShareUrl = wiowShareFallbackUrl(row); var publicPostTitle = (row.getAttribute('data-post-title') || '').trim(); if (!publicPostTitle) publicPostTitle = 'this'; var publicShareKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var publicUpperTitle = publicPostTitle.toUpperCase(); var publicLineTwo = (publicShareKind === 'audience' || publicShareKind === 'audience-teaser' || publicShareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'See what the audience is saying.' : ((publicShareKind === 'ratings' || publicShareKind === 'ratings-admin' || publicShareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'See the Worth it or Woke score.' : 'See what sane critics say.'); var publicBaseText = 'Is ' + publicUpperTitle + ' Worth it or Woke?\n\n' + publicLineTwo + '\n\nFollow @worthitorwoke for more.'; // Public top-level X and Copy Link controls should not depend on AJAX image generation. // The share URL itself carries the OG/Twitter metadata; scrapers can generate/fetch the image from that URL. if ((platform === 'x' || platform === 'link') && publicShareUrl) { if (platform === 'link') { var copiedPublicLink = await wiowCopyShareText(publicShareUrl); var publicLabel = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var publicOriginalLabel = publicLabel ? publicLabel.textContent : ''; if (copiedPublicLink) { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (publicLabel) { publicLabel.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ publicLabel.textContent = publicOriginalLabel || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } openPopup('https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=' + encodeURIComponent(publicBaseText) + '&url=' + encodeURIComponent(publicShareUrl)); if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = ''; return; } var built; var builtSquare = null; if (platform === 'copy') { // Build the landscape first so it chooses exactly one featured/gallery cycle image, // then pass that same image to the square builder. This prevents two square // outputs or mismatched gallery states in the Share Options window. built = await buildShareImage(row, { force:true }); builtSquare = await buildShareSquareImage(row, built.cycle_image_url || '', built.poster_url || '', { force:true }); if (!built || !built.image_url) { throw new Error('Landscape share build failed.'); } if (!builtSquare || !builtSquare.image_url) { throw new Error('Square share build failed.'); } } else { built = await buildShareImage(row); } var shareUrl = built.share_url; var postUrl = (row.getAttribute('data-post-url') || '').trim() || shareUrl; var postTitle = (row.getAttribute('data-post-title') || '').trim(); if (!postTitle) postTitle = 'this'; var shareKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var upperTitle = postTitle.toUpperCase(); var lineTwo = (shareKind === 'audience' || shareKind === 'audience-teaser' || shareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'See what the audience is saying.' : ((shareKind === 'ratings' || shareKind === 'ratings-admin' || shareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'See the Worth it or Woke score.' : 'See what sane critics say.'); var baseText = 'Is ' + upperTitle + ' Worth it or Woke?\n\n' + lineTwo + '\n\nFollow @worthitorwoke for more.'; var textWithUrl = baseText + '\n\n' + shareUrl; var postTextWithUrl = baseText + '\n\n' + postUrl; var encodedUrl = encodeURIComponent(shareUrl); var encodedBaseText = encodeURIComponent(baseText); var encodedTextWithUrl = encodeURIComponent(textWithUrl); if (platform === 'link') { var copiedLink = await wiowCopyShareText(shareUrl); var label = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var originalLabel = label ? label.textContent : ''; if (copiedLink) { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (label) { label.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ label.textContent = originalLabel || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } if (platform === 'x'){ // X gets the URL through the intent URL parameter, so do not also duplicate it in the tweet text. openPopup('https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=' + encodedBaseText + '&url=' + encodedUrl); } else if (platform === 'facebook'){ // Facebook sharing has been intentionally removed from this plugin flow. if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Facebook sharing is currently disabled.'; } else if (platform === 'copy'){ var heading = (shareKind === 'audience' || shareKind === 'audience-teaser' || shareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'Audience share options' : ((shareKind === 'ratings' || shareKind === 'ratings-admin' || shareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'Ratings share options' : 'Critic share options'); window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext = { row: row, heading: heading, win: previewWin }; var shown = renderShareOptionsWindow(previewWin, built.image_url, (builtSquare ? builtSquare.image_url : ''), shareUrl, heading); if (!shown) { var copied = false; if (navigator.clipboard && window.isSecureContext && navigator.clipboard.writeText){ try { await navigator.clipboard.writeText(shareUrl); copied = true; } catch (copyErr) {} } if (!copied) { var ta = document.createElement('textarea'); ta.value = shareUrl; ta.setAttribute('readonly', 'readonly'); ta.style.position = 'fixed'; ta.style.opacity = '0'; document.body.appendChild(ta); ta.focus(); ta.select(); ta.setSelectionRange(0, ta.value.length); copied = !!document.execCommand('copy'); ta.remove(); } } } if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (platform === 'copy') ? 'Ready.' : ''; } catch(err){ if (previewWin && !previewWin.closed) { previewWin.close(); } if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (err && err.message) ? err.message : 'Could not share.'; } }, true); })();