The Bad Guys 2 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Being a middle-aged dude who just loves movies, I’ve lamented in the past that I just don’t get to go see animated kids' films all that often. If my boy isn’t interested, I have to wait for days like today, when a review copy of the film shows up on my doorstep. While The Bad Guys 2 isn’t the greatest sequel ever made, and I’m not completely bummed I missed this in theaters. I have to say this is one fun film. Returning director Pierre Perifel and co-director JP Sans deliver a film that’s both safe and similar, with the same slick animation style, while expanding the story just enough not to repeat old gags. 

Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Snake (Marc Maron), Shark (Craig Robinson), Tarantula (Awkwafina), and Piranha (Anthony Ramos) are back in action. Or rather, they’re back, retired from crime, and trying to lead normal lives. Getting a job is hard when you’ve robbed pretty much every business in town! But when a new gang of thieves led by The Phantom Bandit strikes, posing as The Bad Guys, the newly reformed pearl-pinchers must plan their biggest heist yet to capture these new thieves and prove their innocence. 

While the plot and story beats may not be one-to-one identical to the first film, the overarching setup and payoff structure are very familiar. This film doesn’t exactly go out of its way to raise the stakes; it’s not out to rock the franchise boat. If I have a critique of The Bad Guys 2, it’s that it seems to go out of its way to entice the same audience that paid to see it in theaters the first time. We get more antics with our favorite crew while introducing some fun new critters in the process. Which isn’t bad on its own, but this film isn’t really doing anything to try and appeal to newcomers or those who missed out on the first film. It’s content to play the hits for the fans who already bought the album, so to speak. But to their credit, 

Ultimately, The Bad Guys 2 was a lark. The script plays to our cast's vocal strengths, playing up a similar level of high-energy action in the process. The visuals, sound design, music, and big climactic events all play just about as we’d expect, but they’re still incredibly entertaining, especially if you have a little one who loves vehicles getting demolished in hilarious ways. I love this film’s frenetic animation style and its brilliant blend of 2-D and 3-D elements, creating a highly stylized feature. I thought the first film looked great in 3D, so I hope to someday catch a 3D disc of this to enjoy the full effect. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
The Bad Guys 2 returns to steal the show in 2160p with a two-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital release from Universal and SDS. The 4K is pressed on a BD100 with a Region Free BD50 serving the 1080p. The discs are housed in a standard two-disc black case with identical slipcover artwork.

If I never get a 3D Blu-ray of The Bad Guys 2, at least there’s this 4K release. Given the animation style and the blend of 3D and 2D objects, the sense of depth and dimension really pop in 4K. Looking at the included Blu-ray, the overall details in textures and fine lines may be neck-and-neck similar, the added resolution really gives the film a nice three-dimensional pop. Given the visual stylings and the high-energy antics on screen, that extra heft is felt. The Dolby Vision grade also gives the colors of our animal characters and their environs a little more push. It’s a big, colorful, highly active animated feature, and this transfer never fails.

Matching the video transfer beat for beat is a terrific Atmos audio mix. It does not take long for this film to start displaying its full-throated wall-to-wall immersive mix! From the explosive flashback heist in Chairo to the thundering engines of a rocketship bound for outer space, the mix delivers an excellent soundscape filling those side, rear, and height channels beautifully. LFE certainly gets its rumble on. Throughout the film, dialogue is clean and clear without issue. Given the shipsmart jokes and gags, you don’t have to worry about missing the punchline.

Rounding out the package for this disc release is a decent little assortment of extras. The meatiest bit will come from the stacked audio commentary featuring our directors and their support crew. After that, we have a nice selection of featurettes - they may not be lengthy and a tad on the EPK side, but they’re informative and give some relevant insight into the show. Not the greatest selection, but better than what passes for most releases. 

• Audio Commentary featuring Pierre Perifel, Co-Director JP Sans, Benjamin Willis, Katherine de Vries, and Théophile Bondoux 
• Little Lies and Alibis (HD 5:42)
• Deleted Scenes (HD 5:56)
• Bad Guys: Out of Line (HD 2:06) 
• Meet the Gang (HD 7:37) 
• Double Jeopardy: The Making of Bad Guys 2 (HD 4:46)
• Causing a Scene (HD 5:16) 
• Planning a Heist (HD 10:08) 
• Sketching the Bad Girls (HD 10:49)

Good, bad, who cares? They’re the best at what they do, and their best seems to be delivering big bang entertainment value. The Bad Guys 2 got about the same response from critics as the first film and did a little less at the global box office, but it was an overall success. The books may have run their course, but I think there’s a nice little future ahead for the films if they aim to keep the series going. On 4K, it’s another splendid disc with a great Dolby Vision transfer and a spiffy Atmos mix to keep pace. Bonus features might not be expansive, but for the curious, they’re informative. I’d love to see what this film was like in 3D The first film was a hoot, but until that day comes along, this 4K disc is an excellent choice. Recommended