Pierre Perifel
Troppo Cattivi

THE REVIEW

Ethan Coen (who is not that Coen), Yoni Brenner, and Hilary Winston, basing themselves on Aaron Blabey’s graphic novel (aimed at a children’s audience), have written the screenplay of a film which, ironically, turns out to be all too adult, with the complicity of director Pierre Perifel (a young French director born in 1980), “The Bad Guys.” The project has been in the works since 2018, and its release, originally scheduled for 2020, was postponed by two years due to the outbreak of the pandemic (it was released here on March 31st, 2022).

In a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist without issues, the “Bad Guys” gang (Mr. Wolf, a charming wolf; Mr. Snake, a snake safecracker; Miss Tarantula, a hacker spider; Mr. Shark, a master of disguise; and Mr. Piranha, brawny and hot-blooded) spreads panic throughout the city, creating major public order issues. Publicly humiliated by the shady governor Diane Foxington (a fox), they decide to pull off a major heist by stealing the prestigious Golden Dolphin during the Good Samaritan award ceremony honoring Professor Rupert Marmalade IV (a guinea pig), who appears meek but is in fact the true villain of the movie. However, the plan falters when Wolf, shaken after having performed a good deed a few days earlier, hesitates and botches the heist. From there, a whirlwind of adventures and plot twists unfolds, in a fast-paced, almost explosive rhythm.

As the more savvy viewers will have noticed, the characters are named (almost) just like the protagonists of “Reservoir Dogs,” and to dispel any doubts, the incipit is “Pulp Fiction” (do you remember the beginning of Tarantino’s film with the two crooks sitting at a fast food table? There you go, it’s the same), and the references are truly numerous: Perifel winks at “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Italian Job,” but also at “Snatch” (with Mr. Wolf in a Brad Pitt version). It’s frankly a bit much, especially considering that the film is aimed at a fairly young audience (let’s say elementary school age), who, I doubt, have ever seen (or even know of) the aforementioned films. The old story remains: the adults will enjoy it even more. Kids are left with the usual à la page moral: integration, desire for redemption, prejudices that shape social interactions, the need to feel accepted. All already seen and heard (and better) elsewhere. And yet, several things work well: the frenetic pace that doesn’t let up during the 100-minute runtime (which just flies by); the superb technique that allows for daring long takes that live-action cinema can now only dream of; and the numerous plot twists which, even if abundant, create tasty plots and subplots (like Diane Foxington’s backstory, for example). The audience response has been strong enough that in 2025 a sequel was released, “The Bad Guys 2,” perhaps (and I say perhaps) even better than the first. The Italian dubbing is quite respectable.

Characters and voice actors (original/Italian): Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell/Andrea Perroni); Mr. Snake (Marc Maron/Eduardo Ferrario); Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos/Valerio Lundini); Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson/Francesco De Carlo); Mrs. Tarantula (Awkwafina/Margherita Vicario); Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade/Saverio Raimondo); Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz/Paola Michelini); Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein/Daniela Calò).