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Written by Willliam Hanna and Joseph Barbera (characters), and James Gunn. Directed by Raja Gosnell; starring Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard, Peter Boyle, Seth Green. Released to DVD on September 14, 2004. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr., of adolescent movie/TV fame, are dragging out the same fluffy, CG-enhanced -- and, dare we say, lucrative -- formula again for a sequel to 2002's Scooby Doo. It's enough to make all parents shudder with dread for its release. But surprisingly, the same old tired PG-rated, cartoonish film this is not. This live-action Scooby Doo sequel is not as frenetic as the first one, but it is as much fun. The plot is surely Saturday morning TV-type fare. A hideously masked, winged villain seeks revenge on the mystery-solving team of Mystery, Inc. This includes the classic TV characters included in the first film: Fred (Prinze), Daphne (Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and, of course, the CG-created Scooby. The cackling baddie attempts to wreak his revenge in a unique way. He brings the statues of monsters previously unmasked by the Scooby gang to life. The creatures wreak havoc for the team's creditability as crime fighters.
What is the identity of the masked man causing all the trouble for the gang, anyway? There are two main suspects: a former Mystery, Inc. bad guy named Old Man Wickles (Peter Boyle) and a creepy museum curator named Patrick (Seth Green.)
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is not merely a PG-rated whodunit. Screenwriter James Gunn has penned a complex mystery, with John Dickson Carr-type loose ends existing everywhere. As in the animated TV series that spawned the films, the story's solution ultimately holds up well, leaving all the loose ends tied up very neatly.
Gunn also has a way of fleshing out what were originally one-dimensional characters. Fred allows himself to show the insecurity that lies beneath his slicked-down, macho exterior. Shaggy (in a very good performance by Lillard) is troubled by his and Scooby's clownishness and superfluous positions in the gang.
Then, there are the women. Velma comes out of her Plain Jane shell and steps into a figure-hugging red latex pantsuit for a date with Patrick. She looks and behaves, in her own jargon, “hot.” Sarah Michelle Gellar's Daphne is perhaps the weakest character in this film, but she manages to bring an air of honest sweetness to the role.
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed may not win any film awards (except perhaps for the CG special effects), but it is certainly an enjoyable escape.
Mitch Persons yes, it's true: The nameplate necklace Velma (Linda Cardellini) wears in the film reads "Velmalicious." |
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