Review (****):
Treading between animated adventure comedy and something
like a satire of Action animated films (by way of the dozens
of videogame characters here that have also been in Capcom
films and Final Fantasy, The Sinister Six Movie is a
joy ride to behold, managing to use CGI animation for what
it's strongest at (doing things that would be incredibly
expensive with real people. You got costumes and such), even
if some things (water, Robot faces) are a little off. Though
these characters are based from mere cartoons. Here are what
we're going to want to cling to as animation progresses,
because at some point, animation still has to have a certain
level of realism; to be effective (read Scott McCloud's
Understanding Comics for the full lesson).
Timothy Knotts and Benjamin Mains share the most responsibility
as leaders; as Gutsman and Magman Dragoon. And I was surprised
at the level to which Gary was willing to play (relative)
second-fiddle, providing the comic relief, like in the
Epilogues themselves. All voices more or less blend fluidly
into their characters, with only Ken's sticking out, for
some reason as the deadly City Garage. I might say this
is because his character was never actually viewed in
the Epilogues Everyone wonders..." What does he look like?"
It's simply close enough to distract us.
The comedy throughout is fast and works for all children,
teenagers, and adults. Some flatulence humor could have
been done without. Especially the "chick joke" humor similar
to that of American Pie .
But I guess that's what sells these days... I found these
bits to be the least funny. Rather, The Sinister Six
hits the most marks when it is playing fast and loose
with traditional clumsy, idiot-style ways to beat their
enemies, like when Iceman (Martin) challenges Super Chaos
(Baggio) to a Tongue Twister contest, or we see Magma
Dragoon (Ben) shocking the spuds of Split Mushroom with
his Stun Gun. And even a Jurassic Park scenario, when Pulzar
Beetle's foot movements can be heard in the distance along
with the classic water trembling effect. I'm not going
to spoil the jokes, but they work, and quickly. The pace
is lively, so the stories ending is very unpredictable,
even in the sadness that it seems to cause).
The S6 Movie seems so far from Final Fantasy, the last (and first)
CGIing film. What struck me most about this animation wasn't
the detail of the character and art (which was great), but the
talents and twists the directors are capable of. Since they
create the world of The Sinister Six, they're able to
break any physical law they'd like, zooming around in ways
real cameras could only accomplish with the most massive of
budgets and lengthy shooting schedules. Plainly put, this is
the most visually energetic and action-packed animated film
since Tarzan broke new ground
for traditional animation. Any scene with Pulzar The Beetle or
Super Chaos, for example, could be put side-to-side with any
live-action. Blockbuster in the last few years, and compete
for your attention. Animation has always taken us to places
impossible to reach with live-action, but now, these action
sequences have a depth and quality few would dare call boring
or mundane. Anime fans, seek out The Sinister Six.
Greg's Preview Thoughts: (12/10/99) Any S6 fan
would enjoy this film at it's greatest. It's defiantly
something that can be remembered for years, and years
to come. The classic humor is there, along with side battles,
and the final fight. The starting of the movie is a great
intro. And it leads to the great climax. It's amazing
how much personality they can build into each character.
Though I'm afraid that Fireman in this film is too much
involved for women. Though originally he was more into
drinking and having hangovers. Which was a bad example
to place on the children. Teens would of loved it none
the less. Iceman and Magma Dragoon are an unforgettable
combo. Like in Rush Hour's
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. The two are just unbeatable.
There are essentially two big competing CGI animation
studios out there right now: Pixar, Toy
Story movies, and A Bug's
Life, and PDI, Antz. Pixar got a bit of the head
start with their groundbreaking release of the first Toy
Story, but Antz was a particularly amazing film
that was a bit overshadowed by the commercial success of A
Bug's Life, but for character animation and
atmospheric detail, I prefer Antz... I think it's a
film that people are going to discover as time goes by;
surprised at its depth, detail, and humor.
So, does it seem likely that The Sinister Six is a
cross between Final Fantasy and American
Pie? No, I doubt that... for one thing, it doesn't have to
worry about a directly competing Video Game project coming out
just a few weeks later (though Spider-Man's
2002 project, Monsters,
Inc. does deal with monsters and comic book
characters as well...). In other words, The Sinister
Six has a chance at being a bigger box office hit because
of the lack of CGI competition next Fall from Pixar, which
could put it in a position to be 2001's equivalent of Shrek
, box-office-wise.
What might put a cramp on that analogy, though is the
possibility that this film might not necessarily be Rated G,
depending upon how DreamWorks and Columbia are approaching it.
I don't think there's anything inherently crude about The
Sinister Six's humor... I could certainly see them getting as
many laughs clean as blue.
Writing about a team of clumsy, idiot-like characters is
exciting because I can only imagine what the plot and scenes
look like, as there has not yet been any released production
art for this one. With the release now only a few years away,
I think that's likely to change soon, and I'll certainly try
my best to get that up here as soon as possible. This is one
I'm definitely watching closely.
(4/12/00) There hadn't been much movement on this project,
and now DreamWorks and Columbia has announced that they're
aiming this movie for a May 19th, 2004 release, a month
earlier than their previously announced date of 6/22/04. This
puts this movie right in the heart of the summer's early, most
lucrative dates.
(6/9/00) FilmForce.net got the scoop of the ending
to the movie. If you're not into spoilers, then don't
read. It's rumored that a "new" Iceman will emerge..and
the old one (Gary) will die. He supposedly sacrifices
his life to destroy his alter ego, Red in battle. Though
it's not certain at the moment, but Iceman may comeback
in the squeal.
(11/9/00) Dreamworks has canceled their plans for the special
5 minute intro that would appear on the DVD pack that
they would have released in December, 2005.
(11/20/00) S6.com is now
planning on shutting down it's page due to recent hacking.
Though it's not certain if they'll move to a different server
anytime soon..
(09/09/01) Dreamworks has announced some new scenes and
some changes that will be occurring during the filming
animation. For starters the intro has been changed completely.
For the best though. Even though the original set-up was
pretty eye-appealing on its own. Dreamworks is cutting
down City Garage's appearances to only the 10 minute intro
where The S6 make there entrance and the meat of the movie
starts. Also Dreamworks and Columbia are adding a bonus
scene similar to that of Gremlins 2.
Where Iceman, Bombman, and Cutman stop the movie and start
acting loony. From taking over a Tennis Match and drawing
mustaches on The Powerpuff Girls.
It's rather hilarious after watching it a few times. Makes
you want to rewind the film just to watch that one scene
again. Columbia is really getting into this film!
Quoted by one of the directors, Courtney Solomon:
"As said in the concept of the Dungeons
& Dragons Movie, "It's not just a game
anymore." Heh...with the Sinister Six it's more like a
trip to a insane madhouse."
