April Movie Catch Up

 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Runtime: 2h 2m

Director: Jeff Fowler

Cast: Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Colleen O'Shaugnessey, Tika Sumpter

Rating: PG

In this sequel to the 2020 movie and adaptation of the classic video games, Dr. Robotnick (Jim Carrey) returns from deep space to claim revenge against the anthropomorphic speedster Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), this time with an incredibly dim but strong ally in the form of Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba). Sonic must team up with his adoptive human family and new sidekick, Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey), to save the world. 

Like many sequels, Sonic 2 buckles down on the perceived success of its predecessor while also reacting to its criticisms. While the first movie did its best to fit the Sonic character into a cookie-cutter kids' road trip movie and ground any element, this new installment crams as much lore and references from the games as possible. Sometimes these elements are unobtrusive and even subtle, such as when Sonic’s movements recreate his sprite animations from the original Genesis games. 

This is not surprising given that director Jeff Fowler previously worked on the animation for some modern Sonic games; his familiarity and attachment for these characters comes through every aspect of this movie. The downside is that the script is burdened with trying to introduce many game elements while also juggling the more human characters introduced in the last film.

As with the previous film, Jim Carrey delivers the standout performance in the movie. Carrey puts all of his impressive physicality and forceful personality into every movement; he’s actually more animated than the literal cartoon characters that are his co-stars.

Alas, most of the other human characters are not nearly as entertaining; there is a notable nose dive in comedic quality when Carrey is not onscreen. There are forced dance numbers and plenty of dated, pop culture references that modern blockbusters have already exhausted (at one point, Sonic references Vin Diesel and the Rock’s celebrity feud and name drops Shaun White). Many of the jokes feel as if they were written only for smaller audiences.

However, Carrey isn’t the stand-out performance in the movie; Ben Schwartz proves an adept voice actor and balances emotion with comedy. O'Shaughnessey, who reprises her character from the games, slips back into the role quite comfortably. Elba’s character of Knuckles is relatively simple on paper, although hearing the actor’s iconic deep voice come out of a giant red echidna with no hint of irony ends up being one of the funnier aspects of the movie.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 doesn’t always work as a movie, but it is enjoyable as a paean to its source material. The care and attention to detail from the filmmakers is infectious and makes it easier to ignore as a sloppy second act or the occasional dud of a joke. Like its titular hero, the movie has plenty of heart, which goes a long way.

Ambulance

Runtime: 2h 16m

Director: Michael Bay

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González

Rating: R

In Michael Bay’s newest blockbuster spectacle, war veteran Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) struggles to afford a vital operation for his ailing wife. Out of options and failed by the country he protected, Sharp joins his sociopathic and career criminal brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) for a bank robbery that could solve his problems. However, the heist goes wrong, and Will and Danny run from the police in a hostage-filled ambulance across the Los Angeles cityscape.

Michael Bay has always been one of the most divisive popular filmmakers of his level. The action director has an innate understanding of the technical side of cinematography and special effects; his movie’s editing breaks many basic conventions but creates a visceral style few can successfully imitate. However, that beauty often gets plastered over an ugly subject matter with no regard for context. Watching a Bay movie often feels like confronting the id of American culture. Most of his films are about super violent, detestable people and exhibit every kind of bigotry imaginable, but wrap up these elements in nostalgic Americana or gorgeous combinations of lighting and slow-motion. 

In Ambulance, Bay appears to have reigned in his worst impulses while preserving the aspects of his style that make his filmography interesting. Part of this can be chalked up to one of the solid scripts, which displays a thorough understanding of character dynamics, tension, and setup/payoffs. The movie also goes to more extraordinary lengths to respect its characters more than props or stereotypes. Eiza González’s character, an EMT who is taken hostage by the brothers, never feels sexualized by the camera, and the script grants her a sense of agency and impact on the story.

In contrast, Bay lets his technical eccentricities run wild. After exhausting CGI’s sense of spectacle throughout five Transformer movies, Bay has found a new tool for action filmmaking. The movie uses drone shots, allowing the camera to achieve otherwise impossible shots and spin 360 degrees on every axis. This, combined with Bay’s tendency to apply his style to every frame, makes Ambulance one of the most visually distinct popcorn films to emerge in a while.

Between the cast’s performances (especially Gyllenhaal) which match the intensity of Bay’s style and the sharp script, Ambulance serves as one of the most compelling examples of “Bayhem.” While the nonstop action can get overwhelming halfway through the movie, the inventive camerawork and moments of dramatic tension in the story prevent the movie from becoming too monotonous. 

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Runtime: 2h 20m

Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Cast: Michelle Yoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, James Wong, Jamie Lee Curtis

Rating: R

In this sci-fi action movie, Michelle Yoh plays a Chinese-American immigrant who is living with the regrets of her failed potential and is at constant odds with her husband (Ke Huy Quan), daughter (Stephanie Hsu), and overbearing father (James Wong). She’ll have to face these problems head-on when one day, she learns of an evil that threatens to consume the multiverse. By tapping into the powers and abilities of alternate reality versions of herself, she is the only person who can save everything.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once is a movie that lives up to its ambitious title. As soon as the main characters’ relationships are established, the film wastes no time throwing its audience headfirst into the absurd. Every five minutes, the movie introduces a new, more outlandish alternate universe, limited only by the filmmakers’ imagination. Some universes see the characters take on wildly different professions, while others go even further and show versions of Earth where evolution took a different turn. The entire story carries a gleefully anarchic sense of humor.

While many modern blockbusters are taking advantage of the concept of multiple universes, very few take it to the extremes of Everything. The conceit is not just an excuse for outlandish kung-fu sequences (although there are plenty of those). Instead, the movie directly integrates the existential implications of all possible realities existing, grounding these themes in the personal anxieties of its main characters. 

The film’s execution relies heavily on the skills of its main cast, who have the unenviable job of playing multiple versions of the same character in a single movie and giving them distinct personalities and mannerisms. It should come as no surprise that Michelle Yoh and James Hong pull off this magic trick, but the stealth MVP of the movie is Ke Huy Quan. Quan has to switch from playing a goofy middle-aged dad, epic action hero, and suave billionaire, all while making the audience believe these are all possible versions of the same character.

Even more central to Everything’s success is the smart script and sense of empathy that runs throughout the story. Even as the script bounces around between highly divergent realities, it never forgets to focus on the emotional beats at the heart of the characters' journeys. When faced with the overwhelming sense of apathy and nihilism in the world, the movie’s solution is to have its characters respond with empathy. The result is a movie that constantly pivots between multiple tones; that feels both universal and extremely personal without feeling bloated, and that elevates love while never feeling maudlin.