Mission: Impossible 2

It’s not uncommon for a film sequel, created off the back of the original’s success, to try a more action-oriented different direction compared to the original. Such was the case with Mission: Impossible 2 (M:I-2), which even placed John Woo, best known by some for the movie Face/Off, in the director’s chair, which automatically made it a bit different from Brian De Palma’s suspense-driven Mission: Impossible (M:I). Although M:I-2 debuted to mixed reception, it’s hard to argue with the results, as it grossed $546.4 million against a ~$120 million budget, which notably made it the year 2000’s highest-grossing film. While M:I-2 certainly has its fans even now, and it’s honestly hard not to see why, the end result almost comes at the expense of what makes a good Mission: Impossible movie.

X-Men

The early 2000s proved to be quite the boon for superhero films, with the Spider-Man and X-Men films proving that the genre could be financially successful if put into the right hands. While I did grow up during this time, I didn’t have much of an interest in X-Men at the time outside of the X-Men: Evolution cartoon on Kids’ WB (I was more interested in Spider-Man at the time), only ever feeling motivated to watch a select few of the X-Men films years later. After recently watching all three X-Men cartoons at the time of this writing (X-Men The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution, Wolverine and the X-Men) in their entirety (with X-Men: Evolution still being my personal favorite), I felt more motivated to actually watch the film series in earnest from the beginning, with additional motivation from the upcoming release of Deadpool 3 as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home setting a precedent for the MCU now requiring intimate knowledge of outside film continuities. After rewatching the original X-Men film from 2000 that started it all, I found it to be a solid beginning for the series, one that is still enjoyable over two decades later.

Resident Evil Code: Veronica X (PS2)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil (2002) and Resident Evil Code: Veronica X

What Resident Evil games deserve the “Remake” treatment? This question has floated around in the years since the release of the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2, as well as the 2020 release of the Resident Evil 3 remake. Among the different answers, one that floated up frequently was Code: Veronica, notably the only mainline entry that hadn’t seen a physical PS4 release. Based on my own experience, the demand for Code: Veronica grew louder as the release of the highly-anticipated 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 drew nearer. This coincidentally lined up with when I would play Code: Veronica for myself as part of my deep dive of the series.

Before we try answering the question of whether Code: Veronica deserves a remake, we should first consider its history. After the original Resident Evil 2’s (RE2) success, Capcom put more Resident Evil projects in development. One of these was a Sega Saturn port of RE2, but it was canceled because doing so would require sacrificing the game’s quality. To make up for this, the team went to work on an original entry for Sega fans. This entry, known as Code: Veronica, would release on the Sega Dreamcast in 2000. Due to low sales, however, Capcom would port the game to the PS2 the following year as Code: Veronica X (CVX), followed by a 2003 GameCube port and an eventual release on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011.

As my Resident Evil journey followed the order of each game’s release, I went from the remake of Resident Evil 3 to the PS2 version of CVX, fully expecting a jarring shift in experience going from a fairly polished game to one comparatively archaic. By virtue of age alone, CVX certainly deserves a remake. Beyond that, however, it desperately needs a modern update by virtue of being an overrated mess of a game that has coasted by for far too long on nostalgia alone.

Dungeons & Dragons (Film)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Dungeons & Dragons (Film) and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

While modern audiences may be more familiar with the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) tabletop game nowadays, including the recent Honor Among Thieves film, few may be aware that there was another D&D film, simply titled Dungeons & Dragons, released all the way back in 2000. The backstory behind the film is actually interesting, but the short version is that director Courtney Solomon obtained the film rights from TSR, the original D&D publisher, when he was 19. However, the film wouldn’t come to fruition for ten years, partly from most of Solomon’s ambitions, including securing big names like Francis Ford Coppola or James Cameron in the director’s chair, either rejected or toned down. As such, he had to direct it himself through his own production company, Sweetpea Entertainment, resulting in a critical and box office flop that didn’t even make back its $45 million budget. Having finally watched the film ourselves, born from curiosity after watching and enjoying Honor Among Thieves, we can personally confirm that this take on the property is best left in the dungeon where you found it.

The Emperor's New Groove

Note: This review contains spoilers for The Emperor’s New Groove.

In 1994, Disney started production on a musical epic titled Kingdom of the Sun. Over the course of four years, however, the project went through a troubled production period (as detailed in the documentary The Sweatbox, viewable through Internet Archive), only reaching about 25% completion. As a result, studio executives stepped in and, after some discussion, the film changed direction to a lighthearted comedy. The final product, renamed The Emperor’s New Groove, would see a theatrical release in early December, 2000. Though it received a generally positive reception from critics, with an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film underperformed at the box office, making only $169.9 million on a budget of $100 million.

Although I was only eight at the time The Emperor’s New Groove came out, I distinctly remember watching it in a theater and enjoying it. However, it would be about 20 years before I would watch it again through a TV broadcast, which reinforced the fond memories I had of the film. After watching the first episode of  the Disney+ series Sketchbook, in which Story Artist Gabby Capili drew Emperor Kuzco, we felt compelled to watch the film again, which led us to conclude that even after 22 years, The Emperor’s New Groove still holds up as a Disney classic.

Spyro: Year of the Dragon

Just one year after Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, Insomniac released the third and final game in the original Spyro trilogy, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, in the actual Year of the Dragon before they shifted their focus to the still-ongoing Ratchet & Clank series. This entry also had a more ambitious scope, with more playable characters and gameplay variety. Though admirable, I feel from playing it now that it really did more harm than good.

The Road to El Dorado

The Road to El Dorado has an interesting place in DreamWorks Animation’s history. While not their final traditionally animated film, it was their final pre-Shrek production. Critics gave it mixed reviews at the time and the film bombed, grossing about $76 million on a budget of $95 million, which in turn may have convinced DreamWorks to double down on CG animation. As for my own experience, I remember watching it as a kid, but not too much of it stuck with me, likely because I didn’t pay attention to the plot as much back then. At the start of 2021, however, I watched it through Hulu out of a renewed curiosity from the film’s sudden rise in popularity through internet memes. While the story isn’t perfect, I didn’t think it was as bad as critics initially thought and could even consider it an overlooked film in DreamWorks’ library. It even got me thinking about where DreamWorks Animation would be today if they didn’t completely abandon traditional animation.

Hitman: Codename 47

After the World of Assassination Trilogy, I had more of an interest in playing the older Hitman titles to see how well they held up and make more sense of references to those titles. I started with the original 2000 PC game, Hitman: Codename 47, which I picked up during a Steam sale where it from $8 to only $1.50. Unfortunately, when I actually played it, I realized just how poorly this game has aged, even with one major bright spot.

House of Leaves

We wish to inform you that the following review will contain spoilers for House of Leaves. — Ed.

During my research for a review of The Beginner’s Guide, I came across a comparison to the books House of Leaves and Pale Fire, neither of which I had heard of until that point. After reading the premise for both, I was more intrigued by the one for House of Leaves, a twenty-year-old novel by Mark Z. Danielewski, and later received the Remastered Full-Color Edition hardcover release as a Christmas present. The sheer size of the book intimidated me at first, but I worked up the courage and dove right in. Finishing it took a little longer than I thought, but I felt strongly enough about my opinion afterwards that I thought I’d do a one-off book review due to the book’s connection with film and the game that led me to it. To that end, I respect Danielewski’s commitment to painstakingly writing and formatting a novel exactly the way he wanted it for the effect he sought over the course of ten years, but it’s a bit overhyped.

An Extremely Goofy Movie

Note: This review contains spoilers for An Extremely Goofy Movie.

Five years after A Goofy Movie, Disney released a direct-to-video standalone sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie, on Leap Day in 2000. I remember watching this film as a kid and liking it, mostly for the extreme sports angle, but largely forgot the story over the years until I decided to rewatch it after viewing A Goofy Movie. Watching this film again as an adult, I saw it as a sequel that squandered its own potentially interesting plotlines and realized that the three security stickers on my sealed DVD copy were actually a warning.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS1)

In further anticipation of the upcoming Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, here we continue from the original Pro Skater game and into its sequel, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. Though the Pro Skater series had begun running on an annual release schedule, this game takes the concepts introduced in the first and expands upon them in a number of areas, creating a more solid experience from a technical standpoint, though it’s not without its flaws.

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins

Note: This review contains spoilers for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins

Following the success of Toy Story 2, a spin-off TV series was produced by Disney and Pixar centering on the traditionally-animated fictional adventures of the ever-popular Buzz Lightyear, entitled Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command is a show I fondly remember watching in my youth, mainly for the interesting expansion on Buzz Lightyear lore and some very memorable characters (while the rest of my Star Command toy collection is sitting in storage, I still have a toy of energy vampire NOS-4-A2 sitting on my shelf to this day). As of this writing, I more recently discovered that the series was turning 20 years old, which instantly made me feel old despite still being in my late 20s. However, as I still own a DVD copy of the DTV movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, I also immediately became curious as to how well it held up after not having seen it for nearly two decades. Not only does it hold up surprisingly well, it was also somehow even better than I remembered it being.

Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders

After having finally seen Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost, we decided to watch Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, at least partly since the first four direct-to-video animated films, produced by Hanna-Barbera, form their own tetralogy of sorts. As I was watching the movie, I realized I had vague memories of seeing at least part of it somehow, though I had only recalled part of a minor subplot involving a jackalope. After seeing the whole thing in its proper context, I didn’t think it was quite as good as Witch’s Ghost, however it held up pretty well on its own merits.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Before watching this movie, I will admit I have not actually seen the Batman Beyond cartoon, nor have I seen Batman: The Animated Series. However, I am aware of both shows and their relation to the DCAU, as well as how highly praised they are (especially the latter). What spurred me to watch Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, however, was learning about how well thought-of it and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm are, though let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Despite not having any prior knowledge of Terry McGinnis’ tenure as the dark knight, I found his battle against the Joker to be a very solid movie.