Eeeh from what I've been seeing it seems that the one making bad decisions is Paramount and not Sega. It seems that Sega is just consulting or "supervising" but Paramount has the final say on what's going to happen. Kind of like how Marvel Entertainment (not Marvel Studios) consults Sony and Fox but they still release movies like Fant4stic, Wolverine: Origins, Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 1/2 because they can do what they want. I guess if there's a bad decision from Sega is that they should've gotten more creative control like J.K. Rowling did with Warner Bros or the Schulz family with Fox/Blue Sky Studios (and even then their hands are tied in various matters). Though I don't think it's been officially confirmed what role Sonic Team/Sega has in the production or has it?
I don't expect the movie to be a new direction in the series, and I don't expect it restore the franchise to its former glory either. When I say “be a success”, I'm talking from the perspective of say Alvin and the Chipmunks or The Smurfs, or whatever, or even Dr. Seuss movies like The Grinch (in which Jim Carey also played the villain). It will probably be an average movie which serves to keep society culturally aware of the character. I don't have high hopes, I just think that from a broader perspective the film may be a success.
Have they confirmed that there will be a game to tie into the movie? Cause if successful, a change in direction may happen because money.
Jim is great. I don't agree with a lot of his personal views and he's made some terrible decision and has a stained rep, but goddamn, he is a big name all things considered and in spite of his diminished fame, his presence makes this a bit eyebrow-raising. He IS talented in my book. I don't expect it to be great, but it might actually be pretty neat and I am trying to be optimistic. Consider me surprised he is attached now. Major win, but we will see. He does have some awful films, too. When he shines, though, he really shines. That was not an Eternal Sunshine pun, BTW. :P
Film is going to be a disaster. It's also going up against Frozen 2 in the same month, so even the target audience of little kids who won't know any better won't be wanting to see it especially...
Oh my damn. Jim Carrey really had hit rock bottom. HOWEVER, if the movie were to take a more "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" route, this would be an amazing meta Adventure!
I don't think we'll get anything like Roger Rabbit. However, when they first said it would involve a cop, I immediately thought something very meta was likely and Jim Carrey's presence makes that possibility even more likely. Worst case scenario, which is very possible here, it'll be one of those lame JC vehicles like the Grinch movie or something worse. I am hoping things congeal in a way where he adds to it rather that detract. People thought John Travolta's career was pretty much done when Pulp Fiction was released. It is a prime moment for a career-uptick type of film. I don't expect this to be good. I do think it has potential to be entertaining in a way, as others have said. Something akin to Roger Rabbit would be amazing. Unfortunately, this isn't going to be 2D animation.
If intellectual properties such as TinTin, Peanuts, Smurfs, Garfield, Chipmunks, Dr. Seuss, etc., can garner success at the box office, then there is no reason Sonic can't also. In fact, Sonic is in an even better position than the majority of those IPs, if not all of them. He currently has video games on the store shelf, he has cartoons available across the spectrum, he has merchandise in all varieties for all age groups, he is known among children, and he is on the periphery of adults that had grown up with Sonic, especially those that now have children themselves. You can't say that about any of those other movies. I think a lot of this doom and gloom is just sour grapes from a jaded fan base. I'm jaded too, don't get me wrong, but this film is not objectively a poor financial decision on Saga's part. It's riskier than say a new Marvel film, but doesn't warrant the pitchforks and tinfoil a lot of us are responding with. Is this movie still perhaps a pg-13? I seem to recall reading that...
None of the complaints here seem to be about the movie tanking, though. I just want the Sonic franchise to stop being the laughingstock of the internet, and that won't happen if Sega continues to pander to the lowest common denominator.
I was thinking this morning, Sonic's gonna be some young homeless or whatever, with a cop buddy who tries to put him in the right way... But what about Robotnik? Since this all happens in a small town, Doc will probably be the most influencing person in that town, owning a machine development factory that gives work to everyone, and, right on time for the film, he decides to fire everyone and substitute them with his new roboworkers, who are a lot cheaper. Sonic will probably be a street thug because Robotnik did something to Sonic's parents and he will accept helping the cop to stop Robotnik from doing that just because of vengeance. Or something like that, there are variations like Eggman being the town principal that could happen too. I honestly think it's terrible how right could I be just with a 2 minute random thought. Fortunately, I'm not worried about the film being terrible. Not after 5 transformers movies, dragon ball evolution, the movie from King of Fighters...
Success and Good are very different things. Akira was good (and a success). Gladiator was a success (you can argue with me but that film SUCKED -- gratuitous CG). VectorCNC, you make some glorious points. I agree with a lot of it. It is an IP worth putting serious quality into. That is why I am happy about anyone with a career as large as JC being involved, no matter individual movie role qualities. The set-up is strange. I like strange. It is the type of synopsis that amounts to a film that could go insanely weird in a good, super nutty way with the right kind of direction and talent (albeit not classical 'Sonic') or it could be a disaster. Or, probably somewhere in-between. I hate the set-up. With the right execution, it could work in a bizarre way. Fuck it. I was critical of SatAM AND AoStH when they first came out in the '90s because I believed it was cheapening the brand. I can be a harsh critic. There is some really obnoxious shit going on with the synopsis, though, and now JC is attached. That beats a whimper. It still may suck, but goddamn, I will watch, and a lot of others will too. Not everyone gives a shit about Frozen, by the way. Sonic may have an angle opening that month if played right. I dunno. Also, two '90s staples in one film.
Main problem is, this story sounds like it's going to be absolute shit. Bad flashbacks of Woody Woodpecker.
So, its a standard Sonic the Hedgehog story then? Part of me wishes to discuss story (so this isn't just a generic jab) but I find my ideal Sonic story is: Sonic goes from zone to zone, fighting robots, freeing flickies, loop de loops, punches Robotnik in the face, then blows up a giant base at the end with an optional super form boss fight. Adapting this into movie form would be pretty damn anime which I don't think would do well at the box office. It'd work as a direct to DVD (See DC's comic adaptations) or Netflix (see Castlevania). As bad as I and many others are anticipating the movie to be, Paramount knows its audience. This is the same guys who handle the Transformers movies and Sherlock Gnomes. Sure, chances are good I won't like it but I can't argue at something that makes $$$.
Hey, like they were fuelled by Jim Carrey. Maybe the CGI and the real life actors are going to look super duper great because they did a lot of screen capturing and green screening, editing and stuff. I could imagine real life Eggman jumping into his CGI Eggthingy because CGI quality in modern movies improves every time. But that doesn't change the fact that he's going to be the fake Doc. Why don't we just leave it at that.
This. He carried that movie like goddamn Hercules, and I'd be shocked if he didn't do the same here. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's still gonna be a nightmarish train wreck, but at least it'll probably be amusing. Plus, it's not being written by Pontac and Graff, right?
The story premise makes no sense considering the source material. If you Google "Sonic The Hedgehog" the second result is the official website, where the description talks about his friends. The first result is the Sonic The Hedgehog Wikipedia article, where the first paragraph mentions his friends. If you Google Image search literally the second result is a picture of Sonic with a bunch of his friends. The story to the first game is that Eggman is turning Sonic's friends into robots. How did anyone get the gig of writing a Sonic movie and thought to themselves "This guy seems lonely"?
Probably a similar thought process to the reduction of friends in the game titles as well. Maybe the execs looked and came to the conclusion of "Fans don't like Sonic's friends" as opposed to "Fans want Sonic's friends to be well-utilized as opposed to a large roster just for the sake of it" and created a narrative that would be a "meta" commentary on Sonic's friends. Or maybe the CG budget is being gobbled up by the live-action A-listers, who knows.