Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Review

What would happen if ghosts from your past came back to life? This happens literally in the live action sequel to the 2002 film Scooby-Doo, in 2004’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed again directed by Raja Gosnell. The film isn’t an improvement on the original but it does manage to ground the story more than the first even with its still ever ridiculous plot. The cast does seem to have a stronger sense of chemistry than the first one but that doesn’t help the final product in the end. Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed tells the story of the gang being back in their stomping grounds, Coolsville as they are as tight-knit as ever and are being celebrated with their own museum when a masked villain shows up and steals several monster costumes from the gang’s past. The villain sets out to recreate the monsters and wreak havoc on the gang. The movie like its predecessor has fun moments but it doesn’t add up to a good movie.

Shaggy and Scooby continue to be stand out characters and the rest of the gang starts to come into their own improving from the first film with the chemistry amongst themselves and Scooby and Shaggy. Seth Green also brings a fun element as Patrick Wisely and surprisingly has good if slightly awkward chemistry with Velma as a romantic subplot is hinted at between them. The writers play with the audience’s perceptions of this character and Green does a good job of carrying the material he is given to great effect. The benefit of the story reviving many of the monsters from the gang’s past is the element of nostalgia which is utilized here effectively. The Scooby and Shaggy relationship is taken advantage of and utilized well such as when the two go undercover in a bar full of thugs that hate them with a great cameo by Peter Boyle as Old man Wickles. Thematically this film explores the nature of the past and it coming in and being a source of conflict for the gang.


The gang’s conflict with their past foes being revived is interesting and makes for some fun moments of chase sequences and such however the execution of those moments could have used a lot more momentum. A sense of gravity to their situations is missing when the gang is facing the creatures of their past led by a new foe and with an improved script it could have turned into something really poignant and special in the film. The sense of adventure that runs through the film is its best strength against all the flaws that plague the story. The movie does a good job of engaging the audience with its characters in its fun action filled moments but is devoid of a plot that engages the audience in the story and when all is said and done the implications don’t really mean anything to the group as they return to their status quo which leaves for an unsatisfying conclusion. Overall I think Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is an unsatisfying bad film which has some entertainment value though, that I am assigning a score of 4.5/10.

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