Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – Movie Review
122 Minutes, Rated PG
Written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington
Directed by Jeff Fowler
Synopsis:
When the manic Dr Robotnik returns to Earth with a new ally, Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic and his new friend Tails is all that stands in their way.
When the original Sonic The Hedgehog film released to theaters back in 2020, it was with much fanfare about the fan movement to have the titular hero completely redesigned after a disastrous trailer rollout of the character. Then, few critics thought we would be seeing a second Sonic film, much less one released only 2 years later, and just as the theater industry was recovering from the near-death experience of Covid shutdowns and a limited release schedule.
Now, after what could have been a train-wreck of a first film, Paramount and Sega recovered nicely and that film grossed a tidy sum (over $300M globally) and got generally positive reviews (including from us HERE).
But despite everything, here we are, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will hit theaters in just a couple of days.
Ben Schwartz returns to voice the obnoxious blue blur, with Jim Carrey returning as the villainous Dr. Robotnik and James Marsden as Tom, Sonic’s human best friend and guardian-cum-father.
Adding to the fun this time around is the addition of the credit-scene tease Tails, voiced by voice actor Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and Robotnik’s newest henchman (hench-Echidna?), Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba.
Together, Robotnik and Knuckles hope to glean the location of the Master Emerald from Sonic, who is unaware of what that is or that he has the means to find it, whilst Tails engages in some hero-worship of Sonic as they fight to protect this powerful artifact from Robotnik.
As I said when the original film came out, I never played any of the Sonic videogames, but I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it was as a fish-out-of-water buddy comedy. It was effective, as it didn’t try to do too much, and the comedy was accessible for all comers, not just little kids or gamers.
I can happily report that the second installment manages to not step on its own feet as it expands the Sonic Cinematic Universe (SCU?) by adding other gaming characters in a way that, to be honest is pretty silly (but what superhero film isn’t silly?), generates a storyline consistent with the logic of its universe.
Carrey maintains the form that made Robotnik such a great character in the first film: ego-maniacal but not manic (until his exile, lol), while Marsden provided Ben Schwartz an affable target for Sonic’s machine-gun patter.
Kids will love it, and if an adult enjoyed the first film, there’s enough of that here to make them smile through the 2-hour (!) run-time.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 opens April 8 in theaters, and features James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, with the voices of Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and Idris Elba.
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tags: Sonic, hedgehog, sega, paramount pictures, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Idris Elba,Pat Casey, Josh Miller, John Whittington,Jeff Fowler, robotnik, knuckles, tails, videogame, movies, movie review