Sonic The Hedgehog 2

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is the sequel to 2020's Sonic The Hedgehog; this time seeing our blue protagonist face off against Dr. Robotnik and his new ally: Knuckles the Echidna. Luckily for Sonic he has some new back-up too in the form of a newfound friend, Tails; only together can this heroic duo work together in a quest to recover the Master Emerald. I really enjoyed that the fun and wild antics that made the first Sonic such an immediate family friendly blockbuster hit is still intact here. Right from the top it is very clear that a strong presence of comedy is felt throughout and the dialogue is often side-splittingly good. I also enjoyed seeing that Sonic is still working up to becoming a responsible hero, the journey he goes on here to a better person is one of the nicer touches in the film. Also casting Sonic and Knuckles as characters that had such similar parallels made their rivalry a lot of fun to watch. Though some of this can be unnecessary, I like that this sequel is really dedicated to giving each character from the first film a decent moment to shine and have their part, which really meant that more comedic roles like Rachel, Wade and Agent Stone got to thrive. Ultimately the film comes together in a very epic final act that showcases moments of teamwork and love between Sonic and his family really well. Yes, the Sonic films are blockbusters but they have a lot of heart and always circle back to that. I greatly enjoyed the way this film circled back to it's video game roots, both from a storytelling and visual perspective. The cinematography was really fun for the most part, there were a number of action sequences which felt very creative with some of the techniques employed. The special effects used throughout the film were a major step up; the design of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails was consistently great and that final battle against the giant Dr. Robotnik mech was jaw-dropping. The score for the film by Junkie XL is almost as thrilling as what we got from him in the original; while the soundtrack lends a real blend of epic and hilarious moments.

 

Idris Elba, who voiced Knuckles, is quite the stoic warrior figure hellbent on seeing his life goal achieved by any honourable means; yet Elba has some really fun with the comedic obliviousness of his talking echidna. Jim Carrey, who played Dr. Ivo Robotnik, is somehow even more manic and unpredictable in this feature but that works just fine; Carrey's comedic delivery is as strong as always making it a battle for best line delivery between him and Schwartz constantly. James Marsden and Tika Sumpter, who played Tom and Maddie respectively, are extremely sweet and endearing as the parent figures for Sonic throughout the film; I enjoyed that Marsden got to revel in some of that physical comedy in those wedding scenes too. Natasha Rothwell, who played Rachel, really seized the spotlight in a big way this feature; having her play up the scorned bride wanting revenge role was hysterical the whole way through. Adam Pally, who played Wade, is nice to see back as the bumbling deputy, those light scenes in which he stumbles ineptly through is comedy gold. Lee Majdoub, who played Agent Stone, really embraces the reverence his character has for Carrey's in this film; the complete undying loyalty led to some great moments between this antagonist/henchman duo.

 

However, the best performance came from Ben Schwartz, who voiced Sonic. I really liked seeing Sonic take charge of his own film a lot more this time around. It was clear to see that Schwartz was intent on building up the character somewhat and the payoff is a rather well done character arc. We meet Sonic at the top of the film when he is recklessly seeking heroic thrills and trading quick one-liners, the classic delivery Schwartz gave us in the first film. You also get the sense of that harmless mischievous side and how he playfully fits into his Earth family. Schwartz lends a nice tough side to Sonic that lets itself be known the more he has to defend his friends and family, it's a subtle shift but leads up to the Chaos Emeralds scene nicely. I loved seeing those moments of Empathy from Sonic that delivered us his friendship with Knuckles or saving Tails' life. Sonic goes from being a careless hero to one who is more driven by those closest to him throughout the film and I loved seeing that character journey for this protagonist.

 

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 has a lot of plot points going for it, a lot of which are great but not all of which are strictly necessary. Sonic needing friends is a simplistic sub-plot the feature very intermittently returns to, while the entire FBI undercover operation that was a big elbaorate catfish was one of the strangest plot elements of the film (even if it lead to some of the funnier scenes). The temple for the Emerald being so close to Hawai'i was a little too convenient, while characters such as Wade or Stone got far more screen time than the film ever really justified. The introduction of Tails in this sequel was quite a disappointment because the role had so little too him, he was a big fan of Sonic and then the pair became friends and teamed up in spite of Tails' fears about going on missions. I really think they just needed to give this little yellow fox some more substance to make him a more compelling new role. The film also really struggled to add the human characters into the plot in a way that justified having them there; the big fake wedding storyline really pushed our human characters away from our special effects ones, while the distinct lack of connection time Tom and Maddie had with Sonic meant the big moment with the Robotnik mech lost a little punch. 

Collen O'Shanussy, who voiced Tails, really didn't do enough to make her role stand out amongst a cast of bigger names; Tails lacked presence and a lot of that came from a lack of variety in how O'Shanussy delivered her lines. Shemar Moore, who played Randall, was this alpha hunk that initially had little more to do than make Marsden's role seem inept; but the way he played to that fake wedding scene just showed Moore didn't really know what to do with his character. Tom Butler, who played Commander Walters, is one of the only returning characters from the first film I wish hadn't been brought back; he really guns for over the top comedy in a way that never lands and often lowers the quality of his scenes.

Historically video game films have never been good. Sonic The Hedgehog changed that, Sonic 2 shakes the foundations by being the first truly decent video game sequel. I would give Sonic The Hedgehog 2 a 7.5/10.