'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' Review: Sonic Speeds Up With a Solid Sequel
PG: Action, some violence, rude humor, and mild language
Runtime: 2 Hrs and 02 Minutes
Production Companies: Sega Sammy Group, Original Film, Marza Animation Planet, Blur Studio
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Director: Jeff Fowler
Writers: Pat Casey, Josh Miller, John Whittington
Cast: James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Lee Majdoub, Idris Elba, Jim Carrey
Release Date: April 8, 2022
In Theaters Only
Everyone’s favorite blue blur is back for a second serving of speed. I have unironically been pumped to see this movie for months. To heck with every other movie dropping in April, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was going to be my primary serotonin because… well, I’m a Sonic fan. THERE! I SAID IT! If you read my review of the previous film, you know I wasn’t its biggest fan, yet I was amped for this entry. They introduced Tails and Knuckles while bringing the story of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 into cinematic form. I had high hopes that this would be not just a good Sonic sequel, but a good Sonic movie. And it is… more or less.
The world’s favorite blue hedgehog is back for a next-level adventure in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2. After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove he has what it takes to be a true hero. His test comes when Dr. Robotnik returns, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of an emerald that has the power to destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a globe-trotting journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.
I’m flabbergasted that we even got a sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog in the first place. Everybody say, “Thank you, Internet!” Seriously, if there wasn’t backlash for that nightmare of an original design, we wouldn’t have gotten the Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles that you see today in all their CG glory. The two-tailed fox and echidna who don't chuckle’s translation to this cinematic universe are spectacular. The animation team at Marza Animation Planet who did the VFX on this, put their all when it came to bringing the boys to the big screen. Their iconic designs are well integrated into the world and the voice casting is even more perfect. Same goes to adapting the zones from the Genesis games into cinematic form and the production design for places such as Labyrinth Zone and the Death Egg battle is visually glorious to witness come to life.
Ben Schwartz is still fantastic as the titular hedgehog and he gives a wonderful voice performance. Whereas Sonic was slightly annoying in the predecessor, he’s not so manic due to him actually interacting with other characters that are not himself. I forget that, canonically, Sonic is fifteen years old, and writers Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington nail his rebellious adolescent spirit. He’s as much a teen as Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne. There are some similar character cues in Sonic that perfectly parallel The Batman where he tries to be a heroic vigilante and also tells his adoptive parent Tom (James Marsden) that he’s not his dad before going on an epic quest where he learns to be responsible. Schwartz has proven to be a great voice actor for many years and through his endearing and charming spirit, Sonic naturally comes into his own.
No one can provide the same warmth and heart that Colleen O'Shaughnessey does to her Tails. She has voiced Tails for nearly a decade now so it’s no surprise she shares natural chemistry with Ben Schwartz’s Sonic. Their brotherly dynamic is familiar to any Sonic fan. There’s a very heartwarming scene where O'Shaughnessey delivers the sweetest character monologue in the ranks of that OK K.O. crossover. If there’s anything this film does, it proves that Colleen O'Shaughnessey is the best Miles ‘Tails’ Prower, point-blank.
Then, you got Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba, which is a based casting choice that truly works. His serious character is retained and they interject some solid humor with him. All of the moments I genuinely laughed at came from Knuckles’ adorable dimwittedness and Elba’s line delivery.
One of the failings of the predecessor was how bland the human characters were, with the exception of Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, who ran the gamut of the film. Once again Jim Carrey is the MVP of the film. Jim Carrey in the Sonic movies is what David Cross was in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies; having unbridled fun, bringing the best of their comedic chops to their performance. That said, James Marsden does what Jason Lee don’t: be a charming human lead against an anthropomorphic CG animal. Surprisingly, I adored Tom (Marsden) and Maddie’s (Tika Sumpter) expanded role as they treat Sonic as their adopted kid. They share a loving relationship with him and their familial dynamic is genuinely heartwarming and tender. They love that hedgehog unconditionally and whenever they’re on screen with him, you feel the weight of their relationship. As a matter of fact, I didn’t mind much of the human characters because they’re all given something to do and are clearly having a blast while doing it. I wasn’t so fond of Natasha Rothwell being just a sassy side character, but in this film, she has a mini-arc that, albeit taking way too much of the film’s already extensive runtime, had me cracking up.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is packed to the brim with content, from stages becoming set pieces to references from Sonic’s entire career getting thrown into the forefront. If you are a Sonic nerd such as myself, this is the equivalent of putting the Sonic and Knuckles expansion pack into your Sonic 3 cartridge. It overwhelms you with so much Sonic goodness that it leaves you stuffed in both a positive and negative manner. Returning director Jeff Fowler shows his love for the property by integrating so many details into the film while adapting the Sonic 2, 3, and Knuckles tales into the movie and making it a bigger blockbuster epic with exhilarating action set pieces, especially during the second half of the film. That first half though… ughhhhhhh.
For someone who has had a long-lasting career like Sonic the Hedgehog, it’s such a frustrating chore to have these movies succumb to the trappings of every other derivative family film featuring an iconic property brought to the CG world. Everything that didn’t work about the predecessor is doubled down here in spades, especially the humor. I said this before and I’ll reiterate it: this needed to be written by the people who worked on the Sonic Boom series rather than Pat Casey and Josh Miller because they knew how to write jokes that fit the characters’ personalities. I swear these guys are graduates from the Happy Madison school of comedy, for they lazily interject current pop culture references and mask them as jokes.
I get that most of Sonic’s knowledge is pop culture due to him growing up on Earth, but by God, it’s so overbearing. Sonic may be a product of the ‘90s and adapting him to modern times is a challenge, but this is the same laziness that plagued the likes of The Smurfs, Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks, etc. The writers do right by his personality, but the script is often lazy as it panders with meandering sequences to put a smile on kids’ faces when in reality it’s just padding out the runtime. The reason why Knuckles was so funny to me was that he wasn’t making quips or spewing pop culture references at a rapid-fire speed. Then, there’s also the film’s biggest sin: a dance-off with Russians in a bar done to the song “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars. I’m not kidding, that's an entire sequence and it’s cringeworthy. This is a family film but kids these days have enough awareness to know what it's like to be talked down to. It was lazy and cringe the first time around and this film is more of that same laziness.
Not to be randy Rendy over runtimes, but there is no reason for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to be two hours long. Granted, it’s paced better than most of the superhero movies it attempts to emulate, but there are ample areas of the story that could’ve been cut for time and pacing. This is as overstuffed as Batman v Superman, for they threw everything into this sequel. That dance-off sequence with Sonic and Tails in Siberia… cut that. Even though I enjoyed Natasha Rothwell’s wedding side plot and the surprising turn it took, it could've been trimmed for time. Everything Adam Pally-related could’ve been cut. The pacing was so wonky, for the film ultimately stops its epic emerald quest for sequences of humor that either fall flat or overstay their welcome.
Despite being such a flawed, bloated mess that meanders and panders, I had a fun time watching Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Were you not paying attention when I said I’m a Sonic fan?! When Sonic the Hedgehog 2 focuses more on being a celebration of its source material with fine detailing through its story, the characters, their personalities, and action sequences, you are treated to a delightfully entertaining sequel. If your kid ain’t old enough to watch a Marvel movie or doesn’t understand much of the thematic material within some of those films, this is the best diversion for them.
This could be a kid’s first blockbuster movie and they will have as much fun as a Sonic fan would. With the inclusion of Tails, Knuckles, Master Emerald, and bald Eggman, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is both a solid sequel and a fun celebration of the character’s career over the past 30 years. Jeff Fowler pours his soul into these movies and I commend his direction for making this film as exciting as it was. Now, if only we could get new writers for movie number three when [redacted] comes through. Maybe then we’ll have a great Sonic movie. The third time’s the charm, amirite?
