by Jonathan Fedee, Contributing Writer
For many people, Sonic the Hedgehog was the last movie they enjoyed in theaters when it was released in February 2020 just before the pandemic firmly clamped down on the world. Now two years later, cautiously emerging into this new normal, we’re greeted with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Know this up front, this action adventure works very well for its targeted, single-digit-aged audience. There’s a mid-credits reveal that elicited raucous cheers and thunderous applause in my packed theater, the likes of which I haven’t personally heard since Captain America wielded Mjölnir in Avengers: Endgame. It’s not a bad time at the movies for adults, but seeing these CGI characters talk about “butt helicopters” and watching Dr. Robotnik do the floss to uproarious laughter cemented the fact that what worked for kids in the first film is back here in spades. Thankfully, also returning for this sequel is the same heart, humor, and heroics.
More faithful to the games this time around, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 counts on you remembering most of the key plot points of its predecessor. It reintroduces a more instantly recognizable (while admittedly still svelte), Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), some 250-plus days into his exile on the putrid mushroom planet. His sole motivation is to escape his circumstance to exact swift revenge on Sonic after their last battle. Rumors abound that this could be Carrey’s last role before retiring from acting, and if that turns out to be true, his manic performance here would be a fitting end to his storied career. The veteran actor comes to play once again, giving it his all as Robotnik descends even further into unhinged madness.
Sonic is once again perfectly voiced by Ben Schwartz, and joining him on his mission is Miles ‘Tails’ Prower, an orange, twin-tailed fox charmingly brought to life by longtime voice actress, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who has been the voice of the character in the franchise since 2014, and was first teased as having joined this film universe as a mid-credits reveal at the end of the first film. The Sonic and Tails relationship on display is an emotional highlight, and there’s one small gesture shared when the two are in front of a fireplace that is sure to evoke an audible “aww” from audiences. Much like Tails is a young novice, the sequel really leans into the fact that Sonic is still just a kid, capable of making mistakes, which makes the growth of both characters satisfying to witness.
The other anthropomorphic character along for this adventure is a red echidna named Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba. He brings an undeniable gravitas to the role of a single-minded warrior and the last of his tribe. Teaming up with Dr. Robotnik in pursuit of Sonic and the Master Emerald artifact now hidden on Earth, Knuckles is a formidable adversary, but his booming voice and presence almost backfires. He’s supposed to be a kid, roughly the same age as Sonic as evidenced by a flashback, though his character feels much more like a grown man when compared to the chilidog-loving hedgehog.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s most glaring flaw is that it seems at a loss for what to do with human characters not named Robotnik. Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) are back, but almost feel like they exist in this story out of obligation to the film that came before. There’s a sizable chunk of the movie that takes place on a beach in Hawaii featuring Sonic’s adoptive parents, Maddie’s sister Rachel, and several other new characters that really slows the movie to a crawl. It was during this stretch that my four-year-old daughter leaned over to me and impatiently asked, “Where’s Sonic and Tails?” It’s not a sequence devoid of laughs, but it’s a good bit of runtime that just feels like it’s from a different movie.
There’s no denying that Sonic the Hedgehog is now a cross-generational franchise, comprised of former kids like myself who actually sat and played the original games on the Sega Genesis and are now taking their own children to see these films. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a worthy addition to that legacy, improving upon its predecessor in many ways, and can be forgiven in the ways in which it falls short. The sequel has more nods and references to Sega games than the first movie and a climactic battle that feels attuned to the big boss battles from the ‘90s video games so many of us loved. The fleet of foot Blue Blur will surely be back, and I look forward to seeing where he races to next.
Score: 7/10