Sonic the Hedgehog 2

On the one hand, Sonic & Tails are great (their voice actors and animation are solid) knuckles is decent too. Eggman at times feels a bit too much like Carrey being Carrey, but he still does a great job portraying him.

Where does this movie go wrong then? It has a lot of time wasted on cast members nobody cares about - like a bride, and this coupled with the minimal moments showing Sonic's world make me realize how much better this would've been if it was all animation and not mixed with live actors in real shoots.

At times Paramount make this movie goofy too with 4th wall breaking lines and overuse of hip-hop, they aren't even that funny.

There's some good action sequences and as above the actual characters from the classic games are well done, but it feels like everything else is kind of weak and off focus.

Worth a watch, but not one I'd be eager to watch again.

The first film was a solid, if slightly safe film introducing Sonic to the live action movie world. Sonic 2 takes the live action universe of Sonic and adds not only familar faces in Tails and Knuckles, but adds its own spin of the Sonic franchise's lore from the original 3 Sonic games. Whenever Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Eggman are on the screen this film, its a fun spectacle and a fun time for Sonic fans.

If however you are not a Sonic fan, and/or don't have children, this movie will probably not do much for you. References from the original games (and beyond) will be totally lost on you and the film is definitely a kids film. Also as a Sonic fan, this film isn't perfect. There is a small subplot involving some of the human side characters halfway in the film sends this film on a weird, confusing detour that adds barely anything to the overall experience. The Movie does recover from this bizarre sidetrack to a fan's dream of a final fight.

I cannot wait for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and I do hope this film and franchise succeeds so we may see more of the franchises fan-favourite characters on the big screen!

I wonder what Tails and Knuckles would've looked like had we not have a redesign...

As a fan of the games, I had an idea of where the story was going within the first 15 minutes of the film. With that being said, the execution of the plot and writing with both new and returning characters, made the build up to the finale very entertaining and worth my time. It's a little slow at the beginning but once Tails and Knuckles join the cast, it's a thrilling race to the finish; and what a finish it is! There are some twists I didn't see coming and I won't spoil the 3rd act which is the peak of the film. Think Spider-Man No Way Home: Sega version! Yes, the 3rd act is that good and it gave me goosebumps. Very enjoyable film for fans and newcomers alike and definitely STAY for the mid-credits scene.

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free thoughts, please follow my blog to read my full review :)

"Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a vastly superior sequel to the first adaptation.

Jeff Fowler works with his screenwriting team to fix some of the issues with the original flick, successfully managing to create a much less corporate work, more focused on Sonic and, this time, also Tails and Knuckles, in addition to putting humans aside in a subplot that, even so, still bothered more than it should.

Taking advantage of phenomenal voice acting from the cast, as well as an already iconic performance by Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, entertainment levels soar tremendously as the action-adventure sequences amaze viewers with praiseworthy animation and visual effects, as well as an engaging main narrative that expands on the origin of the hedgehogs while simultaneously developing the same characters.

Fun for kids and adults alike."

Rating: B.

Many sequels go bigger but end up being worse than the original. They lose the essence of what made the original good. That's definitely not the case here. It's much bigger but feels just like the first movie. It's on par with the original in every way, just bigger.

I said this in my review of the first movie, every moment Jim Carrey is on screen is pure gold. I wanted him to be in every scene. His facial expressions are hilarious. Whoever cast him as Robotnik is a genius. It's so perfect. I can't imagine it being anyone else.

My only downsides are a few gaps in logic and parts that don't really make sense. I chalked it up to being a kids movie but that's not really an excuse. And was I the only one who thought Idris Elba was doing something weird with Knuckles' accent? It sounded like it was switching between an English accent and a heavy New York accent, and sometimes a combination of both. I couldn't stop hearing it.

I had a great time with this movie. Two out of two in the videogame genre??? That's unheard of. Keep up the good work. Maybe this is the tide turning on video game movies like it did with superhero movies in the early 2000's. I can only hope.

(3 viewings, opening night 4/8/2022, 4/27/2024, 12/19/2024)