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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Movie Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 2022 action adventure live-action/animated film directed by Jeff Fowler and starring Ben Schwartz. It is such a good sequel.

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“Today’s forecast calls for a 100% chance of adventure!“

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When the manic Dr. Robotnik returns to Earth with a new ally, Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic and his new friend Tails must stop them from getting the legendary Master Emerald. While the first Sonic movie was pretty solid, it was overly confined to its setting and characters. This one, however, changes that and mostly for the better.

This franchise is undoubtedly one of the best game adaptations out there right now while also giving the usually maligned live-action/animated hybrid medium a good name. The second half of the movie is typically overly frenetic in action and spectacle, but the first half focuses more on the adventurous elements and I loved those.

The overall storyline is taken straight from the first couple of video games. It was nice seeing a faithful adaptation of the source material, both in plot and in characterization. The ‘Infinity War’ elements with the Master Emerald made the movie so much fun, resembling a genuine quest in the process.

I still do not find the voice of Ben Schwartz particularly fitting for the Sonic character, though he does a good job, especially in his comedic delivery. Sonic is very funny and some of his one-liners really cracked me up. Jim Carrey is even more over-the-top as Dr. Robotnik in this installment. He was so funny throughout in both facial expressions and one-liners. His homoerotic dynamic with his assistance was especially amusing.

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This second entry introduces us finally to the two iconic sidekicks of Sonic – Tails and Knuckles. Tails is my favorite Sonic character, so I absolutely loved seeing him here. They brought back the games’ voice actress, which was an authentic, respectful casting choice that really worked. Tails’ tails that function as a plane were super cool and those flying sequences were so much fun. He is cute, his friendship with Sonic is wonderful and his origin story is solid.

As for Tails, he is hilariously voiced by Idris Elba. He has a deep voice, a stoic warrior attitude and a humorless personality, which made him such a good counterpart to Sonic. Their dynamic produced a lot of great laughs. Knuckles being a villain first and then becoming a good guy and a sidekick was taken right from the games and it was a very well executed arc.

What hindered the movie is that beach subplot. I actually really liked some of the elements there and Sonic’s arrival on the beach was a very entertaining sequence. But most of it fell flat (the fat black bride was cringey) and it functioned pretty much as an unnecessary detour in an overlong, badly paced flick. There was no need for this movie to be two hours long. It’s a shame that they somewhat squandered the James Marsden character, but thankfully his friendship with Sonic is still intact, and it was actually turned into a parental relationship, which was very sweet.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 looks excellent. I am still not that big of a fan of Sonic’s design, but Knuckles looks great and Tails is just as adorable as he was in the games. It was wonderful seeing Green Hills and the fight with the mecha robot was pleasantly reminiscent of boss battles with Robotnik in the games. So many of the things that this movie does was so right and so faithful, which makes it perfect for series’ fans and for children as its family-friendly action-adventure storytelling is wonderful. The VFX are great and the mixing of the two mediums was actually very well done.