Sonic the Hedgehog 2

*It’s a kids movie…

IMDB Synopsis

After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove that he has what it takes to be a true hero. His test comes when Dr. Robotnik returns with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of a mystical 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.

When the First Sonic movie came out a couple years ago, there was a lot of buzz because of the trailer controversy with how Sonic looked. There was also the fact that there had never been a Live Action Sonic movie before. It came out though and generally people and enjoyed it and loved Ben Schwartz interpretation of Sonic and of course Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnick. Now they get to make the sequel and they brought in more of the Sonic universe with popular characters such as Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba).

This story starts almost a year after the first movie ended and we see Sonic adjusting to his new family, while Dr. Robotnick is trying to escape from Mushroom Land. Once Knuckles finds the Dr. to help him defeat Sonic, Tails has to go find Sonic to help him defeat them. And the cat and mouse game begins again with Sonic having to escape from all of Robotnicks traps. There is also the human story sprinkled in with James Marsden and Tika Sumpters characters, but honestly none of that really works for me. The best stuff in this movie is when the three animated characters are together and interacting.

Like the first movie, the filmmakers are able to find really fun ways to show Sonic using his speed in different ways here, especially in the scene where he had to run on water. A lot of the energy though continues to come from Ben Schwartz and his rapid fire portrayal of the Hedgehog which makes it feel like no one else in the world could voice him. He even tosses in a little easter egg from his Parks and Rec role and if you catch it, you will be laughing. These movies are made to be fun, and it does seem like everyone involved is having a ball making them.

Stock Watch

Stock Neutral – Jim Carrey

His Legacy is locked in at this point, and it still is fun seeing him act all wild on screen. Based on what he is saying in interviews these days, we may not see much more of him in the future. So I will choose to cherish what we are getting.

*A couple other tidbits

Is it just me or was the emerald not just the Infinity Gauntlet?
So cool to see Colleen O get to reprise her role as Tails from the Video Games.
Knuckles seems like a direct inspiration of Drax from the Guardians movies.
Another Marvel reference with Sonic saying “Oh Look, The Winter Soldier” (sensing a trend here)
Oh and they did a post credit scene as well, also made famous by, you guessed it, Marvel Studios.

Even though they are not great these movies definitely have broken the mold in my opinion for Video Game adaptations, because there truly are not very many good ones at all. This franchise knows exactly what it is and a lot of kids are going to love it for that.

Juice Rating: