Movie: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Production Companies: Sega Sammy Group, Original Film, Marza Animation Planet, Blur Studio
Director: Jeff Fowler
Producers: Neal H Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, Hitoshi Okuno
Scriptwriters: Pat Casey, Josh Miller, John Whittington
Main Cast: Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O’Shaughnessy, Idris Elba, Jim Carrey
Release Date: April 8th 2022 (US)
Running Time: 122 minutes
Certificate: PG
Introduction
Well, that was a nice, little surprise. While it was never going to be Oscar tier in terms of storytelling or direction, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a decent film to kill a couple hours of time watching in what turns out to be genuinely charming at points. This is mostly due to a stacked cast of villains, great chemistry between Tails and Sonic and just Jim Carrey. Yep, Jim Carrey yet again does the absolute most with Doctor Robotnik. Also, SPOILER alert for the upcoming review. So, without further ado here is my review of the film.
Synopsis
‘With great power’…
The film starts with Sonic (Schwartz), sorry Blue Justice, trying to stop a van of bank robbers to little success. Quick sidenote, this film takes place a few months after the events of the first film. Tom (Marsden), his adoptive father, encourages him to wait until his powers will be needed aka the with great power comes great responsibility speech. Tom and Maddie (Sumpter) then depart to Hawaii for her sister Rachel’s wedding.
The arrival of Knuckles and Tails
Meanwhile, Sonic is looking forward to a weekend alone… Until Dr Robotnik (Carey) and new ally Knuckles (Elba) show up and attack him. Knuckles seeks to honour his tribe and wants the location of the Master Emerald, an object that allows its user to bend reality. Luckily, Sonic is saved by Miles ‘Tails’ Prower (O’Shaughnessy) , a two tailed fox who idolises him and who came to warn him about Knuckles. Good job with the warning…
The Quest for the Master Emerald begins
Sonic then convinces Tails to help him find the Master Emerald before Robotnik and Knuckles can. Sonic and Tails then follow a map left by Sonic’s deceased guardian Longclaw. Where does this map lead to? Siberia. Here, the duo find a compass in an abandoned temple. Unfortunately, Robotnik and Knuckles track them there and pursue them down a mountain. During an ensuing avalanche, Robotnik and Knuckles steal the compass. Tom then rescues Sonic and Tails by using a ring to teleport them to the wedding.
Worst wedding ever….
However, all of the wedding guest’s of Rachel’s fiance are revealed to be undercover agents working for Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N) Audible sigh… They then capture Sonic, Tails and Tom. Maddie and Rachel then rescue the trio while Robotnik and Knuckles find the underwater temple that contains the Master Emerald.
Knuckles joins the fight against Robotnik
Sonic then arrives and fights Knuckles before Robotnik betrays Knuckles by stealing the Emerald for himself. If that wasn’t enough betrayal, Robotnik then leaves him and Sonic in the collapsing. Sonic and Knuckles then agree to work together after escaping, with Tails then joining them in a biplane. Meanwhile, Robotnik absorbs the Emerald and becomes omnipotent.
The final showdown and aftermath
Back in Green Hills, Robotnik destroys G.U.N’s forces before building a giant robot resembling himself. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles then work together to fight the robot and reclaim the Master Emerald but it shatters releasing the seven Chaos Emeralds. Tom and Maddie rescue Sonic, who becomes Super Sonic with the help of the Emeralds. He destroys the robot before dispersing the emeralds and reverting to normal. Knuckles then reconstructs the Master Emerald from the remaining shards and agrees to protect it along with Sonic and Tails. In a lovely happy ending, Knuckles and Tails move in with the Wachowskis and Sonic.
Mid Credits/After Credits Scene
In the mid credits scene, Stone (Robotnik’s minion) is desperately searching for him amongst the rubble. In the end credits scene, an agent reports to the commander of G.U.N that a 50 year old file has surfaced, revealing the location of the facility that houses ‘Project Shadow’… I wonder who that could be referring to…
Analysis
Is Sonic the Hedgehog 2 an adaptation?
To begin my analysis of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, I’m going to discuss whether the film is an adaptation or not. So, Sonic the Hedgehog is not an adaptation. And that’s not just me saying that as director Jeff Fowler talks about the film being a melting pot of ideas from the second and third Sonic games. So, what is the effect of this on the film and audience? Well, it works quite well as it expands the SCU (Sonic Cinematic Universe) and means it can remain accessible for both fans of the games and fans of the films.
Fans of the films will like it as it is a reasonably charming way to kill a couple of hours. Whereas fans of the games will like it as there are plenty of references in the film, from the obvious hint of Shadow the Hedgehog to the giant Robotnik and Super Sonic. Overall, it was a very smart decision as it allows the best of both worlds in appeasing fans of the films and games simultaneously.
The quality of CGI in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Continuing my analysis of the film, I’m going to mention the quality of the CGI. Yes I know that doesn’t sound particularly exciting but hear me out. So, the obvious place to start is the hedgehog, fox and echidna and how they look. And, all of them look genuinely like the videogame characters. Sonic retains the same look as last film (Thank god, never remember his horrible first face from the very first Sonic trailer), Tails looks absolutely adorable and the animation of the Tails is great.
Finally, what about Knuckles the echidna? Well, he looks great too. Literally punching his way into Sonic’s world with those giant bone crushing fists. And, we mustn’t forget Dr Robotnik’s giant robot and army of drones. Now, while the robot looks a bit like a cross between Robotnik and Waluigi it can’t be denied that the CGI robot makes the final battle seem epic and straight out of the frames of a video game. Also, the fact the film only cost $90 million and its CGI was still better than more expensive films is just wonderful.
Performances in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
To conclude my analysis of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, I’m going to discuss the performances of Jim Carrey, Colleen O’Shaughnessy and Idris Elba. Let’s start with the obvious one… Colleen O’Shaughnessy. Interestingly, she was the only voice actor from the video games to carry on her role (Tails) in the films. And, that was very much the right decision. Why? Because it means another nice piece of nostalgia for fans of the video games and provides both sets of fans with a fun, upbeat vocal performance to counteract Ben Schwartz’s performance as Sonic.
Next up, Idris Elba as Knuckles. Now, I didn’t have any expectation of this performance heading in but damn, Idris Elba knocks it out of the park. His voice works perfectly for the more serious of the three characters and hearing him be confused over why Sonic saved his life is so much funnier than it has any right to be. Finally, the one you’ve all been looking forward to… Jim Carrey’s return as Doctor Robotnik. What do I need to say beyond the fact it is a good performance? Carrey throws himself left and right in an over the top performance which tops his performance in the first film. How? At one point he literally uses his leg as a guitar. That sort of sums his performance up in general.
Summary
To summarise Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a decent enough sequel to the first film with enough ‘pop culture’ and game references to deliver. This is also complimented by some great performances, both vocal and live action, in what turns out to be quite a charming film at points. So, if you ever need to kill sometime in the coming weeks why not watch the genuinely charming and decent film Sonic the Hedgehog 2?
Overall Rating: 6.5/10 – Okay
Target Audience: 10+
Content Warning: Mild violence and gore, mild profanity, mild frightening and intense scenes
Recommendation: Yes
