Movie Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

To reflect on the past couple of years, Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the last movie I watched before the COVID-19 pandemic happened. I remember going into that initial screening with a notable sense of scepticism due to how poorly a lot of video game movies tend to perform. I was delighted to find my fears were unfounded though, as I found Sonic the Hedgehog to be a surprisingly good movie which did a wonderful job in adapting the blue hedgehog onto the big screen. So when they announced a sequel had been greenlit and that it would feature Sonic's lifelong pals Tails and Knuckles; I was speeding out to the cinema to go see it.

The narrative basis behind Sonic the Hedgehog 2 follows on from where we left off in the prior film. After being marooned on the unknown Mushroom planet, Dr Robotnik ends up meeting and forming an alliance with a mysterious Echidna called Knuckles. Back home on planet Earth, Sonic is still acclimatising himself to the world he's in and trying to define himself as a hero for the people of the planet. As Sonic gears up for a weekend at home by himself, he is attacked by Robotnik and Knuckles in an attempt to find the location of the Master Emerald. Before they can defeat him however, he finds himself saved by another newcomer called Tails who seeks to protect Sonic from Knuckles and aid him in finding and protecting the Master Emerald from falling into the wrong hands. 

I really enjoyed how much this narrative expanded on everything the original film established while also telling an new engaging and humorous adventure. When it comes to Sonic, it's hard not to associate him with his friends Knuckles and Tails, and while his solo outing in the original film was great, it's so nice to see these familiar characters make their debut here and the dynamic between the three of them is easily the strongest element of the film. I love how faithful the film is when it comes to adapting and incorporating them into this series as well. Idris Elba really surprised me with just how much he got Knuckles as character down in his inflections and voice work, he's easily my favourite character in the movie. I loved how much this film balances a consistently funny tone along with a captivating and emotional focus too. This is obviously a movie geared towards a younger crowd, but there's stuff here for adults and long-time Sonic fans are bound to enjoy. It's a wonderfully smart and well-structured story with so much entertainment value to it. In a lot of ways I feel it succeeds it's predecessor on narrative alone.

There's so much more to appreciate about the film that just it's narrative as well. Performance wise I've already noted Idris Elba's incredible work as Knuckles, but I want to give credit to just about the entire cast. There's not one single performance in this film that doesn't fail to make me laugh or keep me thoroughly entertained. Ben Schwartz,  Collen O'Shanussy, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter are all fantastic and I honestly couldn't imagine these films would be nearly as good without this cast behind it. Special shout out needs to go to Jim Carrey though, who while I don't think is given as much focus as the first film, still manages to centre nearly every scene around him with a energetic performance filled with so much comedic timing. Action wise I felt the film had a lot more to work with as well, with it leaning more towards the game's concepts and themes this time around it was so fun to see Knuckles, Robotnik and Sonic face off on the big screen with a lot of different backdrops and set ups.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 not only meets the same level of entertainment the original movie presented but easily surpasses them in my opinion. It's a film packed with so much to appreciate for any type of audience watching. I think that's what I loved about this film on reflection, it's written and delivered in a way that feels endearing and respective to the source material but still makes it easy to follow along. I am very excited to see future projects in this franchise develop, especially after that end-credit scene!