Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review

April 8, 2022 at 10:11pm
By Jason Stettner

While I can’t personally believe it, we’re here at Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The second theatrical offering from this take on the character. A take that is strangely miles ahead of what we’ve seen from the games in a very long time. What’s even crazier, is that a Knuckles TV Series spin-off and a third movie are guaranteed to follow after this.

Just wild, and I’m totally down for a Sonic cinematic universe. This best not end until Big the Cat and Froggy arrive. Anyways, time to dive into this second offering. We find Sonic (Ben Schwartz) dealing with maturing and the need to balance his changing lifestyle. This is largely brought by his “with great power comes great responsibility” father figure Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) who once again is a rather entertaining human companion.

On the flip side of this quieter part of life is the exiled Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey) who is trying to make coffee on the mushroom planet. He eventually gets paired up with the hilariously tough Knuckles (Idris Elba). This creates a clash that is the focus of the film where two distinct parties are working against one another in a globetrotting journey to find a special gem. Fans of the games will just love some of the references here alongside the presence of many iconic game elements.

I was particularly thrilled by Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) who was perfect here. They really got Tails, they really got Knuckles and the parts focusing on these CGI characters clashing against one another with classic Jim Carrey just so good. It was the other human parts that dragged things down, the wedding sequence just wasn’t that great. The concept for the wedding wasn’t necessarily bad, just it went on way too long.

The movie once again brought CGI into the real world and while it wasn’t perfectly fitting I only noticed a couple moments where I was taken out of things. It actually all fits in quite well, feeling natural yet cartoonish at the same time which perfectly fits the almost at times outlandish style that’s present.

The performances were quite good, I really loved the voice work and Tails was just so well done. Knuckles was also way better than I had even anticipated, Elba rocks that echidna. Once again Schwartz does a great job with Sonic and I liked the Wachowski family around him played by Marsden and Sumpter. At the top of it is however the zany throwback Jim Carrey as Eggman paired with his fun henchman Agent Stone (Lee Majdoub).

Like, this is definitely a silly sort of movie and while it might not be some crazy high end film it’s a really fun thrill ride that gets these characters and has fun with them. There were some current era cringe moments, but I assume those are meant for the kids. I just imagine those bits won’t age too well down the road.

The Conclusion

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a blast, being an improvement over the previous film bringing together a really strong cast of characters for an action packed time. The core characters of the franchise really are great together and there were so many fan pleasing moments.

While the first film focused on being a fun road trip, this was solely on adventure and hitting some nostalgia points which I ever so did love. They have a great mid credits tease that’s worth watching that got literal cheers from the audience I viewed this with.

There’s a lot more to come from this universe and I am truly excited. This is a great character and this somehow just works on the big screen. I want more, I want to see Amy and Rouge and Shadow by the time we’re done with this. I don’t think a trilogy is enough quite honestly, let’s see this become a saga! Why not, they’re fun movies.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Taro PR

Rating Overall: 6.9