The Cine Geek

Two years after our favorite hedgehog got his first live-action outing in 2020’s Sonic the hedgehog, we finally have his return in Sonic the hedgehog 2. The sequel keeps the light-hearted and fun tone of the first, while upping the stakes and scale. The film is also a love letter to any fan of the classic games. ends The film does end up sacrificing a balanced story for these moments and does ends up confused between Sonic‘s life on Earth from the previous movie and his life from the games with Dr. Eggman and his many companions. All this however is easy to forget in all the fun, heart-warming fan-service and Jim carry’s craziness. Both of the New characters Knuckles and Tails are extremely fun, with Idris Elba as Knuckles being the big standout.

A love-letter to the games

The film particularly excels in fan-service, which has recently started to nonsensically be considered something negative by fans and critics. When in reality it really isn’t, fan-service is made to give something extra to those fans who have dedicated significant time to the properties who love the characters more than others. It like anything else in film is dependent on how well it’s done and I am delighted to say that this film does it extremely well. Be it through some of Sonic’s specific jumps and rolls, or through the portrayal of classic characters like Tails and Knuckles the film is sure to put a grin on any Sonic fan. Tails is even voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who voiced the character in the video games. Fight sequences with the Giant Dr. Eggman Robot are also straight out of the Sonic games. What makes this fan-service particularly great is that the film also adds a great bunch of it’s own touch to those classic moments and really expands the universe established in the previous film.

Jim Carry carries and New Characters

The film does have problems with balancing multiple storylines. On one hand Sonic is trying to fit in with his family on Earth, while on the other he’s rolling with Tails and fighting Dr. Eggman. This could allow for an intriguing character arc of self discovery, but the film fails to do so and thus ends up losing some heart. All of this can be forgiven though if you are hooked into the movie for the fun, because the side it decides to go is just pure blue-eyed enjoyment. The film is bound to leave classic fans and fans of the previous film with a smile as they leave the theater. Tails is a fun strong companion to Sonic, while Knuckles is a great rival who also provides excellent humor, It’s various pop-culture references and Jim Carry’s brilliant performance makes silly and crazy scenes feel real, while maintaining the humor. Dr. Eggman has scenes hilarious scenes which are powered by Jim Carry, the lines themselves aren’t as well written as he delivers them.

It also helps itself greatly by starting off from right where it left us in the previous film. Sonic is about to venture into the new land with Tails and explore. This entire aspect is extremely intriguing, but where the film stumbles is where the first excelled. The first felt like a buddy cop film between James Marsden’s Tom and Sonic, where this one awkwardly sidelines the relationship by splitting the two up and having parallel storylines play out where the one with Sonic is significantly more enjoyable than the other, making points feel like two different films. This is the part of the film which even the amusement of the other parts couldn’t save.

Overall, Sonic the hedgehog 2 is an improvement over the previous one, with bigger stakes and larger action sequences. It excels at being fun and enjoyable to watch, to the point that it’s shortcomings can be forgotten. It is also a great letter of love from the writer to fans of the Sonic Games, which always leaves you with a big smile. It is a perfect easter film for families and should be enjoyed as such. Nothing, truly game changing but certainly entertaining.

Sonic the hedgehog 2 is Now in theaters across the world.

Also check out our review for Sony’s latest Spider-verse flick ‘Morbius’.