It’s quite hard to put into words as to what exactly made the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie as surprising and enjoyable as it was. Even when you took out the MUCH BETTER re-design of SEGA’s beloved/infamous mascot for the film, it still did follow the same tropes that these kind of “family movies but for kids” tend to do. Movies such as Scooby-Doo, Garfield, Alvin and The Chipmunks, Hop, The Smurfs, and Peter Rabbit. The ones that take these iconic cartoon characters but puts them in the “real world” where it’s stars a B-list actor, has them in a car for a scene or two, includes crude and “I understood that reference” humor, contains a random fight scene in a bar or something, and delivers a message about friendship and/or family incredibly simplistic and obvious so that children would understand completely. Yet the Sonic movie tended to rise above the others in that regard even while sticking to that standard formula. It didn’t work in spite of following that formula but it worked BECAUSE of it. It was able to take the familiar ideas for these kind of movies but add more wit, charm, and personality to it while doing at least entertaining things with them. However, I do think another unspoken reason why many tend to give the first Sonic movie a pass compare to those others movies I have just mention is that the movie would be good enough so that a sequel can be made that would feel more familiar to the games and be allowed to deliver more of the Sonic goods that fanboys like myself have always wanted to see on the big screen. A trapping that many video game movies in the past (most recently, Uncharted from a few months ago) have fallen victim off. In that case, we now have Sonic 2.
While I’m not quite sure I can say Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is an objectively better movie than it’s predecessor as it’s more unfocused, overlong, and the jokes don’t land as much as it should, but it does do it’s job of mixing in the elements that Sonic fans like myself will be looking for in a Sonic the Hedgehog movie that they might have felt lack in the first one. We get to see more Sonic-related characters in this one with Tails and Knuckles, see Jim Carrey’s Robotnik in a more Eggman-like form, include more lore from the games, most notably the Master Emerald, teases and easter eggs for possible future movies (including the most “you can see it coming from a mile away” post credit scene imaginable), and get to see the relationships with the main trio develop on the big screen with a nice expansion of the friendship and sense of belonging message from the first one. If the first movie felt a standard kids movie that just happens to star Sonic, then this is a standard Sonic movie that just happens to star human characters.
Premise: Taking place after the events of the first movie, we see Sonic (Ben Schwartz) still living and paling around with his human friend/cop, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife, Maddie (Tika Sumpter) as he is trying to find his purpose as a hero on Earth and what good he can do with his speedy powers. As Tom and Maddie go away for the weekend to Hawaii to attend Maddie’s sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell) wedding, Sonic must look after the house and the dog to prove to Tom that he is more responsible. However, Dr. Robotnik A.K.A. Eggman (Jim Carrey) has returned back to Earth after being stranded on the Mushroom planet with the help of Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba), who is looking for the Master Emerald, something that he and his tribe has sworn to protect in order to bring balance to the universe, and believes Sonic knows the location of it. We also see a cutesy fox named Miles “Tails” Prower (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) who idolizes Sonic and transported himself from his world to warn Sonic about Knuckles. Sonic later finds out that finding the Master Emerald might actually be a key to his so-called “destiny” as Longcaw, his former mentor/caretaker belives and is his one shot to prove to the world that he can be a hero. It’s then a race against time as Sonic and Tails must find the Master Emerald before Eggman and Knuckles do.
If you are familiar with the Sonic the Hedgehog games, this is about as basic of a plot as the games go. Eggman (Yes, I’m gonna keep calling him that!) is back in town, wants the Master Emerald or Chaos Emerald to unlock unlimited powers, finds an ally or two that might help him achieve that goal, and Sonic and friends have to stop him before it’s late. It’s basically a mix between the games Sonic 2 and 3 & Knuckles along with an episode or two from one of the cartoons thrown in. I really can’t think of much of anything story wise that Sonic fans (or even moviegoers) that they won’t be able to predict or see coming. Save for one twist that is so bizarre and far-fetched that I bursted out laughing. But, then again, story has never really been Sonic’s biggest strength. What has been a big strength of the franchise is it’s lovable memorable characters.
It can be easy to describe the movie version as Sonic as being the most “meta” Sonic and certainly the most “pop culture reference” Sonic but it is no doubt Sonic. He’s still runs at supersonic speed, always carry around some golden rings, cracks some cheesy one-liners, annoy the hell out of his enemies, and has the sense of having the time of his life with what he is capable of doing. However, one aspect these movies nail that the games, at times, tends to ignore, is Sonic overall sense of loneliness and belonging. He might be the fastest thing alive with powers that no other living creature has but there will always be some emptiness inside himself if he is unable to use those powers without a purpose and someone to share them with. He found that later on in the first movie with Tom and finds it in this movie with Tails and Knuckles.
Not only does Tails in this movie feel in line as his character from the games and cartoons as being a young kid that has always looked up to Sonic and views him as a big brother-like figure, but he also ties well with Sonic’s arc in the movie of wanting to be seen as a hero to someone and finding his own purpose while helping someone else find theirs. Although, Tails isn’t quite the brain genius he usually is in other games with only a handful of scenes showing off his brain powers, he does make for a welcome presence and seeing the friendship develop between him and Sonic is heartwarming stuff.
There’s also Knuckles, and my god, it’s great to see him actually be cool again. Throughout the past decade plus, Knuckles as a character has been written has nothing more as either a buffoon or a complete and utter moron. For quite a while now, the franchise has tend to completely ignore Knuckles’s own role as a character and resorted him to be strictly comic relief (a criticism which the Sonic Boom series took and just put it on steroids). Yes, Knuckles has always been naïve and sometimes gullible, but he’s not an idiot and has clear goals in mind that he wants to achieve. I don’t think there has been a single piece of Sonic content that understands Knuckles more than this movies does. Not only does it nails his personality, development, and what his character stands for but he is just a plain badass and steals the movie every time he comes on screen.
As for Jim Carrey’s Eggman, he does more feel more in Eggman form this time around with the jump suit and longer mustache that has always made this iconic villain iconic. You do also see him get more advance with his tech and robot designs, including one in the final climax that is particularly ripped straight out of one of the classic games. He still isn’t shaped like an egg and doesn’t have the capturing animals gimmick that made Sonic his sworn enemy with his duty to protect his animal friends from the evil scientist but I did get a good enough sense of him as a threat as oppose to the first movie.
There’s also the rest of the human characters who, unsurprisingly, fall flat compared to the Sonic characters. They’re not bad and are even better than many of human characters throughout Sonic’s history but the overall storyline and subplots with them don’t really gel well with the rest of the movie. Tom and Maddie are still likable but really lack a purpose in this movie and gives the sense of the writers struggling of what to do with the human side of the story as opposed to the characters that fans are showing up to the theaters to see. There’s particularly one subplot involving the sister’s waiting that contains a turn that is admittedly shocking but also quite ridiculous. It drags on longer than it should and feels as if it could have been taken out of the movie without affecting anything else. There’s even one set piece that feels design to give the female characters a moment for themselves and while that’s a fun sequence in it’s own right, I couldn’t help but wonder how much better that one scene would have been if they had just bother to use one of the female characters from the Sonic universe instead. It actually could have been the perfect introduction to one particular female character from Sonic. The one that may or may not, have her own hammer.
That being said, most of the flaws from the first 2/3rds of the movie can be forgiving with how satisfying and filled with fan service the last third of this movie gives. It’s the kind of goods that I and imagine a lot of Sonic fans, have always wanted to see on the big screen. The action is exhilarating, each Sonic character gets a moment to shine, the references and influence from the games are well handled, and while I can see certain beats and moments easily coming, I still got goosebumps and excitement whenever they happened on screen.
As for the performances, they mostly get the job done. Ben Schwartz is even better this time as Sonic and feels more comfortable in the role while making his version stand out more on his own. Colleen O’Shaughnessey is still a great Tails and shines even more on the big screen than she did in Boom and the games. Jim Carrey is of course having the most Jim Carrey time as Eggman but he’s still fun to watch and really hope this isn’t the last we see of him. The human cast despite not everyone being particularly useful, is all fine here, even though I did find myself missing a bit of Lee Majdoub as Eggman’s assistant. The real standout here is Idris Elba as Knuckles. Not only does Sonic 2 deliver the best iteration of Knuckles ever but Elba delivers possibly the best Knuckles voice ever. He has the perfect mix of badass and humorous vibe to his voice and was undeniably the perfect casting for this character. It’s so nice to see my favorite character in the series except Sonic himself, be done justice once again.
The cinematography by Brandon Trost, looks much better than you would expect from a movie like this. There’s plenty of wide-scoop location shooting that looks great in it’s own right. The action is very well shot/edited and does a great job at showing off the powers from certain characters. The Sonic characters themselves look great and blend well in the real world that the movie is set in along with the things that are brought over from the games. And while it’s disappointing that none of the soundtracks from the games are included here (except for a Green Hill ringtone), the music by Tom Holkenborg is decent enough despite containing a bit too many pop songs this time around.
It’s far from a perfect movie. As I said, the human subplots doesn’t really blend well with the others things that goes on and kinda feels like it belongs in it’s own movie which could have been trimmed down to help the pacing in the first half. There’s a sequence with Sonic and Tails with other human character in the middle that is basically beat-by-beat the exact same sequence from the first movie. Also, just like with the first movie and these family comedy movies, there’s a bunch of crude and reference humor that is constantly thrown at you. While some of them are cute and will probably make kids laugh, there are plenty of others that might make you and the parents taking their kids to see this roll their eyes. Lastly, if you have seen just about any Sonic thing ever, then just about everything that transpires in the last 45 minutes (and the mid credits scene) you are bound to see coming from a mile away. It’s not necessarily a criticism from me as that was the direction I was hoping they would go and I’m sure Sonic purists will feel real pride to be able to get the references that the average movie goers won’t get, but if you at least know the plots of at least one of the main games, you will likely know exactly what you are getting by the end of it.
Then again, it’s hard to complain too much when there’s clearly much love and passion from behind the camera. Director Jeff Fowler along with writers Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington are clearly big fans of the material and understand exactly why these characters have appeal to fans over the years. It’s fairly enjoyable, the Sonic characters are as fun to watch as they are in the games, and even it’s obvious and simple messages are ones that kinda work with what this movie is trying to convey. Liked it fine, can’t wait for Part 3 and the Knuckles show! Into the Sonic-verse we go!
Was wrestling between 2.5 or 3 stars but I decided on 3 because of the big smile I had on my face throughout that third act.
Other comments:
- Yes, there’s one mid credit scene. Yes, it’s exactly the character you imagine it would be. While I’m personally a bit tired of that character as I believe he served his purpose a long time ago, I still am interested to see how they handle that character in the next one. I also know someone that would be PERFECT in that role!
- It feels quite fitting that this movie comes out the same weekend as opening weekend of baseball. You’ll know what I’m talking about the moment you see that scene.
- I can’t be the only one who felt that the climax was practically the exact same of a certain episode from Sonic X.
- Idris Elba lied! This is easily the sexiest Knuckles ever!
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