Due to circumstances no one saw coming, Sonic the Hedgehog ended up being the highest-grossing film of 2020. In true sequel fashion, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, tries to go bigger in almost all aspects, and it doesn’t always work. However, it’s a solid entertainer that will delight kids and longstanding fans alike, especially with all the lore and game references the film crams in.
Stranded on an alien planet filled with mushrooms, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) has been plotting his revenge on Sonic (Ben Schwartz), but has been unable to escape the planet until a mysterious echidna named Knuckles (Idris Elba) shows up in front of him, also looking for Sonic. The two journey to Earth and find Sonic living it up in his new home while his surrogate parents, Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) are away in Hawaii attending a wedding. As the two parties come to blows, Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), a self-professed fan of Sonic, shows up and saves him. The two embark on a quest to find a magical gem that can give its wielder unlimited power, with Robotnik and Knuckles in close pursuit.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is one of those films that’s unabashedly aimed at children, but it sometimes overdoes its attempts at referential humor.
There is more of an effort in characterization this time around, though Carrey still steals the show as the goofy, over-the-top mad scientist. This film draws more on his comic relief aspects instead of his villainy, and this approach works well with series newcomer Knuckles. Idris Elba portrays him as a Sonicverse version of MCU’s Drax the Destroyer, totally oblivious to Earth culture and also the concept of jokes. Ben Schwartz’s take on Sonic is still above average, and Colleen O’Shaughnessey shows why she’s been the definitive voice for Tails all these years.
Although Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has a strong first half, it starts to meander once it shifts the stage to a wedding in Hawaii.
Thankfully, the movie doesn’t have too many dull moments, although its runtime could have been shortened by twenty minutes or so. The final battle is large scale in an old school way, and it features a fan-favorite transformation that immediately made me think of Dragonball Z, although dyed-in-the-wool fans are probably more than familiar with its status in the source material.
Back when the first trailer for the first Sonic film hit, it would have been hard to guess that a film with such a horrible CGI main character would go on to become a hit franchise. Still, at a time when the tenth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise has begun shooting, there could be worse popcorn franchises than Sonic the Hedgehog. It hasn’t still found the equivalent of Fast Five to really hit its stride, but it’s making good progress towards that goal. Let’s hope that it can get there before it gets derailed into, say, Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles territory.