Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review

The history of films based on video games is a torrid one. There have been many failures on a critical and financial level. 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog was considered one of the better video game adaptations and it has earned a sequel.

Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) has found a way to escape the Mushroom Planet and he makes an alliance with Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba), a warrior from Sonic’s homeworld. When Robotnik returns to Earth, Knuckles gives Sonic (Ben Schwaltz) a beating. Fortunately, the blue hedgehog has a new ally in the form of Tails (Collen O’Shaughnessey) and the pair must travel the globe to find a powerful item Longclaw’s people hid on Earth.

When I was young I was a Sonic the Hedgehog fan. I played the games, watched the cartoons, and read Sonic the Comic. Nine-year-old me would have loved this film because it felt more like a Sonic the Hedgehog story and not just a family film that featured Sonic the Hedgehog.

The Sonic the Hedgehog sequel went for a grander approach, and it turned out to be a case where bigger is better. The first film was a simple family comedy that had some action in it. It was a film that had a character known for superspeed and placed him in a car for 30 minutes. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was more of a light-hearted adventure. Sonic and Tails went on a globetrotting quest to find the Master Emerald before Robotnik and Knuckles. There were stakes and a sense of peril.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was inspired by Sonic 3 and Knuckles. In those games Robotnik landed on the Floating Island and tricked Knuckles into becoming an ally whilst Robotnik looked for a way to harness the power of the Master Emerald. Changes were required to make the story work for the film continuity but considering how many interpretations and reboots the franchise has had there’s no point criticising the film on that front.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was a treasure hunt film. Sonic and Tails had to go to Siberia to find an item that would lead to another item on the other side of the world. There was more urgency in this film. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 did reference the games with their settings and action sequences. There was a big sequence where Sonic had to snowboard down a mountain and Sonic and Robotnik had to go through ancient ruins ladened with booby traps. These were popular settings in the games. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 even ends with a big boss battle, like a video game.

The previous film did have an emotional hook because Sonic had lived on Earth alone for years and he desired a family. He got that in the form of Tom and Maddie (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter). The sequel continued this theme and added to it by showing Sonic making friends. He gets company closer to his age and he must learn the importance of ‘great power comes with great responsibility.’ Sonic roped Tails into his adventure and the blue hedgehog helped the two-tailed fox gain bravery and care for the creature.

Sonic and Knuckles had more connecting them than they originally thought. This was set up in the opening of the first film because the Echidna tribe did attack Sonic and Longclaw and the filmmakers did have an eye on potential sequels. Fans of the games would know what the outcome will be, yet the filmmakers still tried to make the moments between Sonic and Knuckles sincere.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was still aimed toward kids, so a lot of the humour was catered to that audience. Some jokes were cringe-worthy to adults, like Robotnik flossing in front of Knuckles and Sonic’s antics when he was home alone. Jokes that did get a big laugh in my audience were when Rachel (Natasha Rothwell) went crazy during her wedding. Hell will no bounds of her fury. Adult audiences would just have to role with the child aimed moments like Sonic and Tails entering into a dance battle. Older fans will appreciate some of the references to the games, like the name of the café in Green Hills, the design of a manual, and one of the alternative outfits for Robotnik.

Fans of the games will see Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as an improvement on the first film and children will enjoy the high-speed antics and jokes that were presented.