Movie Review # 510: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Hey everyone, hope you all are doing well, and welcome to another session of movie reviewing! Today, we will be reviewing a sequel to a hit from 2020, PRE-COVID, that may be the start of a franchise, possibly known as the Sonic Cinematic Universe. After we got the first film in February 2020, we now arrive with a sequel as of April 2022, simply known as Sonic The Hedgehog 2.

Plot: When circumstances allow for Sonic the hedgehog’s nemesis, Dr. Robotnik/Dr. Eggman (Jim Carrey) to return from exile on a fictional planet called Mushroom Planet, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) must now face off with not only Eggman, and his robot technology, but a new ally of Eggman’s, an echidna named Knuckles (Idris Elba). With the help of a new friend named Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), will Sonic The Hedgehog be able to defeat his archenemy, and get rid of him for good this time?

Well, what can one say? The first one was certainly good, but not quite as great as one might have hoped for. So now that we arrive with the sequel two years later, is it any better? Actually, it is by a little bit. It’s not quite perfect, as there were one, or two cringeworthy moments in this sequel. Aside from that, however, the movie does improve in quite a few areas from it’s predecessor. One, there were some tie-ins from the first film. This is specifically true with throwbacks to certain events that occurred in the first film. When I saw certain events unfold in the first film, I found myself thinking that some things either felt rushed, or didn’t make sense, or both. Now, I think I may know why, and that likely being because of the filmmakers maybe wanting to shed more light in this regard in Sonic The Hedgehog 2. Anyway, both the voice acting for the CGI characters, and the actors that play the humans are also really good. And man, there is also one of the biggest highlights of this film, the comedy. Let me tell you, there are plenty of points where you will belly laugh in this film, especially when it comes to any of the times that Dr. Eggman is onscreen. Like with his other roles in films like The Mask, The Grinch, Bruce Almighty, and many other comedic films, Jim Carrey has this way of entertaining audiences that not nearly as many actors have seemed to top. And again, the rest of the acting, and voice acting, is top notch too, especially from James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, and even Idris Elba voicing Knuckles. Wow, after Elba had hits with voicing acting with characters like Chief Bogo, and Shere Khan in films like Zootopia, and the 2016 remake of The Jungle Book respectively, it is great to see him pull off his acting skills once again. The movie also has more creativity that the first Sonic The Hedgehog film seemed to lack. Yeah, you’d most likely be astonished as to how imaginative this film can be at times. Also, to those of you who especially have enjoyed playing the Sonic video games, how could you not be excited for the newer characters that are introduced in this sequel? Also, the score, how could you not like the score by Tom Holkenborg? Also, some of the character arcs were very good too. I won’t go into details on those, but you may, or may not be surprised by how well those are handled. Oh, and the world building is definitely upgraded this time around too. Finally, it’s great how this movie teaches great lessons about family sticking together no matter what, being willing to look at the positive side of life in all circumstances, and lessons like those.

And that’s my review for Sonic The Hedgehog 2. Wow, what an improvement from the first film. Honestly, even if you’re not too big of a video game person, you might find yourself enjoying this film more than the first film. It has excellent characters, great morals, and some really big heart. Yes, as mentioned before, there were one, or two cringeworthy moments. Aside from those, however, this film is most definitely worth seeing. Make it a point to see this film whenever you can. Video gamer, or not, you may yet have a fun time with this one.

Final Grade: A