SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 Review; "This Fan Pleasing Adventure Is A Game We'll Happily Play Again"

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 Review; "This Fan Pleasing Adventure Is A Game We'll Happily Play Again"

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is now playing in UK cinemas, and ahead of its arrival in the U.S. next Friday, we're sharing our verdict on the sequel. Does it live up to its predecessor? Read on for our thoughts!

Review Opinion
By JoshWilding - Apr 02, 2022 03:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Sonic the Hedgehog
Source: GameFragger.com

When Sonic the Hedgehog was released way back in 2020 (right before the world started falling apart), it's fair to say it massively exceeded expectations. After the title character's controversial redesign - which was thankfully ditched - no one really had much faith in it actually being a good, never mind great, video game movie, but it did Sonic justice and successfully brought the SEGA icon into a live-action setting. This sequel ups the ante with the introduction of Tails and Knuckles, and allows Jim Carrey to fully run wild as Robotnik, with the result being a follow-up that's even better than its predecessor. Funny, heartwarming, and action-packed, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a sequel that firmly establishes this franchise as a delight for fans and families alike.

In the movie, Sonic and Tails team up to battle Robotnik and Knuckles as they race to retrieve the Master Emerald. With a greater focus on its animated characters, the movie better explores the video game franchise's mythology while still making good use of its human cast to deliver some huge laughs and heartfelt moments that stand a good chance of leaving you wiping away a tear. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a little overlong, and at least one subplot with Maddie's sister, Rachel, could have probably been cut, but it's so entertaining (thanks to the brilliant Natasha Rothwell), we can forgive the sequel for being a tad bloated. The important thing is that the story works, and while there's a lot to cram in, it takes no time at all to buy into Sonic's dynamic with Tails or for Knuckles to repeatedly steal the show with his sheer level of badassery. The quest to retrieve the Master Emerald may not break a tonne of new ground, but thanks to some seriously impressive action set pieces that blow away what we saw in the first movie, you'll have endless fun with this awesome sequel.

Returning cast members James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are on top form (even with slightly less to do), while Ben Schwartz remains an excellent choice to bring Sonic to life on screen. Idris Elba, meanwhile, is perfect as Knuckles, bringing a dry, deadpan humour to the character and a toughness that ensures he feels like a credible threat to the iconic hedgehog. It probably goes without saying that Jim Carrey steals the show as Robotnik, but Elba is never overshadowed and we can't wait for that Knuckles spinoff. Back to Carrey, though, and the actor is clearly having an absolute blast as this villain, fully embracing his cartoonish, over the top exterior to deliver a pitch perfect take on "Eggman." Just like in 2020, it's hard to watch Carrey at work here and not wish he'd take on a greater number of acting gigs because he remains one hell of a talent and a joy to watch practice his craft.

A special mention goes to veteran voice actor and longtime Tails performer, Colleen O'Shaughnessey. You don't need us to tell you she's the perfect person to play this loveable character, and O'Shaughnessey proves that with a expectedly excellent take on Tails here.

In terms of visual effect, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 quite appropriately looks a lot like a video game at times. The CGI certainly isn't bad, but it does look a little too cartoonish here and there; then again, that's part of the charm of seeing these iconic characters brought into our world, and the action never fails to deliver. Throw in a great soundtrack, jokes that actually hit the mark (there's a side-splitting one-liner about Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel's feud), and fan-pleasing moments aplenty, and this sequel proves to be a satisfying blast of a movie. Oh, and make sure you sit through the credits for an extra scene that sets the stage for a threequel that will almost certainly take this franchise to the next level.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a truly great video game movie and a sequel that delivers on all fronts; action-packed, hilarious, and full of fun references, this fan-pleasing adventure is a game we'll happily play again.

IF
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TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 3:07 PM
Morbius made $17M yesterday...Sonic is killing that poor bastard next weekend.

Anyway, the first reacions for this moview were pretty mild, glad to start hearing good things about it, just hoping Paramount calm the [frick] down, and keep taking their time with these movies, read a few days ago they wanted to start a "Sonic Cinematic Universe"...no...NO.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 4/2/2022, 3:20 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - oh it’s gonna be a bloodbath
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 4/2/2022, 3:24 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - look a smash bros or Mario kart universe now that could work. TONS of characters. I don’t follow games anymore so Idk if sonic is just in the Olympics or other ensemble games now too, but Mario, samus, link, donkey Kong, so many they can do this with
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 3:24 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - "bloodbath"



TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 3:25 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - A video game shared universe could work...maybe.
But Paramount only own Sonic character, what are they going to do, a solo Tails movie? a solo Agent Rock movie?
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 4/2/2022, 3:43 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - crap yeah it’s like Nintendo and sega all over again and I agree, don’t need no Tails movie. Man Nintendo is so protective of their IP’s can ya blame em, think about the diminishing returns from lego movie, lego bats, ninjago, and LM2. Basically only the conjuring and Godzilla n em have successful shared universes aside from MCU, even other cbm’s ain’t done it. So yeah I take it back until further notice
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 4/2/2022, 3:44 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - that movie will hav no legs at all, none
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 4:09 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - Look at Sony's SECOND attempt at making a cinematic universe...and even having the MCU boost.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 4/2/2022, 4:14 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - no lessons were learned. Having said that, venom 1&2 were profitable and well liked by general audiences. This will not be enough for Sony to leave the whole thing alone
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 4:58 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - @TheWalkingCuban - People loved the Venom movies, but one of the reasons why they loved is because they are standalone movies, they are not building a cinematic universe, you dont need to see other 20 movies and 10 TV shows to understand them.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 4/2/2022, 5:03 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - a reason IM2 is mostly reviled. I like IM2 but that’s not the point. The consensus is negative. Universe talk might also be the only thing Morbius has going for it ironically… meaning it has nothing going for it
dragon316
dragon316 - 4/2/2022, 5:12 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - every month marvel is startup game new project that’s no different
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 5:19 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - Pretty much.
I know people here dont wanna hear it, but general audiences are a bit tired of shared universes, even some fans of this genre are a bit tired of shared universes!
That is why people loved The Batman!
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 4/2/2022, 5:56 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - I don't think its the shared universe that is tiring, but moreso that every movie within a franchise is throwing in as much reminders of it existing in a larger universe as possible.

Atleast, thats it for me with every Marvel movie being an event kovie nowadays. Part of the reason why I love Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Guardians Volume 2 so much.
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 6:24 PM
@bkmeijer1 - EXACTLY.

And we are not the only ones, people love the Guardians movies or The Suicide Squad because they have little to no references to thr other movies set in their shared universe...you could add Aquaman, which was really popular, only references Stepenwolf once, and that was it...
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 4/2/2022, 6:32 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - the Steppenwolf mention in Aquaman even took me out of it for a brief moment.

As for The Suicide Squad, I gotta agree. But maybe it's also just James Gunn-magic, because I didn't mind the mentions or even appearances of other characters in Peacemaker either
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 8:22 PM
@bkmeijer1 - Yes.
Deodorant
Deodorant - 4/2/2022, 8:46 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - I guess one can say, Sonic will run rings around Morbius next week!
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 9:48 PM
@Deodorant -
dracula
dracula - 4/2/2022, 3:10 PM
surprised they are doing Shadow next
expected Metal Sonic or Chaos first
Mrcool210
Mrcool210 - 4/2/2022, 3:18 PM
@dracula - Where did you hear Shadow was next? I was hoping for Chaos personally. Doing shadow right after knuckles may feel a little too derivative.
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 4/2/2022, 3:23 PM
@dracula - Wait, what???
I get Shadow is probably the most popular character in the franchise, but these movies seem to be aimed at millenials who grew up with a Genesis, Shadow seems like an odd choice.
dracula
dracula - 4/2/2022, 3:29 PM
@Mrcool210 - leaked post credit scene on youtube
dracula
dracula - 4/2/2022, 3:32 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - well are there any plots from that era that wouldnt be too similar to the first two

with stuff like the adventure games you pretty much have a full plot laid out for you
Fogs
Fogs - 4/2/2022, 3:53 PM
@dracula - too bad Carrey will retire :(
dracula
dracula - 4/2/2022, 4:23 PM
@Fogs - you never know, Clint eastwood said he retired from acting after gran torino and has still done the occasional movie. probably just takes the right project and he seems to be having fun with sonic, he has even said he wants a fat suit in the third film.

Hayao Miyazaki claimed he retired a few times but has found reasons to return
Fogs
Fogs - 4/2/2022, 6:48 PM
@dracula - yeah, let's hope it's the case.
marvel72
marvel72 - 4/2/2022, 3:20 PM
Still haven't seen the first movie.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 4/2/2022, 3:23 PM
@marvel72 - twas a pleasant surprise indeed
Fogs
Fogs - 4/2/2022, 4:07 PM
@marvel72 - was nice, lighthearted and kids loved it.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 4/2/2022, 3:24 PM
I'm really looking forward to this, got the steelbook pre ordered a day tickets ready wooo
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 4/2/2022, 3:40 PM
Never understood how the first movie became so beloved and got treated as the new gold standard for video game movies. It's basically your typical super generic "CG-creature goofing around with live-action humans" kids movie. Harmless, but nothing special. If they stuck with the original Sonic design, but everything else about the movie was like the finished product we got, I don't think it would have won over so many people.

That being said, I'm giving all my moral support to this movie and the crazy Sonic fanbase, if it means that Morbius gets burried at the box office and SUMC dies for good.
GoodTakesYAY11
GoodTakesYAY11 - 4/2/2022, 3:58 PM
This was a fantastic review!
You actually freaking understood the whole point for this film!
Unlike most critics, you get it... I'm so happy!
micvalpro
micvalpro - 4/2/2022, 4:06 PM
glad to see it took Sonic to break the bad luck spell for vid game movies. Im hoping Mario has this kind of luck.
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