Jasonic's Favorites: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Hello and good evening, Internet!
I reviewed the first movie a while ago so inevitably I had to review the sequel. Seeing as I still love Sonic and it was just Sonic's 33rd anniversary this week, I had to rewatch it and enjoy it as an activity for the anniversary week.
Released in 2022, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the much-anticipated sequel to the unexpected hit that was the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Were it not for the studio behind the animated Sonic changing the design and delaying the first movie, it most likely would not have been successful, the sequel wouldn't have been made, and the film franchise wouldn't have panned out into what it is today. As a longtime fan of the Sonic series, seeing my favorite video game franchise become a hit film series is a dream come true and I am more than thankful it could come to this. As far as the Sonic 2 film, however, many have said that it's a significant improvement over the original while others have said otherwise, though thankfully it's far from a divisive film as it is. For one, it introduces Sonic's best friends from the game franchise, Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna, giving the film more Sonic characters in addition to the more original human characters apart from Dr. Eggman. You bet your money that numerous fans were more than excited to see additional anthros from the series come to the screen, especially since the previous film already teased Tails whose opening scene, naturally, is featured in this movie, but with a more updated model. Whereas the first film was a very buddy roadtrip type of movie featuring Sonic and Tom on the run from Eggman and the government, this one leans more into the video game adventuring aspect that the franchise is known for, even going as far featuring the franchise's iconic gems, the Chaos Emeralds. All that said, is Sonic the Hedgehog 2 a superior sequel? Take it from a diehard fan such as myself if you will, but we're about to find out whether I think this film is, in the words of Sonic, "way past cool"!
*SPOILERS* (the movie is only 2 years old so if you haven't seen it, turn away now)
This story picks up about eight months after the events of the first movie. Having been banished to the mushroom planet, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) uses his intellect to make the best of his life there while also making an attempt to utilize Sonic's quill to send out a distress signal for his rescue. Doing so, he summons Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba) who helps him return to Earth to seek revenge on Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz), Robotnik being happy to show him "the way". On Earth, Sonic himself is attempting to be the vigilante "Blue Justice", stopping a robbery in Seattle, but recklessly destroying a city block in the process. This, of course, gets him in trouble with Tom (James Marsden) -- who's taken him in as somewhat of a foster child -- and the latter gives him a pep talk on how being a hero is more about taking responsibility for other people, telling him that his "moment" chooses him. Meanwhile, Miles "Tails" Prower (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessy) arrives on Earth to warn Sonic about Knuckles' quest for ultimate power in the form of the Master Emerald, a powerful gem that Knuckles' echidnas and the owls of Sonic's world were fighting for centuries over that can turn thoughts into power. With help from the map of Sonic's late guardian, Longclaw (voiced by Donna Jay Fulks), Sonic treks across the world to Siberia with Tails to locate the compass that will lead them to the Master Emerald. Along the way, Sonic and Tails form a bond, Tails having idolized Sonic for years prior and finally getting to meet and work with him, while also getting involved in escapades in which Tails makes use of his gadgets to get them in and out of difficult situations. Meanwhile, Tom and his wife, Maddie (Tika Sumpter), are on vacation to Hawaii for Maddie's sister, Rachel's (Natasha Rothwell) wedding. When Robotnik and Knuckles pursue Sonic and Tails for the compass in order to acquire the Emerald, Sonic and family's worlds will never be the same.
Right off the bat, I mentioned already that this a more video game-like adventure and the plot synopsis I wrote basically confirms that; rather than venturing with Tom across the U.S. to retrieve Sonic's rings, Sonic and Tails are venturing across the world to retrieve the means to obtain the Master Emerald -- something that the late Longclaw mentions was the reason she chose Sonic to go live on Earth. The quest to obtain the Master Emerald is very reminiscent of the game series' standard plot of collecting the Chaos Emeralds in every game and, as a result, Sonic is able to visit more diverse locales such as the Siberian tundra, the Hawaiian islands, and an underground temple full of booby traps reminiscent of the first game's infamous water stage, Labyrinth Zone. The video game references don't stop at the grander scale of the adventure since there are not one, not two, but three anthro Sonic characters in this film: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. The inclusion of Tails was, of course, teased at the end of the last movie with him developing his role as Sonic's sidekick in a way that's reminiscent of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 video game released for the SEGA Genesis (which, fun fact, was my first Sonic game). Meanwhile, Knuckles' existence was only hinted at in the form of the echidnas attacking Sonic and Longclaw at the beginning of the first movie, their role in the overall story coming into full play with the information about the echidnas and owls being at war with each other over the Master Emerald since ancient times. In the months preceding Sonic Frontiers, which gave fans a deeper story on where the game version of the Chaos and Master Emeralds came from, this movie's explanation that the echidnas forged the seven Chaos Emeralds into the Master Emerald was the best thing it could come up with for an explanation on where the Emeralds came from and thus be more original. As a longtime diehard fan of the games, the movies doing things differently than the games honestly doesn't bother me as it helps everything to be more concise and cut down for an appropriate length of a mostly family friendly movie.
For that matter, the character of Knuckles is the best addition to this film and the film franchise and what has become of it so far; whereas the first movie skipped over the idea of Sonic being a fish out of water, the writers embrace that character archetype with Knuckles as, like Sonic, he is not from Earth, but this is his first time being there and encountering its customs and lingo. With Jim Carrey's Eggman using Earth lingo such as, "Earth is my turf, G!" and Knuckles not understanding at all what that means, it's endearing to see a serious warrior character like Knuckles act quirky in the sense that he doesn't understand how Earth people talk. In addition to that, he also doesn't understand what a hologram is when he sees one of Sonic on Eggman and Agent Stone's (Lee Majdoub) holographic display table and after Eggman tries to flick it and destroy it, Knuckles simply crushes it with his fist and utters, "Tiny magic hedgehog destroyed!" His lines and quirks are some of the most endearing aspects of the movie especially when most of the time you're meant to take him, the tough rival, more seriously. It also factors well into his arc of starting off as a warrior, determined to uphold his echidna tribe's legacy after losing his father so young to getting betrayed by Eggman whom he thought was his friend to ultimately allying with the main hero and his sidekick, forming the iconic Team Sonic in the process. He's the most well-developed character in the movie between the way he starts off and the way he learns to settle down with Sonic and family and enjoy life on Earth in the end. Apparently, the writers agree that thus far he is the most interesting aspect of the film franchise that they made a streaming show about him titled Knuckles released on Paramount+. I have not yet seen the show apart from a few clips due to lacking Paramount+ though even if I haven't heard people particularly liking it, I would be interested in seeing what it entails and how it portrays Knuckles adjusting to life on Earth with Sonic and co.
Like the first movie, the actors also do a good job with what they're given; Ben Schwartz's Sonic voice is energetic as ever, even displaying a more emotional side when he thinks Tails is too hurt to recover. He also cleverly throws in a reference to himself when, as Sonic, he sings that the movie Snow Dogs "is the worst" like when Ben sings the same thing about his character's sister in Parks and Recreation. As far as the voices for the animated characters, Colleen O'Shaughnessy reprises Tails like she has for the franchise since projects like Sonic Boom and Sonic Forces, and she honestly nails the younger, more optimistic tone this version of Tails is going for. The real highlight of the voices is Idris Elba as Knuckles; Elba's serious and stoic nature shines through when his characters needs to be and, given his track record of voicing animated characters, he displays a more comedic side when he's playing into Knuckles' quirky fish out of water side. Ultimately, his voice fits the character so well, it's no wonder my best friend who has adored Sonic with me had Idris Elba as his pick to voice Knuckles. The live actors also continue to do well; James Marsden's Tom Wachowski still doesn't have as much charisma as some of the others, but he takes on a more fatherly persona for Sonic in the way he treats and disciplines him when things go wrong. Tika Sumpter ultimately doesn't do too much as far as her role as Maddie, but she shows a more motherly supportive side towards Sonic, which displays a well done family dynamic between her, Tom, and Sonic -- she is also given some agency in using Tails' gadgets while sneaking into the Hawaiian resort to rescue him, Sonic, and Tom when G.U.N. (Guardian Units of Nations) takes over. After not doing much in the previous movie, Natasha Rothwell's Rachel is given a funky show stealing moment of becoming a raging bridezilla when she finds out her fiancé, Randall (Shemar Moore) is secretly a G.U.N. agent and that the whole wedding in Hawaii was a setup -- his love for her, however, was real. Other humans such as Adam Pally's Wade and Lee Majdoub's Agent Stone give consistent performances and are arguably sillier -- especially Wade's running gag of mentioning the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man -- but, once again, the ultimate show stealer is Jim Carrey's Eggman. Somehow he managed to up his comedic energy and charisma likely because at this point, he's accustomed to the role of Dr. Robotnik AND he has a more definitive henchman to play off of in the form of Knuckles. Had this movie been Jim Carrey's definitive final film before retirement, I still would have been satisfied with his role as Robotnik, but fortunately he is returning once more for the upcoming third film, which WILL most likely be his last.
A common complaint I have heard about this movie is the fact that it has more emphasis on the human characters at some points, but I don't agree with that and will therefore do my best to justify it. Many critics assume that any focus on the humans -- especially the wedding subplot -- detracts from the Sonic stuff, however, in retrospect, any scenes that focus on them are about 5% of the movie's runtime. Sure, the scenes building up to Rachel's bridezilla moment are a funky, but funny detour from the main story no less, but as a fan of the franchise since I was a kid, you bet I've seen my fair share of humans in the Sonic franchise take focus away from Sonic and the Mobian characters. For example, the main human of the 2003-2006 TV show, Sonic X, was Chris Thorndyke and almost the entire fanbase has been up in arms about how he stole thunder and even entire episodes away from Sonic and the other anthro characters especially with how unrealistically portrayed and whiny he was. The humans of the Sonic film franchise, however, they may not be the most stellar human cast next to the anthros, but they are better written and more tolerable than Chris was. Heck, even Princess Elise of Sonic '06 was hated for being a textbook example of a damsel in distress, especially with how much she got kidnapped, forcing Sonic to never do any protagonist work in that game apart from save her heroically. No such poorly written or overshadowing human exists yet in the Sonic movieverse that I know and Sonic most certainly had the starring role in this movie and the first one compared to the other examples I listed. At the very least, the main humans, Tom and Maddie, manage to factor well into the plot with how much Sonic learns to love and embrace them as family by the end especially with that defining moment of Sonic unexpectedly harnessing the Chaos Emeralds' power, giving us the big screen debut of the golden Super Sonic form. I, of coruse, expected Super Sonic to happen knowing the Emeralds were present, but I'm more than certain that casual moviegoers were blown away by this ability of Sonic's and, that said, Sonic's love of his human companions contributed to that.
All in all, this movie was a great sequel that may have faltered for some, but I continue to find thrilling enjoyment in it at the end of the day. Between its more video game-like plot, the dynamics between Sonic and Tails, the character of Knuckles, the great voice and live actor performances -- especially Idris Elba and Jim Carrey -- and, dare I say, its decently written humans, it has allowed the Sonic film franchise to continue in a meaningful way by adding more of the game series' elements and even creating its own version of the lore. Though I have yet to see the Knuckles streaming show that's out, I am confident it may portray that character well enough and hopefully expand into the upcoming third movie somehow. Knowing what I know about the Sonic games, you bet your money I was excited to see them tease Shadow the Hedgehog at the mid-credits scene, meaning that the next game will most likely take heavily after Sonic Adventure 2 hopefully with elements of other games. Since this game combined mainly the Sonic 2 video game with Sonic 3 & Knuckles while sprinkling elements of others throughout, I'm certain they can tell their own story without copying the games note-for-note -- a faithful adaptation of certain games, however, would be nice. All that said, I give this film a B+ rating and encourage fans of the first movie to try it and hopefully use both as a jumping in point for the Sonic franchise.
Thank you all for reading and I will see you in the next review!
I reviewed the first movie a while ago so inevitably I had to review the sequel. Seeing as I still love Sonic and it was just Sonic's 33rd anniversary this week, I had to rewatch it and enjoy it as an activity for the anniversary week.
Released in 2022, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the much-anticipated sequel to the unexpected hit that was the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Were it not for the studio behind the animated Sonic changing the design and delaying the first movie, it most likely would not have been successful, the sequel wouldn't have been made, and the film franchise wouldn't have panned out into what it is today. As a longtime fan of the Sonic series, seeing my favorite video game franchise become a hit film series is a dream come true and I am more than thankful it could come to this. As far as the Sonic 2 film, however, many have said that it's a significant improvement over the original while others have said otherwise, though thankfully it's far from a divisive film as it is. For one, it introduces Sonic's best friends from the game franchise, Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna, giving the film more Sonic characters in addition to the more original human characters apart from Dr. Eggman. You bet your money that numerous fans were more than excited to see additional anthros from the series come to the screen, especially since the previous film already teased Tails whose opening scene, naturally, is featured in this movie, but with a more updated model. Whereas the first film was a very buddy roadtrip type of movie featuring Sonic and Tom on the run from Eggman and the government, this one leans more into the video game adventuring aspect that the franchise is known for, even going as far featuring the franchise's iconic gems, the Chaos Emeralds. All that said, is Sonic the Hedgehog 2 a superior sequel? Take it from a diehard fan such as myself if you will, but we're about to find out whether I think this film is, in the words of Sonic, "way past cool"!
*SPOILERS* (the movie is only 2 years old so if you haven't seen it, turn away now)
This story picks up about eight months after the events of the first movie. Having been banished to the mushroom planet, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) uses his intellect to make the best of his life there while also making an attempt to utilize Sonic's quill to send out a distress signal for his rescue. Doing so, he summons Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba) who helps him return to Earth to seek revenge on Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz), Robotnik being happy to show him "the way". On Earth, Sonic himself is attempting to be the vigilante "Blue Justice", stopping a robbery in Seattle, but recklessly destroying a city block in the process. This, of course, gets him in trouble with Tom (James Marsden) -- who's taken him in as somewhat of a foster child -- and the latter gives him a pep talk on how being a hero is more about taking responsibility for other people, telling him that his "moment" chooses him. Meanwhile, Miles "Tails" Prower (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessy) arrives on Earth to warn Sonic about Knuckles' quest for ultimate power in the form of the Master Emerald, a powerful gem that Knuckles' echidnas and the owls of Sonic's world were fighting for centuries over that can turn thoughts into power. With help from the map of Sonic's late guardian, Longclaw (voiced by Donna Jay Fulks), Sonic treks across the world to Siberia with Tails to locate the compass that will lead them to the Master Emerald. Along the way, Sonic and Tails form a bond, Tails having idolized Sonic for years prior and finally getting to meet and work with him, while also getting involved in escapades in which Tails makes use of his gadgets to get them in and out of difficult situations. Meanwhile, Tom and his wife, Maddie (Tika Sumpter), are on vacation to Hawaii for Maddie's sister, Rachel's (Natasha Rothwell) wedding. When Robotnik and Knuckles pursue Sonic and Tails for the compass in order to acquire the Emerald, Sonic and family's worlds will never be the same.
Right off the bat, I mentioned already that this a more video game-like adventure and the plot synopsis I wrote basically confirms that; rather than venturing with Tom across the U.S. to retrieve Sonic's rings, Sonic and Tails are venturing across the world to retrieve the means to obtain the Master Emerald -- something that the late Longclaw mentions was the reason she chose Sonic to go live on Earth. The quest to obtain the Master Emerald is very reminiscent of the game series' standard plot of collecting the Chaos Emeralds in every game and, as a result, Sonic is able to visit more diverse locales such as the Siberian tundra, the Hawaiian islands, and an underground temple full of booby traps reminiscent of the first game's infamous water stage, Labyrinth Zone. The video game references don't stop at the grander scale of the adventure since there are not one, not two, but three anthro Sonic characters in this film: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. The inclusion of Tails was, of course, teased at the end of the last movie with him developing his role as Sonic's sidekick in a way that's reminiscent of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 video game released for the SEGA Genesis (which, fun fact, was my first Sonic game). Meanwhile, Knuckles' existence was only hinted at in the form of the echidnas attacking Sonic and Longclaw at the beginning of the first movie, their role in the overall story coming into full play with the information about the echidnas and owls being at war with each other over the Master Emerald since ancient times. In the months preceding Sonic Frontiers, which gave fans a deeper story on where the game version of the Chaos and Master Emeralds came from, this movie's explanation that the echidnas forged the seven Chaos Emeralds into the Master Emerald was the best thing it could come up with for an explanation on where the Emeralds came from and thus be more original. As a longtime diehard fan of the games, the movies doing things differently than the games honestly doesn't bother me as it helps everything to be more concise and cut down for an appropriate length of a mostly family friendly movie.
For that matter, the character of Knuckles is the best addition to this film and the film franchise and what has become of it so far; whereas the first movie skipped over the idea of Sonic being a fish out of water, the writers embrace that character archetype with Knuckles as, like Sonic, he is not from Earth, but this is his first time being there and encountering its customs and lingo. With Jim Carrey's Eggman using Earth lingo such as, "Earth is my turf, G!" and Knuckles not understanding at all what that means, it's endearing to see a serious warrior character like Knuckles act quirky in the sense that he doesn't understand how Earth people talk. In addition to that, he also doesn't understand what a hologram is when he sees one of Sonic on Eggman and Agent Stone's (Lee Majdoub) holographic display table and after Eggman tries to flick it and destroy it, Knuckles simply crushes it with his fist and utters, "Tiny magic hedgehog destroyed!" His lines and quirks are some of the most endearing aspects of the movie especially when most of the time you're meant to take him, the tough rival, more seriously. It also factors well into his arc of starting off as a warrior, determined to uphold his echidna tribe's legacy after losing his father so young to getting betrayed by Eggman whom he thought was his friend to ultimately allying with the main hero and his sidekick, forming the iconic Team Sonic in the process. He's the most well-developed character in the movie between the way he starts off and the way he learns to settle down with Sonic and family and enjoy life on Earth in the end. Apparently, the writers agree that thus far he is the most interesting aspect of the film franchise that they made a streaming show about him titled Knuckles released on Paramount+. I have not yet seen the show apart from a few clips due to lacking Paramount+ though even if I haven't heard people particularly liking it, I would be interested in seeing what it entails and how it portrays Knuckles adjusting to life on Earth with Sonic and co.
Like the first movie, the actors also do a good job with what they're given; Ben Schwartz's Sonic voice is energetic as ever, even displaying a more emotional side when he thinks Tails is too hurt to recover. He also cleverly throws in a reference to himself when, as Sonic, he sings that the movie Snow Dogs "is the worst" like when Ben sings the same thing about his character's sister in Parks and Recreation. As far as the voices for the animated characters, Colleen O'Shaughnessy reprises Tails like she has for the franchise since projects like Sonic Boom and Sonic Forces, and she honestly nails the younger, more optimistic tone this version of Tails is going for. The real highlight of the voices is Idris Elba as Knuckles; Elba's serious and stoic nature shines through when his characters needs to be and, given his track record of voicing animated characters, he displays a more comedic side when he's playing into Knuckles' quirky fish out of water side. Ultimately, his voice fits the character so well, it's no wonder my best friend who has adored Sonic with me had Idris Elba as his pick to voice Knuckles. The live actors also continue to do well; James Marsden's Tom Wachowski still doesn't have as much charisma as some of the others, but he takes on a more fatherly persona for Sonic in the way he treats and disciplines him when things go wrong. Tika Sumpter ultimately doesn't do too much as far as her role as Maddie, but she shows a more motherly supportive side towards Sonic, which displays a well done family dynamic between her, Tom, and Sonic -- she is also given some agency in using Tails' gadgets while sneaking into the Hawaiian resort to rescue him, Sonic, and Tom when G.U.N. (Guardian Units of Nations) takes over. After not doing much in the previous movie, Natasha Rothwell's Rachel is given a funky show stealing moment of becoming a raging bridezilla when she finds out her fiancé, Randall (Shemar Moore) is secretly a G.U.N. agent and that the whole wedding in Hawaii was a setup -- his love for her, however, was real. Other humans such as Adam Pally's Wade and Lee Majdoub's Agent Stone give consistent performances and are arguably sillier -- especially Wade's running gag of mentioning the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man -- but, once again, the ultimate show stealer is Jim Carrey's Eggman. Somehow he managed to up his comedic energy and charisma likely because at this point, he's accustomed to the role of Dr. Robotnik AND he has a more definitive henchman to play off of in the form of Knuckles. Had this movie been Jim Carrey's definitive final film before retirement, I still would have been satisfied with his role as Robotnik, but fortunately he is returning once more for the upcoming third film, which WILL most likely be his last.
A common complaint I have heard about this movie is the fact that it has more emphasis on the human characters at some points, but I don't agree with that and will therefore do my best to justify it. Many critics assume that any focus on the humans -- especially the wedding subplot -- detracts from the Sonic stuff, however, in retrospect, any scenes that focus on them are about 5% of the movie's runtime. Sure, the scenes building up to Rachel's bridezilla moment are a funky, but funny detour from the main story no less, but as a fan of the franchise since I was a kid, you bet I've seen my fair share of humans in the Sonic franchise take focus away from Sonic and the Mobian characters. For example, the main human of the 2003-2006 TV show, Sonic X, was Chris Thorndyke and almost the entire fanbase has been up in arms about how he stole thunder and even entire episodes away from Sonic and the other anthro characters especially with how unrealistically portrayed and whiny he was. The humans of the Sonic film franchise, however, they may not be the most stellar human cast next to the anthros, but they are better written and more tolerable than Chris was. Heck, even Princess Elise of Sonic '06 was hated for being a textbook example of a damsel in distress, especially with how much she got kidnapped, forcing Sonic to never do any protagonist work in that game apart from save her heroically. No such poorly written or overshadowing human exists yet in the Sonic movieverse that I know and Sonic most certainly had the starring role in this movie and the first one compared to the other examples I listed. At the very least, the main humans, Tom and Maddie, manage to factor well into the plot with how much Sonic learns to love and embrace them as family by the end especially with that defining moment of Sonic unexpectedly harnessing the Chaos Emeralds' power, giving us the big screen debut of the golden Super Sonic form. I, of coruse, expected Super Sonic to happen knowing the Emeralds were present, but I'm more than certain that casual moviegoers were blown away by this ability of Sonic's and, that said, Sonic's love of his human companions contributed to that.
All in all, this movie was a great sequel that may have faltered for some, but I continue to find thrilling enjoyment in it at the end of the day. Between its more video game-like plot, the dynamics between Sonic and Tails, the character of Knuckles, the great voice and live actor performances -- especially Idris Elba and Jim Carrey -- and, dare I say, its decently written humans, it has allowed the Sonic film franchise to continue in a meaningful way by adding more of the game series' elements and even creating its own version of the lore. Though I have yet to see the Knuckles streaming show that's out, I am confident it may portray that character well enough and hopefully expand into the upcoming third movie somehow. Knowing what I know about the Sonic games, you bet your money I was excited to see them tease Shadow the Hedgehog at the mid-credits scene, meaning that the next game will most likely take heavily after Sonic Adventure 2 hopefully with elements of other games. Since this game combined mainly the Sonic 2 video game with Sonic 3 & Knuckles while sprinkling elements of others throughout, I'm certain they can tell their own story without copying the games note-for-note -- a faithful adaptation of certain games, however, would be nice. All that said, I give this film a B+ rating and encourage fans of the first movie to try it and hopefully use both as a jumping in point for the Sonic franchise.
Thank you all for reading and I will see you in the next review!
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