“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” - Film Review
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 picks up not long after the events of the first film. Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey) was banished from Earth by Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and crash-landed his spaceship on the Mushroom Planet. His only means of escape is Sonic’s quill, which is flowing with immense energy, and he uses it to send out a distress signal. This catches the attention of Knuckles (Idris Elba), another super-powerful anthropomorphic animal like Sonic. Knuckles is the last living member of the echidna tribe that was wiped out in the same war that sent Sonic to Earth many years ago.
paramount pictures
Knuckles and Doctor Robotnik have a common enemy: Sonic. Knuckles believes Sonic is the key to finding the Master Emerald. It’s an ancient relic that his tribe was tasked to care for, but was lost in the war. Knuckles is after the Master Emerald out of a sense of duty to his tribe’s legacy, but Doctor Robotnik wants the emerald for its reality-bending powers.
In the time since the first film, Sonic has become obsessed with being a vigilante for the good of the public. While his heart is in the right place, Sonic’s attempts at fighting crime cause more destruction to the cities than if he would have just let the human police forces handle it. Sonic’s father figure, Tom (James Marsden), encourages Sonic to be patient and hone his abilities. He says that one day, Sonic’s skills will be needed, but it’s not something that can be rushed. That day comes sooner rather than later, with the return of Knuckles and Doctor Robotnik to Earth.
It’s unclear who Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is made for. Unlike other movies geared toward children, most of the jokes are written to appeal directly to the adults in the audience. There is some slapstick humor (mostly in Carrey’s performance), but the script is pretty dry. It’s not funny enough to elicit a laugh from the adults, and it sails over the heads of the kids. Unsurprisingly, Natasha Rothwell’s brief scenes breathe genuine comedy into the film. Even so, her marriage plot line feels like an elongated advertisement for the Four Seasons Oahu. It is one of many tangents that make Sonic the Hedgehog 2 feel terribly bloated.
A true weakness of the film is the live-action component. Save for Carrey, who was clearly having the time of his life as Doctor Robotnik, the humans who surround Sonic are really quite bland. A much more interesting dynamic is the ever-optimistic Sonic working with no-nonsense himbo Knuckles. The movie is liveliest in the final five minutes when Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic’s parental-figures Tom and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) play baseball together. A hulking Knuckles excitedly learning about ice cream and sprinkles makes it clear that an opportunity was missed in this movie.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 feels lost. It doesn’t appeal to the new generation of kids or to the adults who grew up playing the video games. The movie is a too-long, unfunny adaptation of the beloved antics of Sonic.
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