Film Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic is back in theaters... and he's not alone this time!

Now, the film's marketers made sure to release a video asking people not to spoil, so I'll try my best to stick to what we know for certain based on the trailers (which, to be entirely fair, is A WHOLE DAMN LOT, but still, I'll try to stay concise.)

The plot

The first scenes show how Eggman escapes from the Mushroom Planet. And don't worry, I'm not telling, but I will at least admit this: For a setting with as little interest as this, they managed to make an intro that's really great. Didn't think one could have extracted so much creativity out of the friggin' Mushroom Planet. Maybe Jim Carrey is just THAT good to carry such a scene with his natural, awesome, comedic insanity.

Anyhow... Cut back to Earth, where Sonic has settled into the calm daily life at Green Hills-pfft. No, I can't say that with a straight face. He's itching to do some hero-ing again, but isn't mature enough yet to bear the brunt of the responsibilities that come with being a "hero". Not for lack of trying (and failing, and causing mayhem as a result). Tom Wachowski, still acting like Sonic's "dad" of sorts, tries to reign in his adoptive furry boy's impulsive tendencies.

One weekend, Tom and Maddie leave Sonic to watch over the house while they leave for Hawaii; Maddie's sister Rachel is marrying her fiancé, a guy named Randall. It's while they're gone that Robotnik attacks with his new ally, Knuckles the Echidna, who's built up as the perfect response, the well-trained ultiate warrior. The "unmovable force" to Sonic's "unstoppable object", if you will. Knuckles shows off some crazy physical strength that makes him pretty much a match against the blue hedgehog.

That said, though, Sonic is not alone, as another character has shown up to help: Miles "Tails" Prower. Hm... How can I describe Tails... Okay, it's hypocritical considering one of my points in this review, but- "He's so fluffy I'm gonna DIIIIE!" Tails is super-smart, has a ton of gadgets on hand to help, and great knowledge on how to operate most vehicles. He's also not built for action, by his own admission, forcing Sonic to look after and protect him in the crazy adventure that follows, neatly tying in the "responsibility in heroism" part of the plot.

As it turns out, Robotnik isn't just out for revenge this time... he quickly learns about a Master Emerald that could grant him immense power, and Sonic and Tails' quest now involves finding it before the mad scientist and Knuckles get to it...

The review

If you felt like the first Sonic was merely setup, then this film delivers on everything it was setting up for. Everything about the game characters is on-point here, the one thing that they had to do right, they did right. Tails (voiced by his VA from the games and recent cartoons, Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) are perfectly recognizable, not just in appearance, but also in personality and behavior. And they're great. Doctor Robotnik? Jim Carrey yet again kills it in the role, he's fantastic. He has recently announced he was taking a break from acting, but if a Sonic 3 brings Robotnik back, then I hope he does return. 

The plot is a fair bit darker than the previous film's, but it's also a lot more action-oriented. And yet, it's also even bigger on comedy. I swear I laughed the entire way through, it was incredibly funny. It doesn't matter how dark it gets, or how much action is going on - there's always some comedy thrown in. Knuckles is the closest to an exception, being played mostly seriously; but he manages to elicit laughter, usually unintentionally on his part, playing the "comically serious" type.

I might have a bit of an issue with the frequent use of pop culture references for jokes in the film, as I feel it's becoming more and more of a crutch for humor. Just from the trailers, Sonic calling Knuckles the Winter Soldier... there's more, and I don't want to spoil; let's just say it's even more frequent than in the first Sonic film. That said, the film again dips its toes into referencing memes from the franchise, which I feel is more tolerable.

Some of the less endearing or interesting characters introduced in the first film were given some much better material to work with. Rachel, Maddie's sister, was insufferable and despicable in the first film, but her abrasiveness was used for much better (and funnier) moments here, with her marriage being a surprisingly important part of the plot. Wade, the assistant sheriff from Green Hills... Eh, he doesn't get much, but an attempt was made. Agent Stone also returns, and gets more to do this time around.

Oh, another thing I felt was improved: I felt like there weren't enough physical interactions between Sonic and the humans in the first movie. Here, there's a lot of that, probably helped by the use of stand-in puppets of the characters to really give the impression that they're there. Tom and Maddie get to hug Sonic and Tails, hold them... 

Add to this that elements of the games are referenced much more often, and we get a film that's probably even prouder of being based on a video game franchise than its predecessor was.

Definite recommend, will buy on DVD so I can watch again.