Directed By Jeff Fowler

Starring – Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Idris Elba

The Plot – After settling in Green Hills, Sonic (Schwartz) is ready for more freedom, and Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) agree to leave him home while they go on vacation. But, no sooner are they gone, when Dr. Robotnik (Carrey) comes back, this time with a new partner, Knuckles (Elba), in search for an emerald that has the power to both build and destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails (Collen O’Shanussy), and together they embark on a journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.

Rated PG for action, some violence, rude humor, and mild adult language

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) – “Final Trailer” – Paramount Pictures – YouTube

POSITIVES

At this point in the Sonic franchise, it would take two more of these films to supplant the first exceptional video game film in cinema history, but alas “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” is a slight improvement from a mediocre predecessor. It attains this passing merit with a few notable aspects in its creativity, but particularly the indulgence and familiarity of its video game origins, which doubles down here without hindering the movements of the narrative. This can certainly be solidified as pandering fan service, but it’s the type that doesn’t feel jarring or forced in its conjuring, instead smoothly submerging the music, backdrops, or characters of 16-bit familiarity naturally in ways it wears like a badge of prestigious honor. Beyond this, the sequel brings back every single character, artificial or human, from its opening chapter, but none more prominent than the unchained hunger of Carrey continuously chewing so much scenery that he practically puts a hole through the screen. Simply put, Robotnik was made for Jim, both in seamless line deliveries sifting through various picture-perfect puns, or in the physicality of his movements, which seem to glide with a unique identity that solidifies the immersive transformation he has taken with the character. Aside from Jim, Schwartz also returns with energetic vibrance in vocal capacities, distinguishing a vast emotional pallet that works terrifically with the detailed depth of the corresponding animations, and Elba is a welcome addition as Knuckles, who moves the needle with subtle forms of unintentional humor that work terrifically with the tonal consistencies of the film. Beyond performances, this is an equally momentous improvement for Fowler, whose thorough direction here not only attains ruthless exhilaration in a variety of riveting action set pieces, but also one who tonally channels the atmospheric range of gaming franchise without any of the corny that condemned the first film. Fowler instead constructs an equal balance of presentational energy and light-hearted demeanor that vividly illustrates the absorbed radiance of the titular protagonist, all the while underlining the material from Pat Casey and Josh Miller’s imaginative screenplay with a touch of occasional dark humor that brands something endearing for adults who grew up with the franchise, but still require something substantial to work alongside their blossoming nostalgia. Finally, though this is only the second installment in this franchise, I found the finality of the climactic final battle to offer a surprising level of satisfaction and completion that could work both as a fitting end to the rumors of this being Carrey’s final film, but also a new beginning for future installments. The mid credits scene does seem to allude to the latter, but if by some chance the film doesn’t make back its budget, the closing moments of the airborne war merits stimulating stakes to the madness and amplified devastation that are all the more resounding with the personal emphasis of Robotnik’s own motivating vengeance upping the ante.

NEGATIVES

A two hour run time is a problem for any kids movie, and the evidence of why and how this came to be for “Sonic 2” are littered casually throughout the expansion of this should-be simplistic narrative. Aside from the battle between Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Robotnik, which should make up the entirety of this film, there’s an equally donated amount of time to the same uninteresting human characters from the first film attending a wedding that Sonic isn’t invited to. In addition, there’s also a dwindling subplot involving a secondary cop from the aforementioned first movie, which adds little to no relevance to what actually transpires in the duration of the film. So the problem is not only that there are too many counterpoints directly taking away from the compelling aspect of the plot for far too long, but also that the script goes out of its way to find meaning for characters nobody bought a ticket for, stuffing the screenplay with several instances of creative incoherence, which often feel like two different films fighting for the attention of one battle-tested audience. In addition to this, the humor level for the film is still underwhelming. Most of this problem pertains to the overload on cultural references, which hits double digits by the midway point in the film, and bares no significance on a film going directly out of its way to force it down the throats of youthful audiences who won’t comprehend them in the first place. Inconsistency also lends itself to lukewarm computer-generated special effects, which work on a conceptual design once more, but not as prominently on an interacting one. When two artificial properties engage with each other, it’s believable enough, but when one of them engages with a live action property, the strings of hollowness start to show their hand, and this sentiment is enhanced all the more alarmingly when their influence on a surrounding backdrop are all the more minimal, despite the air of their velocity conveying entirely different gravitational influence.

OVERALL

“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” improves on its predecessor in many ways while still falling short in a few others. Though the film does feel more in-tuned than ever with the lore and magnitude of its gaming rooted origins, the two-hour run time continuously halts momentum attained by its computer-generated characters and a devilishly delightful over-the-top performance from Carrey, all in favor of an unnecessary subplot involving the same uninteresting humans that condemned the previous film. It’s a notable step forward for the franchise and gaming adaptations as a whole, but one that still loses its rings in finding its feet before take-off, leaving this sequel stunted by the legitimate potential of what could’ve been.

My Grade: 6/10 or C-