Photo Courtesy of ComicBook.com

In 2020, the first Sonic movie, Sonic the Hedgehog, was released, and it received outstanding feedback from the audience and fans alike; even people who weren’t extreme Sonic enthusiasts absolutely loved this movie. As time went on and a year came and went without many films, fans were excited for the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog. At the Game Awards of 2021, the sequel’s trailer was shown, and fans were excited to see aspects from games such as “Sonic 2” and “Sonic 3 & Knuckles.” People were excited for this movie more than the original. When the film finally released, fans were incredibly happy with the elements of the film.

The characters in this movie are done just as one would expect. Sonic is once again represented well, and there’s more to his character that really shines in this movie. Ben Schwartz nails the quips and emotional appeal of the character, just as well as in the original movie. Sonic evolves throughout the film and begins to realize that his chance to be a hero will come. Tails makes his debut in the film, with Colleen O’Shaughnessy reprising her role from the games. While he’s a fun character and people were excited to see his friendship with Sonic blossom, the biggest downside is that Tails’ character feels underdeveloped. He could’ve done more, and it’s even more unfortunate because Tails was in the end credits of the first movie, signaling potential greater involvement.

Knuckles, played by Idris Elba, is done outstandingly. For years, Knuckles was depicted as the stereotypical meathead who’s as smart as a bag of potatoes, but the writers corrected his character to be more like how he was shown in “Sonic 3 & Knuckles.” He’s more serious, while also being oblivious to the new world he’s arrived in, and is motivated to find the Master Emerald. Idris Elba really brings light to the character, and Knuckles is one of the best characters in the film. Finally, Doctor Eggman is done just as well. While not as funny as he was in the original, Jim Carrey does a great job portraying the character’s insanity and madness, while trying to remain the same mad genius from the previous film.

All of the characters visually look incredible. Tails and Knuckles look like they were ripped straight from the games and brought into the real world; Eggman’s design looks stunning, and Sonic looks better than what was seen years ago. The sets and props are fantastic, and one can tell that the set designers really took note of the games, with several references to the classic titles from the SEGA Genesis era.

 The story follows Doctor Eggman, who teams up with Knuckles to defeat Sonic and find the Master Emerald. With Tails by Sonic’s side, it becomes a race to get to the emerald first. The backstory of the owls and echidnas is very interesting and gives a lot of history towards LongClaw, a character original to this movie, and Knuckles’ whole motive to destroy Sonic. The biggest criticism of the film is the balance between scenes with the Sonic characters and the human characters. While viewers enjoyed Tom and Maddie, one can tell that the writers had nothing for them to do. Most of the film focuses on Sonic and Tails or Knuckles and Doctor Eggman, but it’s constantly interrupted by a side plot of Rachel’s wedding that goes on for too long. It’s unfortunate because the movie could’ve used that time to develop the bond between Sonic and Tails.

(SPOILER WARNING)

The final act shocked viewers and went against their expectations, and it’s a major talking point of the film. With the final battle taking place in Green Hills, the movie amplifies the abilities of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, sort of reminiscent of the 2003 game, “Sonic Heroes.” The final battle is choreographed very well, from the Eggman robot to the computer generated animation of all three heroes, especially once Super Sonic takes the movie by storm. Super Sonic is awesome to see in live action, but he’s not there for long. There could’ve been a longer scene with him fighting the Eggman robot, but Super Sonic is just gone after the fight. Hopefully fans can see this form and the Chaos Emeralds return if there is a third film.

 “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” is a great movie overall. Despite its flaws, unnecessary scenes and sometimes missed potential in certain aspects, this movie is still a great adaptation. While the original movie does better in terms of Sonic’s character and origin, the sequel advances the story by answering questions concerning characters like LongClaw, the addition of fan favorites and fun references from the games. Like the last movie, fans are excited for the next movie and are hoping to see where to go from here. Hopefully, if there is a third film, it’ll end on a high note with fans loving it just as much as they loved the other two.