Video game movies have always had a tendency of either being downright awful (here’s looking at you Uwe Boll) to being good yet insanely cheesy such as movies like the 1995 movie based on the video game hit, Mortal Kombat. Because of this, many gamers and moviegoers alike have come to brace themselves whenever a movie based on a video game is announced and then released hoping that this movie might be the one that ends up doing the source material some justice with many failing and some just missing the mark.
Until 2020 when Sega decided to bring the blue blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog, to movie theaters nationwide, and it absolutely dominated as one of if not the best video game movie ever made. Now, Sonic is back and he has brought some very familiar friends along to take on a returning Jim Carey as Dr. Eggman after being isolated on the Mushroom Planet since the end of the first movie. We find Sonic making his home in the lush town of Green Hills just outside of Seattle where Sonic hopes to be the hero that he believes is his destiny.
While trying to maintain a normal life with his family in Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) a plot unbeknownst to Sonic is unfolding with Dr. Eggman being able to find a way off of his fungal prison and back to Earth in which he meets Knuckles the Echidna who happens to be searching for an artifact that his people have been sworn to protect for many years, the Master Emerald. Of course, Eggman decides to coax Knuckles into helping him not only take out Sonic but to help Knuckles in his quest for the Master Emerald.
Along the way, Tails ends up making his way to Earth and from there, is where the hilarity ensues as Sonic & Tails form a great friendship but also make for one iconic comedy duo. One of the best parts about Sonic 2 is how Knuckles doesn’t quite get the need for Sonic to make jokes all the time at his expense and ends up making for some very hilarious moments. Myself and the audience spent a majority of the movie laughing as this no doubt is one great comedy mixed in with a ton of references to Sonic that long-time fans of the serious will get right away plus, Tails is voiced by his original voice actor Colleen O’Shaughnessey which makes for a really nice treat.
The action in Sonic 2 doesn’t hold back as Director Jeff Fowler does an excellent job of bringing the fight between Knuckles and Sonic to the big screen with some very flashy sequences and also mixed in with some great comedic bits from Jim Carey which does an even better job this time around bring Dr. Eggman to life. Sonic 2 does an excellent job of speeding past the original and by the time the movie ends you will end up hoping for more but you won’t be disappointed due to just how well the movie sets up for a Sonic 3.
Sonic 2 is by far one of the best video game movies I have ever seen and does great fan service to Sonic fans old and new especially with the references I mentioned before. This is one movie you certainly will want to watch on the big screen and one I truly believe will leave you very satisfied.
