Image: Primordial images
Nobody was waiting for the first live action of Sonic’s live action, but against all odds, it’s a harmless and entertaining family movie that captures the heart of the franchise. Sonic The Hedgehog 2, following the sensible name, relies on the successes of the original to offer something rarely rare to Hollywood: a follow-up that is better than what preceded.
With the bases in Sonic 1, the director Jeff Fowler could throw the net a little wider and wrap more characters and narrative rhythms of the games. The hedgehog itself is satisfied with its fate – Dr. Robotnik was banished on a mushroom planet and he secretly leads a vigilante life to release his fast capabilities. However, while things in Green Hills are peaches, Jim Carrey’s unstable antagonist comes back, and this time he’s allied with Knuckles, an echided with a chip on his shoulder.
Pictures: Paramount Pictures
A clearer central intrigue revolves around the Emerald Master, a McGuffin that Eggman and Knuckles are looking for, albeit for their own reasons. Sonic, with a new partner in Tails, seeks to prevent the duet from getting your hand on the precious all-powerful st1. There is an extra context behind all this, but the important thing is that the film feels more in line with the games – it’s less Sonic who finds his brands in a small town in America, and more to counteract the villains.
This does not mean that human characters have completely disappeared. The majority of characters who are not balls of three feet high are distracted elsewhere, leaving the majority of the film in the hands of Sonic and Robotnik. Although the focus is definitely put on the hedgehog and its colored peers, the wider cast is of course involved in action, although a particular scene of the second act seems a little prolonged. Probably to give something to actors like James Marsden, Tika Sumper and Natasha Rothwell.
Pictures: Paramount Pictures
Yet even with an execution time that may be a little long for a children’s film, Sonic 2 is better than its predecessor in the most measurable way. The script is more funny, the action is more exciting and the places are more varied and interesting. Respect for source material can also be found everywhere. We will not spoil anything because there are magnificent decorations that directly remind the classics of Genesis, and it is great to see.
Performance all around are generally good; Carrey’s unbalanced robotnik is great, while Ilba Elba plays a good role by providing Knuckles’ tone voice – in a fun and serious way despite the fact that he is a bright red heavy in clown shoes. Nobody wins Oscar for his appearance in Sonic 2, but you have the impression that everyone involved have fun on the screen.
Pictures: Paramount Pictures
Of course, things are perfectly put in place for the third movie, and we can see human characters take even more decline in the future. The scenes that do not involve Sonic, tails or the wicked are the weakest, so it follows that the focus will be more placed on the heroes and the main wicked. That said, Sonic 2 is progressing well as a whole and should make fans smile, young and old.
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