Sonic: Let’s talk about your new outfit: it’s like Professor X meets Mr Monopoly.

Director: Jeff Fowler

Writers: Pat Casey, Josh Miller, John Whittington

Starring: Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally with Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic

Synopsis: Dr Robotnik returns to Earth with a new ally intent on revenge and in pursuit of a new ultimate power.

What happens if you mix the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze with Batman Forever and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, you get Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the fun but kinda crazy sequel to the biggest hit of 2020, Sonic the Hedgehog. Would Sonic the Hedgehog still have been the biggest hit of 2020 if cinemas didn’t close down shortly after due to the covid-19 pandemic? Who knows? It doesn’t matter because at the time the film was a big hit and everyone seemed to enjoy it for its playful harmless fun. The sequel picks up directly after the original with Jim Carrey’s Dr Robotnik stuck on a Mushroom Planet trying to get back to Earth to get revenge on Sonic. As he creates a portal to Earth, he meets Knuckles the Echidna, a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna whose father was one of the Echidna’s who killed Sonic’s mother figure, Longclaw, before she sent Sonic to Earth in the original film. Knuckles has a history as a soldier intent on fighting Sonic. Now that I write this, Knuckles isn’t given much of a back story as to why he wants to get Sonic just that his is. He teams up with Dr Robotnik to travel to Earth and find the Green Emerald a plot device which will give the bad guys ultimate power. This is taken directly from the video game and will be a fun easter egg for the fans. Knuckles is a great new character which Idris Elba voices with charm and dutiful service. He makes a great foe for Sonic who in the first film was pretty much undefeatable. Knuckles is powerful like Sonic, but instead of being super-fast he is super-strong.

The film also picks up directly after the original with Sonic living with Tom and Maddie Wachowski (returning players James Marsden and Tika Sumpter) as their foster son…? Tom gives Sonic fatherly advice on a fishing trip as he prepares to leave him alone as he and his wife need to attend the wedding of Maddie’s sister, Natasha (played by the hilarious Natasha Rothwell, returning from the original) in Hawaii. As they leave, Sonic enjoys the empty house by hanging out with the family dog and dancing around making the house a mess. Tails, an anthropomorphic two-tailed fox, is a fan of Sonic from another planet who comes to help Sonic when Dr Robotnik and Knuckles arrive to ruin his home alone time. The film, like the first, goes on to become a buddy road trip comedy adventure with Sonic and Tails becoming close friends (just like in the video game). The character designs are cute and work seamlessly in the live action setting.

The film is pretty similar to the first film with it being a constant clash of a Jim Carrey comedy routine and an adventure fantasy with Sonic and Tails. Also included is a bizarre wedding side plot for the human characters to enjoy some screen time which is absolutely bonkers.

Like the first film this is pretty inoffensive family fun which you can enjoy over the school holidays or a lazy Saturday afternoon. Sonic is a fun character and the new additions of Knuckles and Tails make it differentiate from the original. At times it seems overstuffed but it is a solid sequel which deserves its success.

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My Opinion

Rating: B-