Sonic the Hedgehog 2: A Treat for Fans and Newcomers Alike
If you were to tell someone three years ago when Sonic The Hedgehog’s hideous design was revealed that venture into the movie genre would be remotely successful, chances are you would be looked at as if you were in need of immediate psychiatric evaluation. To an average moviegoer, it looked odd and visually unappealing, but to dedicated fans of the series, it was a disgraceful depiction of an iconic character that they loved. However, as we know now, the producers saw the errors of their ways, delayed the movie, and constructed a complete redesign of Sonic’s character, leading the first Sonic Movie to have the highest grossing opening weekend for a video game movie. Now, two years later, the sequel has been released and somehow surpassed the original expectations of the first one. It is an experience that casual fans will enjoy, but an experience that dedicated fans will love.
As a dedicated fan of the franchise, Sonic Movie 2 was one of my favorite movies in a while.
To keep things as spoiler-free as possible, the film acts as a pseudo-reimagining of the video games Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Sonic The Hedgehog 3. These games, while great in their own rights, are somewhat lacking in the story-telling department, mainly because of being a byproduct of their times. The Sonic Movie 2 is able to take a lot of concepts and iconic locals and environments from Sonic’s 16-bit era and flesh them out into a gorgeous cinematic production.
In general, this film focuses more on the actual Sonic characters as opposed to its human-centric prequel, picking up right after the post-credits scene of the first movie that hinted at the inclusion of Tails, the deuteragonist of the second Sonic The Hedgehog video game. For Tails’ role specifically, the story mainly focuses upon the adventures that he goes on with Sonic, and the movie does a solid job of developing the iconic friendship that the pair grow to build. Some of the moments are directly sourced from the games, like the time the pair snowboard down the mountain to escape an avalanche that mimics the events of the Icecap Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and the little interactions they have flying on Tails’ iconic plane that loosely mimic some of the themes from the Sky Chase Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, however, some of their friendship-building moments stem from original ideas, like the “dance-off” they have in the Slovakian tavern earlier on in the film. There is a delicate balance made between taking direct influence from the source material whilst also utilizing new ideas that keep the movie feeling fresh.
The other notable Sonic character who made their debut in the new Sonic Movie was Knuckles, the iconic red-haired echidna who acts as Sonic’s rival in a majority of early Sonic media, and also in this film as well. Knuckles’ appearance in The Sonic Movie is so well done that it actually does a better job of characterizing him than a majority of Sonic games over the past decade. Voiced by Idris Elba, this version of Knuckles finally makes a character that is supposed to be revered for physical prowess feel intimidating again, which is something that the previous games had largely failed to do. Knuckles feels like a genuine threat to Sonic in this movie, and his motivations are portrayed in a much more in-depth manner than they were in previous Sonic titles. The movie does a good job of making you respect him and the power he wields while also being sympathetic to the hard-ships he endures as a character.
All of these near-perfect renditions of beloved characters come together to make a movie that is immensely entertaining to watch. To avoid spoilers, I’m not going to necessarily go too in-depth, but there are countless callbacks in the movie that had the Sonic fan inside of me ready to jump out of my seat. While the first Sonic movie felt like more of a mainstream movie with Sonic elements mixed in, this movie felt more like it was trying to be a Sonic-centered movie first. The plot was unique enough to the point where it felt fresh enough to someone familiar with the franchise, but it was also grounded enough to the point where the focus still felt as if it was on the iconic blue-blur himself. The focus is definitely on the bonds formed between Sonic and his friends above all else, and that definitely serves to the film’s benefit.
The Sonic Movie was everything that I wanted in a sequel and more. The greater focus on the Sonic characters as opposed to the human characters paid off dividends for my enjoyment of the film. Watching this movie made me feel as enamored with this franchise as I did as an eight-year old kid having Sonic-themed birthday parties, and I can’t thank it enough. Also, the post credits scene most certainly did not disappoint, and has made me somehow even more eager to experience the next entry in the movie franchise than I was for this one. After years of inconsistency and mediocrity from the franchise, I’m excited to say that there’s something that makes me excited about Sonic again.
By Kailen Hicks