Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) – Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is an entertaining, silly ride that fully embraces its role as a children’s movie. Considering I had a pretty good time watching the first movie in theatres, I’ve been interested in seeing what they were going to do next with the franchise. I think it’s safe to say I wasn’t disappointed! With the main cast returning to reprise their roles, the sequel has some wonderful new additions including Idris Elba as Knuckles and Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails (my personal favourite). It’s been surprisingly fun watching the expansion of the universe and seeing each iconic Sonic the Hedgehog character being added to the films has been exciting. I’m sure that for fans of the original game and TV show, it’s been a fulfilling nostalgic experience.

For parents with kids wanting to watch this film, you may be wondering whether it’ll be a boring 2 hours or a fun family watch. To ease any concerns you may have, let me tell you that even for a 24 year old like myself, I had a great time. While I’m sure it’s not unlike anything you’ve seen before, the movie is definitely funny, has likable characters, and follows a predictable but still enjoyable storyline. There’s some good action sequences spread throughout, and you get to see Sonic level up his powers (which means he uses some cool new techniques!). The movie is also shockingly self-aware which I thought was a nice touch and provided a decent number of good laughs. I’m sure you’ll find yourself chuckling a couple times throughout too.

A lot of that is thanks to the performances from the actors. Ben Schwartz does a great job voice acting as Sonic once again and Jim Carrey manages to provide an even more unusual and eccentric performance as Dr. Robotnik (he really catches the video game villain vibe). The two have a really weird dynamic, but it works. I feel like the new characters are the ones that stole the show for me this time around though.

After finishing the movie, I’ve realized that adding in Tails and Knuckles was a good but also very necessary decision. The addition of these two characters helped make the movie feel fresh; had it just been Sonic alone against Robotnik again, the movie would’ve felt much more bland and repetitive. It was nice seeing each character have a distinct personality because it created some fun friendly banter. I mean, who doesn’t love a good superhero team up?

The star of the show was definitely Tails for me as he’s my favourite of the bunch. He’s absolutely adorable and is the perfect partner for Sonic. Knuckles on the other hand was surprisingly funny with his ignorant and gullible personality (he reminded me of Drax from the Guardians of the Galaxy). While I can’t say Idris Elba did amazing as the voice actor for Knuckles, his performance was serviceable enough. I guess you could even say the monotonous nature of Elba’s voice was an appropriate fit given Knuckle’s very stoic disposition.

Although I’m aware this is a children’s movie, which meant I went in with lower standards and expectations, I did still walk away with a few gripes about the plot. The biggest issue I had was that a lot of details and events in the movie never really felt properly explained. For example, they talk about some big war in the past which destroyed the entire Echidna race (except Knuckles of course), but I never fully understood how or why that war started. Also, I wasn’t able to fully grasp the extent of power that the Green Emerald has. What is it exactly? How did Knuckles know Sonic was the key to finding it? Of course, I can live without knowing the answers to these questions, but I would’ve appreciated if it was explained in the movie.

Lastly, I just want to quickly touch up on the CGI given that the main character is entirely made up by visual effects. For those of you who use bad CGI as a determining factor in whether you watch a film, have no fear! I’d say it was pretty well done for the most part, although there were a couple scenes where the CGI did look a little incomplete. Of course, that’s just nitpicking and I’m sure you won’t find it a distraction when watching.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is definitely the type of movie you watch more for the characters than for the actual plot. If you’re a fan of the Sonic universe, I think you’ll be pleased with what they’re doing with this franchise. I did not expect myself to enjoy these movies as much as I do, but they’re easygoing, light-hearted entertainment that is perfect for those times when you just need something fun to put on. I’m going to give Sonic the Hedgehog 2 a 7/10 because while it’s not anything out of this world, I’d for sure still recommend this as a solid family movie night watch. Just remember to keep watching past the credits! They love teasing new characters in a post credit scene.