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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
I was pleasantly surprised but just how damn delightful the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie was, and with this sequel, Jeff Fowler has wisely stuck with the formula, added more to it, and the results are just as enjoyable.
Jim Carrey once again steals the show, as a more unhinged Robotnik, closer to his game counterpart than he was the first time around. When coupled with the inclusion of fan favourite characters Tails and Knuckles, alongside series mainstays like the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic 2 runs headfirst into its source material whilst still feeling at home in the real world. It's a good balance.
A lot of the comedy fell flat for me however. A lot of jokes didn't land properly, but it's important to remember that this is a movie geared towards kids, and as such, it's not a huge issue. There's also a kind of discount Meet the Parents side plot that feels wholly unnecessary and drags the mid point, but this is completely made up for by one of the most entertaining final acts in recent blockbuster memory. The final showdown is an unencumbered blast. As someone who grew up playing the Sonic games, it's a joy to behold and is a testament to how fucking fun video game adaptions can be when handled well.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is just a damn good time, and I say that confidently as a grown ass man. Make the trip to the cinema and treat yo self.
  
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
2020 | Action, Adventure, Animation
Kind of shit, but a total blast where it counts. I have so many grievances, firstly - did this honestly have to take the form of one of those trite, throwaway kids' films from the 90s/2000s where some obnoxious animal/alien has to team up with a bland cardboard cutout fuck and they learn to love alone the way? Gag, I feel deep shame that my peer group has such devout nostalgia for such a bastardized, lazy corporate gash-grab of a film era - which is of course is only exacerbated more so here by Fowler shooting this thing about as blandly as can be. Not to mention Marden absolutely sucks in it doing - what I can only assume is - some sort of scuffed, bored Ryan Reynolds impersonation. But it's easy to forgive a film that gives such ample time to Jim Carrey (in like his... third or fourth "return to form" now?) giving the single greatest performance of 2020 in a loving homage to the OG elastic, hyperactive roles of which he built his career upon. The action is fair, and for all its deafening faults the final showdown between Sonic and Eggman is exhilarating (even if I find Ben Schwartz's Sonic voice to be mostly a non-presence). Cute and fun enough to suffice - frequently hilarious too - but not really the resuscitator of video game movies when we got the sumptuous and similarly nonsensical 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 just over three years before it. Truthfully I think this would have been better if they kept that monstrous abomination Sonic from the first trailer.