‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ has remained a mainstay in my life, silly as it may be. The gaming franchise introduced me to my personal love for Sega. As it happens, that particular game was not the original, but, rather, the sequel, which partnered the titular character with Tails. He is a fox. However, that particular character was often considered quite annoying, unless you controlled the character, itself.

A couple of years after the first, direct sequel, there was something of a two-part follow-up. ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ was such a massive game for the 16-bit era, it had to be dissected and presented into two, separate carts. The second half of that game was entitled ‘Sonic & Knuckles.’ What made it special was the inclusion of an echidna, Knuckles. He is something of a rival to Sonic, but equally playable as a character in that game.

I say all this to make it known that both of these characters are included in the first, direct sequel of the original “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie, brought to all of us by the Sega Sammy Group, among other, joint production companies. What I recall about the first movie is that it was fun, but still highly flawed, in terms of certain details not making sense to the story and a few moments of chopping editing. The most important thing is that Jim Carrey was delightful as Dr. Robotnik and Sonic, himself, voiced by Ben Schwartz, was quite lovable.

Yes, the same, two actors have returned to the cast, along with James Marsden as Tom Wachowski and Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski. The family is in Seattle and Sonic is traipsing around, late at night, as “blue justice” and “the hero the city deserves.” Sonic is just as lovable as ever, though his role will be dialed down a bit, due to crowding from all the new characters in this film. Robotnik is just as funny, as well, and even gets to be on the creepy side, later on. Also returning is Natasha Rothwell as Rachel and she almost stole the show, I do not mind saying. Adam Pally came back to fulfill his role as Wade Whipple. He quips with plenty of ‘80s nostalgia.

You will not have to wait very long for the introduction of the two, new additions. Miles “Tails” Prower is voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who technically made an appearance in the first movie, though it was after the final credits had begun to roll. Thankfully, he is not nearly as annoying as he is in the video games. Knuckles, on the other hand, was voiced by Idris Elba (“The Suicide Squad”). I, honestly, has never really considered how this character might play out in a film, but how could Elba go wrong? He could not. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. I just never imagined Knuckles as the all braun and no brain type of character he was portrayed as. Still, I liked it and why should not I? After all, I named by previous vehicle after him. May he Rest In Peace…

“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” is loaded with one-liners, poking fun at the various characters. Reminiscent of the most recent “Ghostbusters” film, many of the jokes land well, but it becomes so much a part of the tone of the movie that it becomes tiresome at some point. What I thought was better, overall, was the backstory for the new characters. Everything made more sense, as a result. However, it seemed like there was not enough story to carry the film all on its own. By the time Sonic and Tails were competing in a dance-off, I was beginning to wonder if they had run out of ideas.

Further down the line, the Wachowskis meet up with Rachel and her new fiancé, Randall, played by Shemar Moore (“Justice League Dark: Apokolips War”). They, basically, have their own little movie within the movie. Did I enjoy that? Yes, as did the rest of the audience, but why was it here? I thought this was Sonic’s movie. He and his pals and adventures disappeared for awhile and this was a 122-minute film. Perhaps, with a little bit more tweaking to the editing of the story, ti could have been a bit closer to 90 minutes, which is really all you need, especially for a family feature.

I am really tempted to chalk this sequel up as an improvement, by comparison to the first movie. I liked all of the new references to the original games, which were largely missing before. If you grew up with the games, you will enjoy the surprises that’s await. However, if you halted your playing experiences of the gaming franchise by the turn of the 21st century, as I did, you might not be looking forward to the next installment quite as much. Hopefully it will still be fun, even if it is still not “good.”

Director: Jeff Fowler
Screenwriters: Pat Casey, Josh Miller and John Whittington
Starring: James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Lee Majdoub, Idris Elba and Jim Carrey
Production: Sega Sammy Group, Original Film, Marza Animation Planet and Blur Studio
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release: March 30th, 2022 (France) and April 8th, 2022 (United States)