Sonic the Hedgehog 2

The super-fast star of the Sega video game meets his match in a rushed sequel hampered by dire dialogue and OTT action.

Few could have predicted the commercial success of Sonic the Hedgehog (worldwide gross: $319.7 million), nor, indeed, the appeal of its titular furry blue urchin. So, in keeping with the speed of Sonic himself, a sequel was rushed into production. And it does look rushed. There is an air of desperation hovering over the proceedings as the actors and CGI over-compensate wildly for the lack of a single original idea. So there are more explosions, more pratfalls, more devastation, more mugging and more flatulence.

For what it’s worth, Jim Carrey’s manic, power-mad Dr Robotnik has spent 243 days exiled on the Mushroom Planet. Then, after opening an inter-dimensional portal, he leaves behind his “piece of shiitake planet” and heads back to Earth to reap his vengeance on Sonic. But in the interim, Sonic has teamed up with another extraterrestrial, Tails, and is on a quest to locate the Master Emerald, which can turn your every thought into power. Hearing this, Robotnik, and his extraterrestrial sidekick Knuckles (a super-strong echidna), plot to kill Sonic and take the Emerald for themselves. It’s all go.

However, not only is Sonic the Hedgehog 2 seriously lacking in wit or imagination, but its mix of violence and sentimentality is abhorrent. If it’s possible, Jim Carrey manages to out-gurn his previous forays into prime ham, in the process creating a terrifying nemesis whose surreal ad libs will be lost on the film’s intended audience (“I don't want to die like this! It's derivative!”). And the climactic scenes are likely to give children nightmares.

Beyond this, the predictable comic beats, wholesale destruction, lazy one-liners and arbitrary subplots conspire in making the film virtually unwatchable. One scene in particular highlights the production’s ineptitude, in which Sonic and Tails find themselves seeking refuge in a Siberian tavern. What follows is utterly illogical and, to paraphrase Noël Coward, ‘Don't Let's Be Beastly to the Russians.’ Still, the film did provide over 7,000 jobs and there are some lovely scenic shots of the Canadian Rockies.

JAMES CAMERON-WILSON

Cast: James Marsden, Ben Schwartz (voice only), Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Idris Elba (voice only), Jim Carrey, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore, Colleen O'Shaughnessey (voice only), Lee Majdoub, Tom Butler, Donna Jay Fulks (voice only). 

Dir Jeff Fowler, Pro Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, Hitoshi Okuno and Tyson Hesse, Screenplay Pat Casey, Josh Miller and John Whittington, Ph Brandon Trost, Pro Des Luke Freeborn, Ed Jim May, Music Junkie XL (aka Tom Holkenborg), Costumes Debra McGuire, Sound Erik Aadahl, Malte Bieler, Darren Maynard and Ethan Van der Ryn. 

Sega Sammy Group/Original Film/Marza Animation Planet/Blur Studio-Paramount Pictures.
122 mins. USA/Japan. 2022. UK Rel: 1 April 2022. US Rel: 8 April 2022. Cert. PG.