Director: Jeff Fowler
Starring: Voices of: Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, Colleen O'Shanussy, Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Runtime: 115 mins. Reviewed in Apr 2022
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc

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Rating notes: Crude humour, action violence and coarse language

More adventures of the popular videogame hero – a small, blue-coloured hedgehog, with sonic speed, who confronts the evil, power-hungry Doctor Robotnik.

There’s nothing like a video game popularity, especially among younger players (and their parents?) to help towards decisions to make feature films. The first Sonic the Hedgehog film (2020) was a popular and commercial success. And, it would seem, that this sequel will easily follow in its footsteps – and, at the end, all kinds of prospects for further Sonic adventures.

Sonic himself seems the least likely of world heroes, so it just goes to show. Small, blue, like a child, but with that capacity for absolute fast motion. And, there is a nice sheriff and his wife, James Marsden and Tika Sumpter, already having proved their niceness and care for Sonic, ready to join in these adventures as well.

Which means then that the screenplay offers all kinds of entertainment for the younger audiences. There’s Sonic himself, his friend Tails, a little fox with two tails, and an echidna from outer space, Knuckles, with whom there will be an ultimate reconciliation and plans for further adventures.

But, in the meantime, the arch-villain from the first film, Dr Robotnik, has been stranded on a mushroom planet in outer space. He is the most dastardly of the dastardly, a huge moustache, severe eyes, dressed in pilot’s uniform. And, we first met him in the first film, in the form of Jim Carrey. For older generations this is an opportunity to see the Jim Carrey of old, all eccentric mannerisms and grimaces, oddball dialogue which it would seem he wrote himself.

The whole point of the adventure this time is that there is an emerald that gives power over the world. Dr Robotnik is searching for it, Knuckles wants it for better purposes, and it is entrusted by the wise owl to Sonic to find it and preserve it.

So, a lot of animated adventures to please the young audience, enough knockabout comedy and eccentric characters to entertain the youngest. And, to keep the adult audience attention, there is comedy with those characters, especially a wedding in Hawaii which goes disastrously awry.

The climax, Dr Robotnik with the emerald, able to build a gigantic monstrosity which he inhabits, ready to crush anyone in its path, animated characters or humans, but defeated by the trio of Knuckles, Tails and Sonic. And there is time out for heartfelt talks and advice about responsibility, helping others and teamwork.

Paramount