The colorful SEGA spiny mammals are back and fully charged!
If there’s one thing the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films have shown, it’s that Jim Carrey is sorely missed as a regular on-screen presence. His performance in 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog was, not so arguably, the best part of the film and without it the film would’ve been easily dismissed. The sequel, coming out only two years after the first, is a rare instance of more-is-better working for a franchise. Carrey remains the main draw, and he once again delivers the manic goods. Two new colorful iconic characters from the SEGA game’s universe, Tails and Knuckles, are fun additions. Unsurprisingly, the addition of extended plotlines surrounding minor side characters isn’t as fun. Like a broken record, I’ll once again say that movies are too long these days. Sonic 2 is twenty minutes too long (23 minutes longer than the first movie). Despite some extraneous tangents, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 doubles down on the jokes, the action, and the energy.
This ‘New York song and dance’ double feature is an obvious duet. On the positive side, both films surprised audiences (and critics) with an abundance of colorful energy, and on the flip side, both films feature male leads with some troubling choices in their personal lives. In any other year, or perhaps ten years ago, these two films would be atop the box office and Oscar predictions, especially the one where Steven Spielberg directs his first musical that is an adaptation of another movie that won Best Picture. This year they’ll both have to settle for being two overflowing-with-life musicals that will become more and more appreciated over time.
