Sonic teams with a new ally to face foes old and new in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Left on his own while Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter) travel to Hawaii for the wedding of Maddie's sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell) to Randall (Shemar Moore), Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) is shocked by the sudden return to Earth by Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who is accompanied by the vengeful Echidna warrior Knuckles (Idris Elba). Sonic is saved by Miles “Tails” Prower (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and together they go on an adventure to locate the mythical Master Emerald before Robotnik and Knuckles do.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the sequel to the 2020 film adaptation of the SEGA video game series, once again directed by Jeff Fowler. This film introduces other characters from the games, such as Sonic's best friend and partner Tails and the antagonistic Knuckles. Jim Carrey returns to chew the scenery as Dr. “Eggman” Robotnik, now sporting a look much closer to what the character looks like in the games. With the help of Knuckles, Robotnik returns to Earth and with the help of his faithful underling Agent Stone (Lee Majdoub), Robotnik plans to take the Master Emerald and use it for World Domination.
Despite initial criticisms about the CGI design of the titular character, which were fixed by the time it was released, 2020's Sonic the Hedgehog ended up being one of the better video game film adaptations. This was due in no small part to Jim Carrey's highly improvised performance as the villain Dr. Robotnik. Indeed, Carrey's performance as Robotnik is against the best part of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, even though he seems to be a somewhat less prominent figure this time around.
In fact, all the human characters take a backseat for much of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with the film starting off with James Marsden and Tika Sumpter's couple of Tom and Maddie Wachowski heading to Hawaii for the wedding of Maddie's sister Rachel, which is a subplot that is only periodically returned to while Sonic and Tails travel to Siberia to search for clues to locating the Master Emerald.
The end result is Sonic the Hedgehog 2 being a sequel that is much more obviously aimed at kids. However, there are still elements of the film to be enjoyed by people of ages, particularly the performance by Jim Carrey, as well as Idris Elba's voicework for Knuckles, with Elba playing the character as a noble warrior, who ultimately has more brawn than brains. Also, those who grew up playing the videogames would probably enjoy the climax of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which looks to be taken straight off the screen.
While Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is ultimately a step down from the previous film, it still ended up having entertaining moments.
