Video game movies have tended to fall short in the box office, often failing to cater to fans who found joy in the original media. However, the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie broke that trend, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is continuing to show that video game movies can be done right. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 features its original cast, including Sonic, Dr. Robotnik, and other human supporting characters while adding on new beloved characters like Tails and Knuckles. Fans will appreciate the acting done by Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, and Colleen O’Shaughnessy. The voice actors and Jim Carrey’s chaotic acting of Dr. Robotnik compliment the original attitudes of the characters in the game. Elba brings Knuckles to life with his deep and angry tones, Schwartz continues to be the happy go lucky Sonic fans know and love, and Shaughnessey flawlessly resumes her role as Tails from the cartoon Sonic Boom. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s plot focuses on the background built up from the game Sonic 3 and Knuckles, where Knuckles chases after Sonic after being tricked by Dr. Robotnik into thinking that Sonic is actively against him. Sonic is assisted by his human friends, as well as Tails. They attempt to thwart Dr. Robotnik’s plans of using the Master Emerald’s power for his own gain. There are many references to other games in the Sonic franchise, but for the sake of not spoiling the movie, I will not refer to them. The movie has a runtime of roughly two hours and two minutes and features an after credits cutscene that watchers stick around for. 

Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a critic review of 67/100, and an audience review of 96/100. While major critics did not like the movie as much, with Rotten Tomatoes’ top critic Mark Kermode calling it, “Slightly grating, way too long, but not too terrible,” most audience reviewers loved the movie. Rotten Tomatoes’ super reviewer Michael M. states that the movie, “Improve[s] on the original in (mostly) every conceivable way and giv[es] us a more genuine video game adaptation.” Additionally, IGN gave the movie a 7/10, with reviewer Alex Stedman stating that, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2 improves upon its predecessor in many ways, while falling short in a few others. It feels more attuned to the Sonic lore than ever before…it doesn’t quite know to make its other human characters work, however, and is definitely longer than it needs to be.” 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was a wonderful experience for me. While I do agree it ran on longer than I think it needed to, mostly because the strictly human parts bloated its runtime, I appreciated all the references to the games I played as a child. Not only did it create a new story direction for the series to follow, but it also brought me and others on a nostalgic ride through experiences I had not been through since I was about ten years old. It was fun, light-hearted, and fast paced, which is everything that Sonic should strive to be in all forms of media.