When the first Sonic movie was in development, it seemed doomed from the start when the first CGI renders of the hedgehog were released. The internet had a field day criticizing the image SO much that Paramount ordered a complete redesign of the character. In reaction to this, people were immediately dismissing the movie. Due to the backlash, the release of the movie was pushed back 3 months and Sonic went through a complete redesign that made way more sense to the character. 

Sonic new design (left) vs. originally released design (right)

Clearly, that showed Paramount cared about this movie franchise they were trying to build. When the movie was finally released on January 25th, 2020, the overall reception was so good that it became the highest grossing opening for a video game based movie ever. On top of that, it didn’t disappoint the fans! While some critics had issues with it, the true fans of the franchise loved it. Jim Carrey was a standout in the film, and the overall tone of the movie was fun and adventurous. In my opinion, it was done really well and paid a lot of homage to the franchise. 

That leads us to the second movie. In a lot of cases, adding sequels to a franchise like this can turn into a really dicey situation. Studios might be trying too hard to shove as much lore into the movie as possible and take it over the top, leaving fans disappointed. However, in my opinion, this was not the case for this movie. 

The humor was campy. There were some moments in the movie where I was asking myself, ‘why is this here?’ However, it all did end up paying off. The CGI was done well. Voice work for the characters was impeccable, so much so that I could actually see these characters fitting into this version of the “real world”.

Knuckles

This is not a spoiler (as it is in the trailer for the movie), but Idris Elba doing the voice of Knuckles was really fitting for the character. Knuckles has always been a fan favorite, and he had a great introduction to the series that made sense. Jim Carrey was giving it all he had to the role and was awesome! Sonic had some relatable growth in the film and connected even more to his inner hero. Tails showing up and forming his friendship with Sonic also had some touching moments and really showed throughout the movie the power of friendship.

The movie had a TON of older video game fan service. A lot of the environments, gadgets and Easter eggs were straight out of the video game. I took my 3-year-old and 6-year-old to see the movie. We were all laughing and enjoying the movie the entire time. It expanded the universe for my kids, so much so that the rest of the evening we found ourselves playing through Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as Knuckles. As I was progressing through the game, my kids were calling out things they had just seen in the movie. It was a great moment!

As I mentioned earlier, sometimes movies like this try to shove too much lore into the movie with a secret villain or other unnecessary characters. This movie did not do that. It had the perfect amount of lore. Towards the end of the movie, they set up the trilogy that will expand the universe in a striking mid-credits scene that left my kids and myself yearning for more!

It seems like opening weekend went well for the movie and Paramount has already announced that a 3rd movie is in the works. 

I hope you are able to enjoy this movie as much as we did for what it is. It really does usher in a new era of fans, making Sonic the Hedgehog and company even more of a household name than it already was.

My overall review of this movie is 4/5 stars!

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is playing in theaters now.
(Images via Paramount)