Pop Culture Movies and More: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is ready for more freedom, and Tom and Maddie agree to leave him home while they go on vacation. But, no sooner are they gone, Dr Robotnik comes back, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of an emerald that has the power to both build and destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands. This sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) is a great improvement bringing more of what we love about the franchise from characters to subtle nods to the video games and so much more. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, probably more than I thought I would and perhaps even more than its predecessor as it just felt like it was doing more justice to the source material in comparison. Not that the first film wasn't a complete departure from the original depictions, but it had them very scarcely compared to this one, which puts it centre stage showing countless references throughout. In the last film, there were a lot of 'people parts' with a bit too much focus on normal human interactions and lives rather than Sonic, the star of the movie and by far the most interesting part. This film most certainly rectified this and made all the human storylines a bit less prominent and gave the main characters more time to shine. Not to say, however, I hated the human stuff and I did find some of the scenes very funny in this film but sometimes I would have to remind myself I was watching a Sonic movie during those scenes and it felt pretty weird. Even when there are human sequences in this movie, they take it in a bizarre direction that honestly just gets a laugh from me despite its abnormal placement. In this film, we are introduced to two new characters in the form of Tails and Knuckles who are long-established within the franchise and were a great addition to this movie that fans will undoubtedly love. I think Knuckles was my favourite of the new additions in this film as he was superbly funny with his misunderstanding of everything he hears and is told, taking things very literally which leads to some big laughs. His introduction in the meet knuckles scene was phenomenal. I adore the moment when Sonic is charged up, leaping towards Eggman only for him to graciously move aside presenting an already equally charged and leaping Knuckles. It was so unbelievably good that I even watch it repeatedly. I just really enjoyed it, probably too much but what can I say. Tails is also really cool from his first appearance to his helpfulness in the mission and the friendship that grows over the film with Sonic. He's got some interesting gadgets and gizmos that he uses, which lead to some amazing sequences. Probably the coolest detail from this film was the inclusion of the biplane that is iconic for being the one Tails flew in the games. What made it better is you see the plane throughout segments of the movie making it all the more exciting when you slowly realise they are going to use it in the final battle. They took their time to implement it into the story, which is just a nice touch. Jim Carrey blows it out of the park in this once again as Eggman and probably got the most laughs out of me with his usual incredible performance. I was so happy with how he looks too, now using a more accurate appearance for his character, like that moustache, that has improved greatly since the last rendition. We are further treated to game-like levels seen in the video games, like ancient ruins and sledging down snowy mountains that felt like a real homage to what this franchise is all about. Overall, from ancient tombs with booby traps to navigate, to the Master Emerald and the giant Eggman robot, this film delivers heaps of nostalgia from the Sonic games and continues to offer a family fun adventure sure to keep you laughing from beginning to end. Not only does Sonic look even better than the last with improved effects but the story and featured characters also get a huge boost in this epic sequel.