After what was one of the big surprises of 2020 in my opinion, I was certainly excited for a sequel. The amount of fun I got from it made me feel like a kid again.
The mid credits scene from the first film along with the trailers for this suggest we could have a big franchise being developed here. So I knew the potential was there for Sega to possibly created their own universe.
The content at the beginning was pleasing. It was as if we never left and we were straight into the lives of these likable characters. The introductions of new characters and world expansion had some nice links to the games.
The middle act did have some jerky moments. There was some moments of exposition that could have been better executed rather it feel like they reading a list and not making it feel like genuine dialogue.
Also, they had some mis-steps with the live-action characters. There is a sub-plot that feels completely off topic for the main Sonic adventure just to given the returning characters something to do. So outside of the main antagonists, I felt the others were given a script for a rom-com and it felt like at times we were watching two different films. That aspect of the film along with a dance sequence for me made the film drag and therefore too long in duration. So I would have liked about 20mins cut out of this film and that would have improved the overall flow.
With more CGI characters from the Sonic games coming into play, I am hoping this franchise goes closer to the stories of the games rather than trying to add real life characters into the situation and have them more on the side-lines.
But when it gets it right, it is a pretty fun time that brings out the inner child and it features content that will please the hardcore fans. Virtually all of the final act was a pure ride of adventure with our favourite characters and it was like the Sonic games coming to life on the big screen. The final showpiece made for a highly satisfying finale and shows us that this franchise can really work. You can tell the film-makers respect the source material and they are giving the fans the crowd-pleasing moments that they grew up with from the video games.
The voice work was pretty solid all-round. Ben Schwartz continues to be a great fit for Sonic. The childish playfulness in his voice works really well.
Colleen O'Shaughnessy was well cast and was perfectly serviceable for what was given to her. I think her character was surprisingly overshadowed. So hopefully we will get more of O'Shaughnessy's character in the next installment. Idris Elba was a great standout. The level of seriousness needed for his character was spot on and I think it will please a lot of the devoted fans.
From the live-action cast, Jim Carrey continues to have fun with his character and reminds how much of a talent he is as he brings out the 90's side of himself. The level of clever gags might not be quite as constant compared to the first one. But it still resonates well on screen to be another memorable outing. Also, his chemistry with Lee Majdoub was noticed in the first film and was given some much deserved love in this.
James Marsden and Tika Sumpter didn't have as much screen time as previous. But they never downgraded the finished product. But the comedic relief of Natasha Rothwell worked well enough once again and was ever over-used.
Not much to speak of from the technical side. Everything look perfectly fine. But I will say the visual effects continue to be of a high-quality. The character designs are spot on and the bright colour palette made it pleasing for the eyes and I feel will keep the kids hooked.
So despite some of the issues I had with it, it was another fun watch. It is largely crowd-pleasing and gives us enough content to show that when done right, this franchise could go places that every past video game could only dream.
The strength of the total package of the first one still makes it the superior film. But there was enough good to outweigh the problematic to make this a worthy sequel.
As mentioned before, this franchise can go places and what they in the mid credits scene will get a lot of people excited and could see us get a surprisingly solid trilogy.
Rating: 7/10
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