Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Review: Gotta Go Fast (Again)

thegamer.com:

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 doesn’t try to recreate the games it takes inspiration from. I suppose there’s only so much across the Blue Blur’s disparate lore you can draw upon aside from its iconic characters and locations. Narratively, the games are mostly nonsense, but thankfully Sonic is a compelling enough protagonist that creating a meaningful universe around him on the big screen is an easy enough task.

Keeping it interesting is the hard part. While the first film was a relatively isolated tale of family and friendship in the charming town of Green Hills, the sequel is bigger, better, and more grandiose in the threats it hopes to depict. While it’s utterly formulaic and filled with pop culture references that are going to age like milk in the sun, the adventure on offer here is a substantial improvement over what came before. It understands the formula and iterates upon it to create a kid-friendly blockbuster I had a blast with.

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Sonic is now a permanent member of the Wachowski family, acting as a surrogate son to Tom and Maddie with a sickeningly sweet dynamic that feels genuine much of the time. Given the film’s demographic, I think turning Sonic into a young child is the right move, with his desire to make friends and care for his family coming across well despite some saccharine dialogue and hamfisted moments that make it incredibly obvious where the film is going.

But it works, and you’re invested the moment Tom and Maddie jump through a ring portal to attend a wedding in Hawaii while trusting Sonic to watch the house without getting in trouble. Easier said than done, since it takes only a handful of seconds for Eggman and Knuckles to show up and kick