Sonic 2: The Movie, Sonic and the Chipmunks

I was going to start this review by saying that the premiere of Sonic: The Movie it was one of the biggest surprises of the year 2020, but then I remembered about the traumatic global pandemic and I realized that maybe I was coming a little up. One way or another, Sega’s blue hedgehog film adaptation was a worthy reminder that movies based on video games don’t always have to be irredeemable pieces of shit, as long as they’re made with some love.

A post-credits scene —accompanied by $320 million in worldwide revenue— promised us a sequel that took no time at all to receive the green light. Repeat Jeff Fowler in the direction, new faces (and voices) are incorporated into the cast and the budget increases a pinch more. Under the promise of greater fidelity to the original material and a considerable reduction in the prominence of the flesh and blood characters, Sonic 2: The Movie Its ugly Spanish title is already showing off on the billboards of the stinky and neglected multiplex cinemas in shopping centers that have not yet been obliterated by Covid. ¡Yay!

If you notice me slightly itchy, I’m afraid you’re right. Do you remember when a few years ago we saw the trailer for the first part and we feared the worst? Well, that’s what this sequel turned out to be. Sonic 2: The Movie It is one of the worst examples of children’s cinema conceived under the false belief that children are assholes and swallow anything that is thrown at them.

After a promising start, the film takes very little time to deflate and show its true cards: characters who forget to use their special abilities, musical numbers that agonize on the screen, plot detours worthy of the worst feverish delirium and gags that seem like the discards of any sequel to Alvin and the Chipmunks. All this in a script plagued with inconsistencies, which works to the beat of McGuffins (you laugh at El Rise of Skywalkerr) and in which those responsible try to artificially lengthen a plot that would fit on the edge of a napkin.

Despite having cost a few bitches more than the previous one, this does not translate into better special effects —the CGI is quite goofy at times—, nor in more spectacular or imaginative action scenes. Where it is noticeable is, and this is one of the few successes that it has with respect to its predecessor, is that here almost all the protagonism is given to the dolls made by computer. This does not affect the quality of the film, but after all it is what people have come to see.

We could take advantage here to talk about the new additions, such as Idris Elba or Collen O’Shanussy, but the truth is that they do not have material that makes their characters interesting or particularly entertaining to watch. Not even Jim Carrey is able to lift the show this time, being here completely untied and lost. Frankly, if we were to single out the true heroine of the film, it would be Natasha Rothwell in the role of Rachel.

Yes OK for almost the entire tape the leading role falls on Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, just before the great final confrontation there are about ten very martian minutes where the one who takes over the function is Rachel. Nothing can prepare you for it and at the press screening I already saw several faces of disbelief and bewilderment among the journalists. I don’t even want to imagine what will happen when this reaches the general public.

This little segment, clearly fueled by THC, is both the best and the worst of a film that otherwise oscillates between mediocrity and embarrassment. What comes after is a climax with zero emotion, many yawns and that comes to be a mere formality until what we all see coming soon arrives: another bait during the credits announcing a third part that I hope with all my heart is made with more enthusiasm than this one.

In order to end this text on a note of optimism, so that you can see that not everything is going to be bad, I acknowledge Sonic 2 what at least it’s not Morbius.

Sonic 2: The Movie (Jeff Fowler, 2022) ⭐️½