Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 offers your typical sequel with the return of all the core characters, a larger budget, more special effects, and the addition of new characters. The results are largely the same. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is likely to keep the attention of younger audiences, although the biggest audible pop in the screening I attended came during the mid-credit sequence, but other than the pretty visuals and the occasional fun action sequence there's not much here for the rest of us for a film that clocks in at over two hours.

Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) returns seeking vengeance and power. With him this time is Knuckles (Idris Elba) in search of an ancient power known as the Master Emerald hidden by Sonic's mentor Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulks). Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) return to help Sonic who also gets a new friend in Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) who arrives to help Sonic save the emerald.

For fans of the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie, you are in for much the same just on a larger scale. Carrey returns with all his gyrations and over-the-top craziness. While the addition of Knuckles and Tails adds some fun, and the film needs to rely less on the human characters this time around, the storyline they bring about a hidden emerald capable of making thoughts into reality doesn't work as good in a film as it might in a video game. What no character notices is if Sonic refuses to quest for the gem at the beginning of the film it would have remained safely hidden, as the antagonists have no clue to its location, and all the chaos would have been avoided. As he states, I guess Sonic does still have much to learn about being a hero.

Watch the trailer

• Title: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• IMDb: link