Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022 | USA 122 minutes | Jeff Fowler)

When I went into the theater to see the Sonic the Hedgehog sequel, I’m sure my expectations weren’t charitable or generous but the movie did something that won me over in the first few minutes. Sonic is in Seattle to use his powers to break up some mayhem on the streets and it’s weirdly one of the better and authentic depictions of my hometown. The streets Sonic drives through look like the streets between, say, University Street and Pioneer Square. It wasn’t perfect or attempting to be authentic but I was willing to buy into the story because it was better than “close enough.”

Fortunately, the rest of the movie is quite fun, even if it is mostly nonsense and an extended commercial for SEGA. The first Sonic movie made history by becoming the first (and still only) improvement to come from giving in to malcontents on Twitter.

Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is back because his archnemesis Dr. Robotnik is also back. Jim Carrey really does relish playing this role. Previously exiled on a planet occupied only by mushrooms, he finds a way back to Earth with the help of a mustache that has its own zip code and an echidna (spiny anteater) named Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) who is every bit as strong as Sonic is as fast. Sonic also has a new friend, Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), a fox who has an arsenal of gadgets like Q from the James Bond movies and named so because she has two tails. There are some other humans back like Tom and Maddie Wachowski (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter) who serve as Sonic’s adult supervision. Dr. Robotnik does have a yes man in the form of Stone (Lee Majdoub), a barista with malevolent aspirations. His coffee shop is called “the Mean Bean.”

The plot, though, takes them to Hawaii for the wedding for her sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell) and her marriage to the World’s Handsomest Man, Shemar Moore. The movie is a race to find a rare jewel that will give the holder enough power to become omnipotent. There’s a detour that involves a dance off in the most sparsely populated regions of Siberia. 

The movie is silly but I found the winking references to better movies more grating than humorous. The movie didn’t need to be a full two hours (I wouldn’t have included Stone). But it was a fun time that I’m sure children will enjoy and parents will be amused. It doesn’t deliver much beyond a good, fun time and that’s more than I can say about a lot of movies I’ve seen. 

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is now playing in theaters.