Introduction

Sonic The Hedgehog, known as the fastest thing alive, Super Mario’s rival of the early 90s, and the blue hedgehog with an attitude, now has a sequel to his live-action debut film coming out on April 8th of this year. However, this won’t be just any other film about Sonic saving the day from Dr. Robotnik’s grasp for world domination. There are some characters returning from the first movie like James Marsden returning as his role of Tom Wachowski, Tika Sumpter returning as Maddie Wachowski, and Jim Carrey returning as Dr. Robotnik. Some of Sonic’s co-stars and other features from the games will be making an appearance as well. Today I’ll be giving you all the information on the characters, plot, and even some easter eggs from the games that we know so far.

Plot

In this film, Sonic is eager to prove that he has what it takes to be a true hero. His test comes when Dr. Robotnik returns with a new partner, Knuckles the Echidna, in search of a mystical emerald that has the power to destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a globe-trotting journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.

The plot seems to be original from other movie plots that revolve around the good vs evil format, but for something revolving around Sonic, this may seem like a recreation of a plot from an old game. This is similar to the game Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where Knuckles teams up with Dr. Robotnik while Sonic and Tails have to stop them. I’ll get to Tails, and Knuckles in a bit, but let’s start talking about the blue blur himself.

Characters

Sonic the Hedgehog:

Sonic is a blue hedgehog that likes running fast, helping people, and eating chili dogs. Sonic in the first movie was raised by an owl named Longclaw, who protected him from people who wanted his powers since he was a baby. Besides his super-speed, he has a unique ability in the films which is some sort of blue electric energy that comes from his quills that defeated Robotnik in the first film. Sonic’s voice is played by Ben Schwartz. I personally like this version of Sonic because it actually just gives him reasons to why he runs fast and why people want his powers. He also gets a unique power not seen in the games before. 

Miles ‘Tails’ Prower:

Tails is Sonic’s sidekick and best friend who can use his two Tails like a helicopter propeller to fly up into the air and soar through the sky. Besides Tails’ ability to fly, he can also pilot a biplane known as the tornado. In the games, Tails is known to be very intelligent, working on planes and machines. Tails will be voiced by the same person in the games, Colleen O’Shaughnessey. Tails have always been my favorite Sonic character because he gives me a vibe that tells me to go above and beyond with what you got, and also his design is very cute.

Knuckles the Echidna

Knuckles is a powerhouse of a character, using his spiked fists to punch out powerful blows, he can also glide and climb walls in the games. Knuckles is also the last of his species according to the games. But with every strength, there is a weakness. Knuckles can be tricked at some points, making him not that intelligent, but he is always willing to meet his goal. Knuckles will be played by Idris Elba in this film. To be honest, I did not expect Knuckles to be in this film. I thought it would be a film about Sonic and Tails trying to stop Dr. Robotnik, but to me and the whole Sonic community, we were pleasantly surprised to see Knuckles make his big-screen debut in this film. The only thing I don’t like about this rendition of the character is that he uses the same electric energy ability as Sonic, but red.

Dr. Robotnik

The main antagonist of the entire Sonic series, Dr. Robotnik, is a mad scientist with a knack for machines, technology, and robots. In the first movie, he found one of Sonic’s quills and used it to power his machines and tried to find Sonic to defeat him and gather more of his power for his benefit. Unlike the picture on your left, robotnik is bald in this film, just like in the games. Dr. Robotnik also has a human sidekick named Agent Stone who will be played by Lee Majdoub. However Dr. Robotnik will be played by the one and only Jim Carrey, who has stared in films like The Mask, The Truman Show, along with Dumb and Dumber to name a few. Dr. Robotnik has been a mixed bag when it comes to being a good antagonist in my opinion. On one hand, he seems smart and intelligent, showing off his latest machines as boss fights, using animals to power his robotic minions, and making multiple robotic clones of sonic. On the other hand, Dr. Robotnik seems childish in the modern depictions, like how he screamed to the top of his lungs when he saw Sonic for the first time in the first film, but I hope that Jim Carrey delivers in this film and all the stigma goes away.

References and Easter Eggs

The first reference that I noticed from the games is the addition of Buzz Bombers, which are robotic wasp enemies from the first game. These are seen in the very first trailer during Dr. Robotnik’s grand returning entrance from space. To be honest these look cooler and menacing at the same time, which is awesome.

Dr. Robotnik also has his trademarked Eggmobile in one of the promotional posters for the film, although the ship from the previous film known as the Eggpod is a way cooler design for an aircraft in my opinion.

The Death Egg Robot from the second and third games also makes an appearance in the Super Bowl trailer for the film. It will most likely be the final fight of the movie and I hope it’s very awesome and action packed.

The master emerald from the third game also makes an appearance. This may be the reason why the death egg robot is powered, and could also be a reason for Dr. Robotnik to trick Knuckles so he can steal it from him like he did in the third game.

And for the final reference in the film that we know of is the snowboarding scene, which has been depicted in so many different games, but what’s even better is that in the Super Bowl trailer, Knuckles was seen snowboarding as well.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Robotic Wasp Enemy

Conclusion and Rating: 

As a film in general, I think it’s pretty cool with special effects and CGI. Instead of it being a cheesy family film about Sonic with him doing the floss, this film seems to be a little more serious when it comes to trying to tell a convincing story. I’m not trying to say that the movie shouldn’t be family-friendly to be good, it just seems a little too serious to be a regular old kids film, and for curious parents out there that are wondering the rating of the film, it doesn’t have one yet, but if I had to guess, the movie would most likely be PG-13 for some aspects in the trailer, like Knuckles beating Sonic up as Dr. Robotnik watches in awe, possibly at the beginning of the film, Tails passing out due to looking at a threatening guy stabbing a wooden table with a knife, and Sonic being hit by a missile and sent flying off Tails’ plane. However, I’m not here to talk about the ratings of the film, I’m just here to tell you why you should go see it. The story is good, the characters are recognizable, and there are some funny jokes in this film. So overall, if you’re a Sonic fan, or you like to see animals saving the day, then you’re in luck in April if this year. Grab yourself a ticket, a drink, and a large popcorn and enjoy watching Sonic 2. This is a film you would not want to miss out on.

Overall, this film deserves 4 rays