Jim Carrey helps Sonic The Hedgehog 2 speed past its predecessor

The first two Sonic The Hedgehog movies may not be the loose bookends that we need to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they do feel like the ones that we deserve. Where the first film was an obnoxious mess that didn’t define the rules of its own world(s) well enough to obey them, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 has quite possibly mapped out too much mythology too quickly, aggressively moving forward, whether audiences are ready to do so or not.

And yet director Jeff Fowler’s follow-up is an improvement by virtually every measure. Restoring noted maximalist Jim Carrey to the epicenter of the franchise’s comedic universe while introducing two new animated characters and beefing up several of the supporting human roles, Sonic 2 rightfully tones down Ben Schwartz’ Parks & Rec-lite performance to make Sonic semi-likable.

Working with what feels like a larger budget and fewer origin-story obligations, returning screenwriters Pat Casey, Josh Miller, along with franchise newcomer John Whittington, create a globe-trotting adventure that touches on fun ideas for viewers of all ages, even if the film is too long and jarring to stick the landing.

Following the events of the first film, Sonic has settled comfortably into his new Green Hills, Montana, home with Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter). From there he occasionally moonlights, usually to disastrous effect, as a crime-stopping vigilante in metropolitan cities within sprinting distance. Shortly after being entrusted to stay home alone for the first time while Tom and Maddie travel to Hawaii for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell), Sonic discovers that Dr. Robotnik (Carrey) has escaped the mushroom planet and teamed up with Knuckles (Idris Elba).

While pugilistic echidna Knuckles declares the blue hedgehog to be his sworn enemy, he believes Sonic will lead him to an all-powerful mystical object known as the Master Emerald. In the meantime, a yellow fox nicknamed Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) arrives from Sonic’s planet and helps him escape capture by Robotnick and Knuckles.

Using technology recovered from his devoted flunky Stone (Lee Majdoub), Robotnik and Knuckles follow Sonic and Tails from a mountaintop in Siberia to an underwater kingdom off the coast of Hawaii, inadvertently ruining Rachel’s wedding in the process. When Robotnik steals the Master Emerald for himself, Knuckles is forced to decide whether to pursue a vendetta against Sonic that seemingly began before either of them were born, or band together to stop a new foe whose fiendish designs could mean death for Earth and their homeworld alike.

If it were, say, 100 minutes long, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 could have been the perfect movie for video game-obsessed children and their reluctant driving-age escorts, racing through action set pieces and goofy punch lines with the same urgency as Sonic as he slips back into bed at Tim and Maddie’s after a long, disastrous night of crime-fighting. At 122 minutes, it’s way too long for viewers of any age, although cutting superfluous elements would mean excising the exact stuff that adults might find interesting—if only because they’ve been so bafflingly injected into the film. For example, it seems as if the entire subplot involving Rachel’s Hawaiian wedding to the hunky Randall (Shemar Moore) was created in order to give the rest of the onscreen actors something to do while Jim Carrey chases Ben Schwartz’ voice from one location to the next, with Elba’s voice by his side.

As Sonic, Schwartz gets to quote his famous Jean-Ralphio “the wooooo-orst” line/meme in the film, but otherwise delivers a less grating, more subdued and daresay mature performance than in the previous film. Conversely, Knuckles challenges Elba to provide the same kind of stilted, oblivious gruffness that makes Dave Bautista’s Drax The Destroyer a fan favorite in the Guardians Of The Galaxy films. He remarkably does not phone in his effort, but it’s hard to ignore the “I paid for my guest house” undertone that lingers in his voice.

As for Carrey, whether he’s just leaning into the video-game source material or has decided the best way to do his job is to keep himself entertained at all costs, he seems to have abandoned the pretense of nuance altogether. If Robotnick inevitably becomes an overbearing presence opposite Sonic and company, Carrey is giving the role everything he has and more in a performance that even overshadows the character’s unable-to-ignore, larger-than-life facial hair.

Among the remainder of the cast, Marsden and Sumpter earn their paychecks for convincing viewers they have any patience (much less an ounce of sincere emotional investment) with enfant terrible Sonic. Rothwell makes the most of the plot detours prompted by Rachel’s nuptials, and Adam Pally (The Mindy Project) supplies an appreciably dopey comic alternative to Carrey’s megalomania. But while one of the ideas in this second Sonic chapter is that the title character is growing up a little bit, the franchise bearing his name remains engineered for children—a conveyance of color and energy and sophomoric humor, and not much else.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and again, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 accomplishes that task better than its predecessor. But with more characters on the way in an already-announced sequel and a spinoff in the works for Knuckles, the Sonic series feels like it’s in too much of a hurry for its own good—especially when the chaperones and ticket buyers for its target audience can barely wait until the end credits to make a fast exit.