This is going to be a very short review because in a lot of ways I would be repeating what I said in my first Sonic Review. Everything good about that movie is also good about this movie. I'll go ahead and link to my first review if you haven't seen it, but I don't want to just sit here rehashing all of that so soon after I already reviewed it. Like my last review, I watched this on the plane ride home from Anime Matsuri, so all photos used here will be from IMBD.
First Sonic Review: https://peakd.com/hive-166847/@dlstudios/sonic-the-hedgehog-2020
What I will talk about is why this movie lessened my worry about Sonic 3. There was no way around it, without Jim Carrey as Robotnik, the first movie would have been just okay. A good fun ride, but I don't think it would have stuck around as it did. With the announcement of Jim retiring as an actor after Sonic 2 (Before I saw it that is), it left me worried about the next film. The thing is though, most of the cast here got a lot better. Tails and Sonic are incredibly likable as a duo, Sonic now has people to interact with that aren't family figures to him and actual friends, and Knuckles has proven to be great comedy as well.
I like how they manage to get an incredible number of laughs out of Knuckles without ever undermining the fact he is a badass warrior. I like how Sonic feels like he's actually at risk when facing off against Knuckles, and how well the show portrays the dynamics between the characters. Mostly, I love how you get the impression Sonic wouldn't have been able to overcome all this without the aid of his new friends. Stripping away the actual plot elements, the show is about a bunch of people from wildly different lives being able to come together as friends, and the show does that perfectly.
Even down to the history of the Echidna tribe and Sonic's Owl mother from the first movie all play a part here. The movie builds on the backstory established in the first, you understand why it is Knuckles is after Sonic, and you learn why Earth is where Sonic was sent to in the first place. I am struggling to find anything about it, even side characters from the first movie that are given a bigger role in this one are a lot of fun.
These are easily the best video game movie adaptions I have ever seen. First and foremost, they are just good movies on their own. They care about all the past sonic works and characters, be it the games or even the animated projects that gave Sonic a weird love of Chilli Dogs. It's a movie made by people who cared, and that is a lot more than I can say about most other adaptations.
