For the longest time, video games being turned into movies just didn't work barring the odd exception to the rule. That has changed at some point in the past few years with studios jumping on the bandwagon while the getting is good, turning pretty much every series or game that enjoyed even a modicum of success into a movie or a TV show. The Last Of Us, BioShock, Mass Effect, and yes, even Mario is getting a second shot at the big screen.
You can probably attribute a lot of the recent video game adaptation success to Sonic. The first movie was an unlikely hit in 2020, generating a ton of money at the box office and earning itself a sequel. That sequel is almost upon us, and since the first movie was so good, there's a lot of pressure on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to live up to what has quickly become a lot of hype.
Well, the first impressions are in, and it doesn't sound like Sonic fans are going to be disappointed. “Jim Carrey is next-level maniacal as Robotnik, but for me it’s all Sonic, Tails & Knuckles. That trio delivers a TON of heart & humor,” Fandango's Erik Davis writes. Good news for those who were a little confused at how little Carrey looked like Eggman in the first movie.
Nikki Novak, also of Fandango, described Sonic 2 as “a love letter to video game lovers”, while ComicBook's Chris Killian tweeted the sequel feels a lot more like Sonic. Suffice to say, there's going to be a lot of hat tips and easter eggs in there for long-time Sonic fans to be on the lookout for, but it also doesn't sound like casual fans and younger cinema goers will feel left out.
No spoilers, of course, but Davis lets Sonic fans know they will want to stay until the very end of the sequel's credits. Tails appeared from one of the movie's ring portals at the end of the first film, so perhaps we'll see another character from the Sonic movie at the end of this one to set up the already announced third movie. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits cinemas in the UK on April 1, and a week later in North America on April 8.