Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Release Date: 31st March 2022 - Australia

Production Companies

Paramount Pictures (presents)

Sega Sammy Group (in association with)

Original Film

Blur Studio

Marza Animation Planet

Sega (based on the video game from)

Distribution

Paramount Pictures Australia

Genre: Family/Action/

Adventure/Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 122 minutes

Budget: $110,000,000

Box Office Gross: $405,421,518 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

After living in Green Hills, Sonic is determined to prove he has what it takes to be a true hero. His chance to prove himself comes when the evil Dr. Robotnik returns and is with a new partner named Knuckles the Echidna. Not only that, Robotnik is after a

mystic emerald that has

the power to wipe out

civilisations. Sonic gains a new sidekick, Tails, and the two embark on a globe-trotting quest to find the emerald before Robotnik does to achieve his goals.

Cast

Ben Schwartz - Sonic the Hedgehog (Voice)

Jim Carrey - Dr. Robotnik

Idris Elba - Knuckles the

Echidna (Voice)

Colleen O'Shaughnessey - Miles "Tails" Prower (Voice)

James Marsden - Tom Wachowski

Tika Sumpter - Maddie Wachowski

Natasha Rothwell - Rachel

Adam Pally - Wade

Shemar Moore - Randall

Lee Majoub - Agent Stone

Tom Butler - Commander Walters

Melody Nosipho Niemann - Jojo

Brad Kalilimoku - Drench

Krista Alvarez - Faucet

Donna Jay Fulks - Longclaw

(Voice)

Scott Patey - Armored Truck Security Guard

Leif Havdale - Bank Robber

Johnson Phan - Bank Robber

Colby Chartrand - Bank Robber

Kevin Fortin - Bank Robber

Jeff Sanca - Armored Truck Driver

Sook Hexamer - Elderly Woman

Maria Ameerali - Shopper

Kyle Riefsnyder - Camper

Parker Rowell-Laferriere - Ice Cream Child

Tammy Nera - Pedestrian

Gerald Paetz - Police Driver

Corry Glass - Police Driver

David Jacox - Police Driver

Mike Mitchell - Police Driver

Heath Stevenson - Police Driver

Douglas Chapman - Police Driver

Rhys Williams - Scavenger

Nilo Ghajar - Scavenger

Don Lew - Scavenger

Elizabeth Bowen - Tatiana

Vladimir Ruzich - Russian Giant Bully

Shay Kuebler - Russian Dancer

Keiran Bohay - Russian Dancer

Kevin Mylrea - Russian Dancer

Jared Khalifa - Russian Dancer

Aiden Cass - Russian Dancer

Andrew Kyrzyk - Russian Dancer

Stanislav Galimkhanov - Russian Dancer

Alex Bogomolov - Tavern Menacing Card Player

Shaun Magee - Tavern Menacing Card Player

Shawn Stewart - Tavern Menacing Card Player

Barry Nerling - Tavern Tattooed Knuckle Cracker

Simon Chin - Tavern Fish Butcher

Vladimir Raiman - Tavern Bartender

Yvetta Fisher - Tavern Knitting Woman

Adrian Hein - Tack

Jess Lundgren - Wisco

Steven Chang - Grommet

Ted Barba - Priest

Brennan Dyson - Randall's Brother

Saida Dyson - Bridesmaid

Katie Wright Pere - Bridesmaid

Ha'a Keaulana - Bridesmaid

Quinn Early - Rachel's Father

Cheryl Lewis - Rachel's Mother

Angela Meryl - Rachel's Aunt

Ashlei Tave - Rachel's Cousin

Mariah Dyson - Rachel's Family

Tavita Woodward - Rachel's Family

Ernie Jackson - G.U.N. Soldier

Rob 'Sluggo' Boyce - G.U.N. Soldier

Robert Zen Humpage - G.U.N. Soldier

Fraser Corbett - G.U.N. Soldier

Marcus Aurelio - G.U.N. Soldier

Sean Kennedy - G.U.N. Soldier

Jason Triplett - G.U.N. Agent

Eli Olson - G.U.N. Agent

Mike Rufino - G.U.N. Agent

Nito Larioza - G.U.N. Agent

Chad Keaulana - G.U.N. Agent

Sarah Surh - G.U.N. Mean Bean Agent

Paul Lazenby - Mean Bean Trucker

Preston Blaine Arsement - Volleyball

Player (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew

Director - Jeff Fowler

Story/Screenplay - Pat Casey

and Josh Miller

Screenplay - John Whittington

Executive Producers - Tim Miller,

Haruki Satomi, Yukio Sugino and

Shuji Utsumi

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Nan Morales

Producers - Neal H. Moritz,

Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara and

Hitoshi Okuno

Co-Producer/Lead Designer:

Blur Studio (Uncredited)/Storyboard

Supervisor (Uncredited) - Tyson Hesse

Co-Producers - Dmitri M. Johnson,

Dan Jevons and Sammy Warshaw

Casting Directors - Janelle Scuderi and

Tricia Wood

Production Designer - Luke Freeborn

Sonic Character Supervisor: Sega -

Takashi Iizuka

Supervising Art Director - Don Macaulay

Set Decorator - Shannon Gottlieb

Set Decorator: Hawaii Unit - Katrin Chong

Costume Designer - Debra McGuire

Director of Photography - Brandon Trost

Aerial Director of Photography/Camera

Operator: Vancouver Aerial Unit - Hans Bjerno

Second Unit Director/Director of Photography -

Peter Lyons Collister

Stunt Coordinator - Marny Eng

Stunt Coordinator: Second Unit - Guy Bews

Special Effects Coordinator - Joel Whist

Lead Fabricators - Dan Cervin and Rob Falck

Visual Effects Supervisor - Ged Wright

Visual Effects Producer - Lisa Beroud

Additional Visual Effects Supervisors: MPC -

Erik Nash and Nicolas Aithadi

Animation Supervisors: MPC - Eric Guaglione,

Steve Cady and Yves Ruprecht

Animation Supervisors: Animism Studios -

Jeremy Stewart and Eric Petey

Additional Animation Supervisors: MPC -

Michael Langford, Elwaleed Suliman and

Peta Bayley

Editor - Jim May

Supervising Sound Editors/Sound Designers -

Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn

Sound Designers: E2 - John Marquis,

Malte Bielef and Darren Maynard

Production Sound Mixer - Chris Duesterdiek

Re-Recording Mixers - Ron Bartlett and

Anna Behlmer

Additional Re-Recording Mixer - Drew Webster

Foley Artists - Dawn Lunsford and

Alicia Stevenson

Music - Tom Holkenborg

Review

For two years, I have waited for SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 to get made. Now, here it is. I was looking forward to watching the sequel in theatres after it came out and having it critiqued. Unfortunately, I have to delay it for a few weeks due to being in close contact with COVID-19. Luckily, I started to watch it and found the film (if not slightly) better than the original.

While SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 is a great movie that's mostly a step up from its predecessor, I would've preferred it to be a much better sequel. Unfortunately, a few things have prevented it from achieving a 10 out of 10-star rating. Many critics say that the film is a bit lengthy and overplotted because of its two-hour runtime and one unneeded subplot, but those are the mistakes that I'm willing to overlook. But enough about that, let's talk more about the positive aspects. For the new additions to the movie, we have Tails and Knuckles, who are in the sequel. The same goes for the mythology, which has expanded upon its predecessor, making it more faithful to the games. The action sequences are top-notch with humour and some pop-cultural references to edge it up.

The original actors are back in their roles and performances, including Ben Schwartz as the titular protagonist and Jim Carrey as the dastardly villain Dr. Robotnik. Though Carrey is considering retiring from acting after SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2, I hope he continues playing his character in the third instalment, or the role might get recast (or otherwise) if he does retire. Idris Elba wasn't as bad as Knuckles but has packed a wallop (pardon the expression) in his performance, with a more serious edge than the other characters while still providing some punchy comic timing when needed. Don't get me wrong, Idris was good in the role, but I would have loved the character to have an Aussie accent since echidnas are native to my home country. His Thor co-star, Chris Hemsworth, should be suitable for that role.

Colleen O'Shaughnessy lends her voice in reprising her role as Tails (despite the character already introduced in the mid-credits scene of the first movie) from the video games and Sonic Boom TV show for this sequel with her bubbly and unapologetically cartoonish cadence.

As I said before, I would've loved SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 more if it'd be an even better sequel, like some that did it for their franchises and outclassed its predecessors. Still, it is a fun, enjoyable, action-packed experience for many fans. The youngsters will also love it. For those who have or haven't played the Sonic games before, I recommend watching the first instalment before getting onto the second. I would love to hear your thoughts about the sequel.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

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In Memory of Gilbert Gottfried (1955-2022)

Gilbert Gottfried (1955-2022)

The actor/stand-up comedian Gilbert Gottfried died from a heart disorder on April 12, 2022. He was 67 years old. He was known for his loud, shrill voice, most notably in characters like Iago, the wisecracking parrot in Disney's "Aladdin".

He was born in Brooklyn on February 28, 1955. Gottfried began doing open mic stand-up sets around New York City when he was 15 and soon developed a reputation as a "comedian's comedian" and caught the attention of TV producers. Gilbert debuted on television when he joined a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" for only one season from 1980 to 1981. A few years later, Gottfried appeared in a series of improvised promos for MTV, which launched his career. He reached celebrity status in the early 1990s.

Gilbert's movie credits are few and far between. He played an accountant in "Beverly Hills Cop II" and was best known as the scheming adoption agency employee Mister Peabody in the first two "Problem Child" movies. In addition to a few movie and TV roles, his big break in animation came when he voiced the parrot Iago in "Aladdin", which led to him reprising the role in its sequels, spin-offs and animated series.

Gottfried has done extensive voice work for numerous animated TV and films, mostly in guest appearances, such as "Bonkers", "The Ren and Stimpy Show", "Duckman", "Superman", "The Fairly OddParents", "Cyberchase" (regularly voicing Digit and Widget), "Family Guy", "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy", "SpongeBob SquarePants", etc.

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