(SPOILER WARNING!!)
Now that the DVD has come out and just about everyone who wanted to watch this movie has seen it, it's time that I make do on the promise I made to actually review Sonic The Hedgehog 2 with spoilers. And I've also decided that from now on, I'll be writing non-spoiler reviews of films/tv to the best of my ability; although some will also have spoiler-filled versions written out for them eventually.
I should also bring up that I'm not really doing this post in the standard "pro/con/conclusion" style that I adopted for writing my reviews; I'm just going over the parts of the film that either I didn't go fully in depth upon due to spoilers, or what I didn't even discuss because of said spoilers. But with that limitation gone, I can go full-tilt into discussing them without issue.
So with that out of the way, it's time to get into spoiler territory, starting from the minor things and working my way up to the big reveal along with the main criticisms I can name.
The first thing I wanted to discuss was the simple genius of how both Sonic and Knuckles' stories are surprisingly good parallels to each other. Both have lost everyone that they loved when they were children, ended up becoming isolationists due to their respective journeys, and coped with their own tragedies in admittedly unhealthy ways. In Sonic's case, he was basically forced to keep running out of fear that his power would be misused; meanwhile with Knuckles, he dedicated his entire life to finding the Master Emerald and returning the Echidna tribe to a position of power. And if he had to kill Sonic to do so, then that's just what he would do. Not only does this allow us to understand Knuckles' position as the initial anti-hero, but it also gives Sonic the chance to connect to Knuckles on an emotional level with how they both lost everything the exact same way. It also does a great job at explaining Knuckles' general naivete and lack of social awareness without making him look like an idiot, an issue that has been prevalent with his depiction in other media as of recent years; especially seeing as how he is still smart enough to at least be suspicious of Robotnik's actions regarding the Master Emerald, even if his focus is still on retrieving the Emerald for himself.
Compare this to, say, the likes of modern Sonic media that features the echidna:
... What? Just because I don't dislike Boom doesn't mean it's without flaws.
I'm admittedly mixed about the way that they introduced G.U.N (The Guardian Unit of Nations) into the film; establishing that they were assembled in the time since Sonic defeated Robotnik and making it their mission to deal with possible extra-terrestrial threats. On the one hand, this is probably the best way they could explain G.U.N's existence in this universe without going all-out with Robotnik's grandfather (not yet, at least). But on the other hand, their introduction was ultimately rushed and made them look like incompetent idiots; namely, them using Rachel's wedding as a means of trapping Sonic, despite the fact that they had no way of knowing that Sonic would be there with Tom and Maddie, on top of how they keep Sonic imprisoned even after they learn that Robotnik is back and after a powerful source of energy. I understand G.U.N is traditionally short-sighted, but never to the extent of being imbeciles as showcased in this film.
Also, how the hell were they able to assemble so quickly as to have one of their agents posing as Rachel's fiancé and set-up an elaborate trap for Sonic using a phoney wedding? I personally would've had G.U.N being an initially defunct organisation following a failed operation (hinting at the Space Colony Ark) but Commander Walters reinstated it as a blacks ops division to keep an eye out for Sonic should he get out of control due to his immense powers. Having them be brand new in this universe basically forces the film to rush through their introduction without really establishing in-depth what they are capable of as a military organisation.
Then again, G.U.N's inclusion in this story is also an indication of arguably the biggest flaw of the film; the pacing. At several points, it can go by really quickly, to the point where some details go over the audiences heads and doesn't allow them to really process what's happening; we see this with the backstory of the Master Emerald and the sudden introduction of the Chaos Emeralds as part of it, all of which is an obvious set-up for the introduction of Super Sonic. Because of how quickly they go through some of these elements, there are various story points or character interactions that get unceremoniously shoved in without giving the viewer time to breathe.
At other times, conversely, it can just as suddenly grind to a halt either for a silly dance fight in Siberia, several scenes of Tom and Maddie in Hawaii attending Rachel's wedding, Knuckles explaining his backstory in the middle of the fight, or confirming that Agent Stone does indeed have an unrequited crush on Robotnik with him making his face in the foam of a cup of coffee. And it is especially apparent in the Hawaii scenes, as it hardly ever feels like that part of the story ever connects to the central conflict of the story until we reach the mid-point. And again, the segue between plot A with Sonic and plot B with the wedding feels like it happens so sporadically that it feels like there were things cut out of the finished film in order to get things into place for the climax. Because of that, the narrative can feel somewhat slapdash in it's execution even if the overall writing is still generally solid.
But for all of the criticisms I can give regarding the films pacing and how the plot threads are interwoven, there is something that, while maybe predictable, pretty much saves the film by the end. And of course, it comes in the middle of the credits:
Admittedly, while I kind of saw it coming, I'm still in awe of this; they're jumping straight into bringing Shadow The Hedgehog, one of the most popular characters in the entire franchise (if not THE most), into the live action universe, with all of the tragedy that it entails. Not only is this such a brilliant fanservice moment with the simple details (hidden files, 50 years, the fact that the military know about it, etc), but it also presents a great world-building engine purely through Shadow's inclusion. From this, we can get expanded lore on Robotnik's family tree, the use of Chaos Energy, potentially the arrival of the Black Arms in future stories, other Mobian characters existing in the films universe; this is such a simple yet genius means of introducing the character and how it affects the rest of the story presented in this version.
Although, I personally would've had the secret hidden file being the blueprints for a bipedal robot that Robotnik could've been working on, with Stone then using Sonic's quill to upload as part of something called "Project: Copycat" as to hint to the inclusion of Metal Sonic instead of Shadow. Who knows, maybe I'll present an expanded version of this idea in another blog. Otherwise, I'm really happy to see Shadow come back, and hopefully not as an emo edge-lord this time (looking at YOU, Sonic Boom).
... I honestly don't know how else to end this; if you haven't seen this film, then do so. Right now.
But until next time, because there always will be one: this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
