‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ a cut above its predecessor

There’s this conventional wisdom about film franchises that says the original film in a given series is always better than the sequels or spin-offs. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” bucks this wisdom, telling a fun story that improves on the original in several key ways.

“Sonic 2” brings the titular blue space hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) back into conflict with Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) as the two adversaries quest after the Master Emerald. Joining Sonic is Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), a flying fox with a knack for inventing gadgets, while Robotnik joins forces with Knuckles (Idris Elba), a warrior who’s trained his whole life to take possession of the Emerald.

The first “Sonic” movie was better than expected but it still had some serious issues and was a little too formulaic for its own good. “Sonic 2” is no masterpiece but it improves on the original in several significant ways.

First, it doesn’t have to spend nearly as much time spewing out exposition. The first film had to answer questions about what Sonic is, where he came from, how he got to Earth and so on and so on. While this movie has a couple of exposition dumps and a couple of new characters to set up, it can jump right into the action because we’re already familiar with the main players in this story.

Another improvement is that the humor in “Sonic 2” lands better. There are multiple laugh-out-loud moments in this movie, like a dance-off that’s pretty hilarious. My favorite involves the main riff for Pantera’s “Walk” but the amusing moments are more frequent and consistent and most of them involve the next reason on this list.

Elba is a hoot as Knuckles. This character is a guy who takes himself very seriously but who slowly comes out of his shell and becomes more jovial. Elba’s voice and over-the-top tough guy delivery suit the character perfectly. Most of the best laughs in “Sonic 2” come from Knuckles and the way he reacts to situations. That raises this movie up a couple of notches on its own.

Finally, Sonic gets a much more satisfying character arc in this flick. In the first movie, Sonic is a character looking for someplace to belong and it’s handled in a very bland, unsatisfying way. This time around, Sonic has to learn the responsibility that goes along with being a hero, as well as the patience and wisdom to know when your talents and abilities are needed. His relationship with Tails, who already sees him as a hero, serves this story really well. This whole arc gives “Sonic” an unexpected emotional kick.

“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” still has problems. It’s pretty predictable and formulaic. A good portion of the humor doesn’t always hit home. Visually, there’s nothing that makes you sit up in your seat and take notice. But “Sonic 2” is overall a nice surprise. It’s a fun little movie that left me excited for future movies in the series and I did not expect to say that when I woke up this morning.

3 ½ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG