The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie is, to this day, one of the best video game movies—at least I believe it is. I’m not trying to say that’s a very prestigious title; I mean, what competition does it even have?

The movie isn’t afraid to embrace the roots of the game and admit that they are silly and fun with Sonic being a very joking character, both in-game and in the first film.

The people behind it cared immensely for the project and the community with them redesigning Sonic after everyone said he was disgusting-looking. And the number of references in the film was staggering. It was clearly a project made with passion; but can the second hold a candle to the first?

To say it ever so bluntly, yes, it absolutely can. The second film opens by reintroducing Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, who is a joy to watch whenever his chaotic character is on screen. Compared to the first, he seems flat-out deranged, which makes his character one of the most interesting characters in the film.

While Robotnik stole the show once again, that does not mean the other characters fall flat in this movie. Sonic is written incredibly similarly to the source material⁠—honestly, I’d say he’s written perfectly. And the newly introduced characters of Knuckles and Tails are both great additions to the roster.

Tails, at some points, felt a bit repetitive, but his overall nature and disposition in the film felt like the Tails from the games. Knuckles, on the other hand, was different than the game’s counterpart.

He keeps traits like being strong and acting before thinking, but the movie plays up how stupid he is. This, however, works for the movie, as Knuckles was always funny. And every scene with him was spectacular.

The way that all the characters interact is also immaculate. It captures the charm that the games have in a way that would have been easy to miss had people who cared less made the film. Again, this film is chock-full of references, and I was smiling every time I caught one.

From subtle things like a red plane, mean bean coffee, and Sonic being incapable of swimming to the inclusion of G.U.N., chili dogs, the Death Egg Robot, and Labyrinth Zone, catching things like this in real-time and predicting what references were before they happened was so much fun.

Now, almost every aspect of this film was enjoyable, but what parts weren’t? The parts of the story with the humans were honestly not that good in this movie, due to Sonic now having Tails. Most of the wedding scenes felt out of place, as if they were from a different movie.

The plot and interactions were downright bizarre at points, and I’m questioning if I saw the film or dreamt it. Did I see Jim Carrey in a maid dress? Did I watch Sonic have a dance battle against some Siberian dude who killed him, I think? Yes to all of that.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is a chaotic film, and I love it for that. There were moments that made me question the film and my sanity but in the most fun way possible. From the point of view of a critic, the film has its issues and could be a lot better, but as a Sonic fan and casual viewer, this is one of my favorite films.

While I love this film, I understand many won’t. It’s campy, tropey, and cheesy, but so are the Sonic games. It has issues with pacing and keeping the plot together, but if you want a film that’s just fun or if you like Sonic games, then give it a watch.