I don’t know if he can “do everything,” but not everyone can do this stuff as well as he does. However, there’s something to be said about his skill in supplying a human anchor to cartoon protagonists in Sonic or Hop or being a “live-action cartoon” in Enchanted. Marsden has been called “underrated” for so long and by so many pundits that I don’t think it’s true anymore.
Sonic the hedgehog 2 2022 movie#
James Marsden was frankly the reason the first movie worked as well as it did, as he offered up a sympathetic and charming human protagonist whose life was improved by Sonic’s first introductory adventure. Photo Credit: Courtesy Paramount Pictures and Sega of America. James Marsden, Tika Sumpter and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 from Paramount Pictures and Sega.
I know folks don’t go to a Sonic the Hedgehog movie for the humans, but I liked the humans last time out. Yes, their pursuit eventually interlocks with the wedding of Maddie’s sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell), which supplies some variety (and humanity) amid the cartoon chaos. Meanwhile, our two heroes bond over their mutual isolation and Knuckles realizes that he and the mad scientist may not share the same ideals. It’s a mostly two-against-two battle as Sonic and Tails race Robotnik and Knuckles to the McGuffin. Sonic only survives due to intervention from Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey), a double-tailed fox who grew up admiring the famous hedgehog. With the obvious disclaimer that this is a PG-rated movie aimed at children, the first assault on the Wachowski house is quite brutal and intense, as Sonic quickly realizes that Knuckles is punching above Sonic’s weight. Sonic wants to be a superhero, although he’s quite bad at it (with shades of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Homecoming screw-ups) and is resisting the urge to “just be a kid.” While Tom and Maddie are at a destination wedding, Robotnik strikes back with a vengeance. Salvation arrives in the form of Knuckles (Idris Elba), an angry and determined red echidna who seeks “the Master Emerald.” Robotnik teams with Knuckles to get back to Earth which just happens to be the location of the hidden “source of ultimate power.” Meanwhile, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) is adjusted to being part of a human family, with Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) trying to balance being his friend with being parental figures. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) stranded on a mushroom planet (a sporting jab at Super Mario Bros.?). Paramount’s follow-up assumes that you’ve seen the first picture, opening with Dr.
That said, it mostly keeps its ambitions in check, with some unassumingly terrific special effects that oddly feel more like a “real movie” than any number of recent mega-budget biggies. Two years later, this bigger ($110 million versus $85 million) and longer (122 minutes versus 99 minutes) follow-up is perhaps a little too much of a good thing, with a film that feels like a conventional 100-minute flick with an extra reel’s worth of action climax chaos.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2, technically opening in domestic theaters tomorrow night but with some Wednesday previews this evening, is very much “more of the same.” The Jeff Fowler-directed Sega video game adaptation surprised us two years ago (just before Covid upended everything) by being an enjoyable, unassuming kid-friendly adventure that was more concerned with being a good movie than a slavishly faithful adaptation.
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