Sonic the Hedgehog 2(2022).Photo: Paramount Pictures
The first reviews forSonic the Hedgehog 2are in.
And while it “doesn’t break new ground elaborating the franchise’s sprawling universe of intersecting characters and plotlines,” according to Lowe, Schwartz, 40, “nails the animated hedgehog’s snarky, impudent attitude and unrestrained thirst for thrills.”
Deadline’s Pete Hammond praisesSonic 2’s “zany” spirit and “frenetic action,” but calls its “artistry … hit and miss.”
“Kids will still eat it up — even at a way-too-generous two-hour-plus running time,” Hammond adds.
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Criticizing the film as a “rush-job sequel,” Peter Debruge ofVarietysaid it “wears out its welcome well before it turns into yet another phone-it-in franchise entry,” but muses that the hero’s “short-lived stint as a vigilante is part pop-culture riff and part ’90s-era action-movie homage.”
The first live-action adaptation of the Sega video game serieswas a hit when it openedin 2020, grossing $320 million worldwide.
While the sequel has yet to hit theaters, Paramount Pictures revealed at an investor presentation in February thata third movie is already in the works.
Additionally, Knuckles — who first appeared as an antagonist in the 1994 gameSonic the Hedgehog 3before becoming a protagonist in 1995’sSonic & Knuckles— will get his own live-action spin-off series on Paramount Plus, out next year, with Elba, 49, returning.
“We’ve got a remarkable partnership with Paramount, and we are excited to continue expanding theSonic the Hedgehogfranchisewith them,” Sega CEO Haruki Satomi said during the presentation.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2spins into theaters Friday.
source: people.com
