A preview for the threequel in this series has generated some talk in my circles, which encouraged me to check out the first entry. Sure, the second is a mixed bag and has the same IMDb rating, but my reaction to Paddington 2 didn't stop me from going back to its predecessor.
In early childhood, the fast blue alien biped (then voiced by Benjamin L. Valic, later by Ben Schwartz) is forced to use go through a portal to Earth to escape enemies. Taking the final advice of his guardian (Donna J. Fulks), he lies low in the woods of the fictitious Montana town of Green Hills for a decade, until he accidentally causes enough trouble to garner the attention of the U.S. Department of Defense. Commander Walters (Tom Butler) authorizes the unpopular but resourceful Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to apprehend the perceived threat. I'm not sure what Walters has in mind, but Robotnik plans to take Sonic apart to see how he works.
While escaping his pursuers, Sonic finally meets someone he'd been observing in secret: Sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), who's tired of Green Hills and looks forward to transfering to San Francisco. That's where a series of panicked antics winds up sending Sonic's pouch of portal-opening rings. Out of guilt, thanks in part to veterinary wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter), Tom reluctantly agrees to help Sonic avoid capture, even if he too becomes a fugitive in the process.
If I had been curious about one thing after watching StH2, it was how Sonic got to be like family to Tom and Maddie. I didn't even know their jobs from that movie. Well, I'm afraid Maddie doesn't get nearly as much screentime herein, but the gradual friendship of Tom and Sonic is so big a part of the plot that you could call it a buddy comedy. Kinda makes up for having only anthropomorphic animal on screen for most of the 99 minutes.
I'll grant that things feel slightly more sensible this time around. No human acts unsurprised to meet an obvious alien; at worst, they mistake him for a kid in costume. If not for the sequel, you could believe that Sonic didn't actually speak English until he came to Earth, picking it up by spying like Frankenstein's monster. And Robotnik, eccentric and over the top as he is, doesn't sport nearly so kooky a look yet.
One tradeoff is a little less sense of fidelity to the source material. I hadn't previously picked up on Sonic generating extraordinary bioelectric power, particularly under stress. Is that normal for his otherwise unseen species, or will we get more backstory eventually? Seems like the writers just devised a plot convenience.
I'd heard that Robotnik was already a highlight of the movies, if not the main one. I wouldn't go that far, but yes, he has merit. He turns out to be just as rude and hostile to humans as to animals, preferring his servile bots, who aren't as humanoid as in other parts of the franchise. Working practically alone lets him show off a fair amount of competence. And he loves to make an entrance.
Compared with the sequel, we don't get as many cultural references, and they tend to be more famous. I guess that's a plus for broad audience appeal. On the minus side, there's a bit more vulgarity. I don't like the humor as much overall.
Things are also more predictable. Even if not for StH2, I would have seen a lot of things coming. Another sign of a young target audience.
That said, I enjoy the action sequences more than I recall from before. Sure, Sonic's not trying for heroism as much as self-preservation, but evading or bashing killer machines hardly gets old. And although he reads only Flash comics, his slo-mo sequences evoke Quicksilver more.
Indeed, if there's one thing I consistently like about Sonic outings, it's Sonic himself. Apart from speed, he has a fun-loving attitude that a halfway-decent writer knows how to convey. I admit we see a somewhat new side to him in the first act, when his long isolation has him talking to himself enough to worry about sanity slippage, but he's otherwise doing well. What he lacks in responsibility, he makes up for in charisma. Including some measure of cuteness, especially in the beginning.
I can see how both flicks got a 6.5. I don't highly recommend either to someone unfamiliar with the character. But if you're looking for mindless PG diversion, this isn't a bad choice.
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