Since in a distant 1993 Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel ventured to transfer the adventures of Mario, Luigi and company in the indescribable ‘Super Mario Bros’, the Hollywood industry has tried to give —unsuccessfully in most of the occasions — with the master formula that would allow them to adapt a video game to the big screen with which satisfy the fandom without leaving a minimum of quality along the way in cinematic terms.
The string of examples with which to illustrate these blunders is as extensive as it is painful, since it includes licenses as juicy as ‘Alone in the Dark’, ‘Doom’, ‘Hitman’, ‘Prince of Persia’ or ‘Far Cry’. But, as they say, practice makes perfect and, over time, directors and screenwriters have managed to shape productions such as ‘Project Rampage’, ‘Tomb Raider’ or ‘A Werewolf Among Us’; titles that, despite not being round, reflect a clear positive evolution.
In the midst of this panorama, and after starring in an insane controversy related to the design of its protagonist, ‘Sonic: The Movie’ surprised strangers by transforming the adventures of the blue hedgehog into a hilarious family feature film that, despite not being exempt of weak points, knew capture the essence of the mythical Sega franchise in an unusually solvent product. An achievement that, two years later, has been repeated by its direct sequel embracing the premise of “more, and even bigger”.
free ties
As Ruben Fleischer pointed out during a promotional interview for his notable adaptation of the ‘Uncharted’ saga starring Tom Holland, much of the studio’s problem with developing this type of film lies in its eagerness to recreate the original experience in a completely different medium. The key to successfully coming out of such an undertaking is ultimately taking inspiration from the games and projecting it onto as free a narrative as possible.
Despite the fact that the arrival of games like the, at the time, groundbreaking ‘Sonic Adventure’ from Dreamcast, added an extra plot point to the universe of sega’s mascot, ‘Sonic: The Movie 2’ —and, consequently, its predecessor—are nourished by partan with the advantage of address a franchise more concerned with providing a good platforming experience and remarkable level design than for articulating a solid and complex story. But this does not translate into greater simplicity to bring the film to fruition.
Once the stumbling block and the need to outline an origin story were overcome, Jeff Fowler has been able to afford to expand the universe presented in 2020 by pulling on continuity and adding to what already worked then an extra action, hypervitaminized visual effects and, what is more important, a new assortment of characters faithfully drawn from video games and a generous helping of easter eggs which will undoubtedly bring a smile to those who grew up jumping around Green Hill Zone with the controller in their hands.
It is not at all necessary that ‘Sonic: The Movie 2’ trace dialogues, scenes and sets that appeared throughout the playable saga. the long updates protagonists and situations to current times and the real world in which it is setbut they are details present in its production design —Dr. Robotnik’s gadgets, vehicles and mecha are wonderful— or winks like see Sonic absorb an air bubble while it is underwater to be able to breathe those that, integrated into the narrative, give the necessary packaging and make the source of origin recognizable.
Of course, all this does not mean that we are facing a model piece. Although its sense of humor, the invoice of its set-pieces, its visual packaging and the work of a Jim Carrey who is once again unleashed in his antagonistic role, elevate the set above the original, his script suffers from terrible predictability —and of some somewhat cumbersome passage during the middle of its second act— inherited from a structure excessively insole which seems to be taken directly from the book ‘Save the cat’ by Blake Snyder.
But, beyond balances between resounding successes and less fortunate decisions, if something must be recognized about ‘Sonic: The Movie 2’ it is its ability not only to rise as one of the best video game adaptations released to date, but to do so evidencing that freedom and fidelity are not antagonistic concepts while spouting love for the source material**—and you only have to take a look at its charming end credits sequence to realize it.