So hey, “Sonic the Hedgehog” was surprisingly good.

I missed this one on its first go-round. Wasn’t all that stoked for movies in mid-2020 and there was still a ton of uncertainty going on.

But now, two years later, my boys are old enough to shut up in a movie theater for two hours, so I can get into an ongoing franchise with them. I showed them this trailer and said hey, there’s a sequel out now, so if you CLEAN UP YOUR FREAKING ROOM AND DO SOME CHORES we’ll have a Sonic weekend.

The original plan was to see both flicks. They only earned the first one, so we rented this off Amazon and watched it tonight.

Man, it was really, really good. Ben Schwartz did a great voice for Sonic, and while he’s physically recognizable, he doesn’t have the vocals that constantly distract you, like when Ryan Reynolds played Pikachu. James Marsden proves he’s still got some Hunk left in the tank after playing Cyclops 20 years ago (does the dude even age?) and while they had his character in an interracial marriage, they didn’t make any racial jokes or woke BS.

Imagine that! A movie without Current Day stuff or Social Issue jabs in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-something! Just two people of different races who are in love! HOW CAN THIS BE?!

And the story was strong too! I never delved deep into the Sonic lore as a kid–I never had a Sega, but the kid across the street had one, so I played it a few times. As far as I know, they were at least visually true to the source material, and gave us a quick introduction to the world without dragging it out or torturing the backstory. Sonic is a powerful critter, people will want his power, he should hide, or people he love will suffer.

Very basic superhero stuff, but with enough twists and tweaks to keep it interesting.

Solid humor, likable characters, and holy crap, Jim Carrey delivers a 90s-era comedic performance that is just beautiful to watch. Here’s a crazy villain who you’re not rooting for, you’re not agreeing with, but you’re still enjoying, because he’s fun to watch.

It’s no surprise that the first movie did well, and if they hold to this methodology, then I’m not surprised the second one made another truckload of cash.

I’ll post my two cents on that one after I see it.