Never saw the first one, nor played any of the games - but I still quite enjoyed this animated adventure. "Sonic" is determined to use his powers to be a crime fighting hero, but frequently causes more havoc than the criminals! When the dastardly "Robotnik" manages to escape from his prison in a galaxy far, far, way and returns with the echidna from hell ("Knuckles") though, our blue pal finds himself and his family in considerable peril. Luckily, help is on hand from the twin-tailed "Tails" and battle lines are drawn Who can find the giant emerald first? The story is pretty derivative - bits of "Indiana Jones"; "National Treasure" and even "Guardians of the Galaxy" all seem to have influenced the story, which I have to say is a little predictably thin. That said, it is well placed with plenty in the script for the grown ups amongst the audience. "Sonic" makes for quite a likeable rodent and Jim Carrey"s engagingly hammy, moustachioed, megalomanic works well. The star? Well that's Natasha Rothwell's no-nonsense, would-be bride "Rachel" (a part of the storyline that doesn't work so well, but she is definitely not to be messed with). The visual effects are impressive and though maybe fifteen minutes too long, I still found it very much better than I had expected.

**Sonic 2 is as fun and ridiculous as the first, for better or worse.** Sonic 2 continues the formula that brought its predecessor success the first time with colorful, funny characters that make jokes that every kid will giggle at and a completely unrestrained Jim Carrey in his element and at his best. This time the movie swaps Sonic's human sidekicks for animated characters from the games, with Idris Elba's Knuckles being surprisingly funny (I didn't expect that from the trailers). Just like the first movie, Carrey makes this movie so entertaining. His outrageous performance perfectly fits the role of a kids' video game villain, and his snappy dialogue and quipped one-liners made me laugh at almost every scene he graced. Sonic 2 is not a typical movie I would choose for myself, but I'm not upset when my little daughter chooses to watch it over many other kids' movie options.