In a rare turn of fate, the third in a film series is the best one?
Sonic, a high speed creature from another world, has a new adversary: Shadow. But even with his friends, he might need to make an unlikely alliance to thwart this new foe.
Director Jeff Fowler has had exclusivity of the Sonic live action movie adaptations. Even so much as directing one episode of the Knuckles series on Paramount+. The series has had a consistent cast, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, although not consistent quality. 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was bloated with poor human character writing and comedy, while the first movie was… a standard origin movie.
It feels as though Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has finally grasped what the fans want. Of course, to do that it has to go… completely absurd.
The globe-trotting movie opens with the melancholy of new character Shadow. A creature similar to Sonic, imprisoned in a military base off the coast of Japan. Which is an American installation. Go figure. Dreams of a past friendship with a young girl sparks the anger he needs to break free.
Faced with this angry foe, the military (named G.U.N) hires Sonic and friends to deal with him. But they are, of course, outmatched. They then turn to an old enemy, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, for aid.
It is funny to think that Jim Carrey announced publicly that he would be stepping away from acting mere weeks after Sonic 2 released. Now he’s back again and playing two roles. Carrey has said in interviews that he isn’t retired, but he takes “power rests”. He has a lot of agency in the creative process for these movies.
Besides his energy, he also doubles the nostalgia for an audience already keen on a Sonic movie.
And that energy he brings in spades. Unlike his other human peers, Carrey knows what film he’s in and what he needs to provide. Robotnik is a fan favourite, and he has encapsulated him perfectly. Until he’s 90? Quite possibly.
The Chemical Brothers song “Galvanize” certainly has some new visuals.
Our newcomer, Shadow (voiced by dour Keanu Reeves) is also a lot of fun. The movie borrowing heavily from the video games Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog. It is absolutely absurd and angst-ridden. How does a distinctly smaller-than-human creature ride a motorbike flawlessly? But the film plays it with such absurd sincerity that these questions… don’t seem to matter.
Perhaps it is due to viewer knowledge of the franchise. Which is a ridiculous franchise. Layman audience members will probably get left behind; the film’s pace too fast, its best moments too niche.
It is a lot more fun than its predecessors. Natasha Rothwell and Shemar Moore are relegated to a two minute scene, rather than an unwelcome protracted plot point. Allowing for more action and storytelling for the characters the movie is about. Even “lead actors” James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are even more bit-parts here.
We can expect Sonic the Hedgehog 4 to be wall-to-wall CGI characters.
But it isn’t all perfect. I know I know, hard to believe. The writing team from Sonic 2 are still here, so the writing can still be atrocious. It isn’t particularly funny either. Why SEGA (Sonic’s video game creators) agreed/pushed for a Detective Pikachu reference? Perhaps a metaphysical apparition of Sonic’s misguided confidence.
The editing is also pretty terrible. There is a musical cue in the final act that is straight from the video games. It is one of the most riveting, exciting and 90s sound available to them. It is electrifying. The film knows when to use it and have it build up momentum and…
We cut to Dr Robotnik getting… spanked?
… and then it cuts back to the awesome music, building up momentum again. What is wrong with you? You had momentum. Keep it.
This is likely all Sonic fans’ wet dreams. Coupled with the mid-credit scene. For the general audience it may require some creative suspension of disbelief. It is a very silly movie, and it knows it. But as these film’s get closer and closer to glorified video game cutscenes, they are all the more entertaining for it.
Additional Marshmallows: There’s still a lot of similarities to the Transformers franchise. Hopefully Sonic can ride the waves a bit longer.