Entertainment Earth

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review

Here’s my Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review which opens January 15 from Paramount Pictures starring Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Jim Carrey and Keanu Reeves and directed by Jeff Fowler.

The Blue Blur is back for a third outing with his team and family and this time he’s going up against another team of familiar and somewhat familiar faces in the form of equally powerful hedgehog – Shadow the Hedgehog together with Ivo Robotnik’s long lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik (also played by Jim Carrey) and they are out for revenge. And while Sonic thinks he can easily take down this team, he is in for a big surprise with Shadow being on the same level as he is maybe even more.

PROS:

  • Shadow the Hedgehog
  • Great character development and redemption arc for Ivo Robotnik
  • Fun musical score
  • Awesome references/ throwbacks and callbacks

CONS:

  • Shorter run time
  • Overused plot
  • Less use of Shadow the Hedgehog (we really wanted more)

 

If there’s anything I love about the Sonic movies, it’s that they really do fulfill their promise, strike gold and repeat the process. Now with Sonic 3, we got ourselves a nice version of Shadow who really kicks ass.

Sonic 3 also continues with great voice performance with Ben Schwartz continuing his take as SEGA’s lovable blue mascot together with no-nonsense Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) also delivering some of their best work to date. Plus as an added bonus, Keanu Reeves is all about revenge here just like John Wick only fuzzier, edgier, faster and cuter.

The fourth wall breaking in this one is on the same level of the Deadpool franchise, like one minute we’re referencing Godzilla and Hello Kitty the next they’re referencing comic books and other gaming franchises. And that’s totally cool. Remember, there’s this one meme and social media post that the first movie (or was it the second) that foreshadowed (no pun intended) the addition of Keanu Reeves in the franchise and we got that with him eventually being cast as the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog.

Let me skip on the visuals for Team Sonic and let me just put high praises on for the movie version of Shadow the Hedgehog. He looks so good in this one.

Another thing that I really appreciate with Sonic 3 is that it’s slowly gradually skimming away from the human element to the point that it only pops out when its really really important. James Marsden and Tika Sumpter’s characters have slightly less roles compared to the previous film but the movie doesn’t feel lacking. But they do bring in the element of comedy and added fun for the CGI trio. Plus in this one, Donut Lord aka Tom has a big contribution that speeds up Sonic’s characterization in this movie.

Dr. Robotnik and Sonic the Hedgehog in #SonicMovie3
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

There’s also a bit on the second act that forces the Eggman and Sonic’s teams to work together and that was also an interesting segment giving them an exposition and a way to really flesh out more of their characters like how Mr. Stone sees Robotnik vs Tails and how he views Sonic and Knuckles the Echidna.

Sonic X Shadow Generations Review

 

Jim Carrey playing both Ivo Robotnik and Gerald Robotnik was a lot of fun making me think that the only person that can top off Jim’s performance is Jim himself. You’ll also enjoy the character arc for Robotnik here and I’m already thinking to myself how can he redeem himself AND wreck his character development next movie? I also want to say how much Carrey brings to the table as Robotnik, you can really see how much he loves the character that he even went out of his “retirement” to do another movie and probably another one after that. With Gerald Robotnik, he’s showing all of us how good he can still be playing a cranky and devious evil genius that’s lost himself because of revenge and hatred.

Jim Carrey with director Jeff Fowler on the set of #SonicMovie3
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Speaking of a next movie, yes there is going to be a fourth movie and there’s also a nice post-credit scene setting things up. I won’t disclose what but I’ll tell you if you’re a Sonic the Hedgehog fan whether its the lore, the game or the books then you will definitely be happy with what’s in store next.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review – The Verdict

10/10

Special thanks to Paramount Pictures and SM Cinema for the invites!

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