Hey there guys and welcome to a new review! Today I will be discussing a movie that was actually supposed to release last year yet due to the amount of hate it’s initial trailer got it was pushed to February of this year. I am of course talking about the Sonic the Hedgehog movie adaption which when I first heard the announcement I was pretty hesitant about. I do like the character, have know quite a bit about the world, and characters, and have played a couple of the games yet I really did not know how they were going to make a live action movie work! It didn’t help that unlike say Detective Pickachu the first impression was terrible as the character’s design was creepy more than anything else and looked nothing like the games. So when they announced the plans to redesign him I was curious as to how he would look and how much it would help the movie financially, and in terms of buzz. Luckily that decision payed off in spades as not only did the buzz improve but the release date was even better meaning it broke records for a video game adaptation and did far better than it probably would’ve done in a more crowded November slot. It also helps that the movie turned out to be pretty good. Now let’s speed up things up and get down to talking about what a surprisingly fun ride this movie turned out to be!
On a planet far away from Earth lives Sonic, a blue hedgehog who just loves to go fast and has the ability to run at supersonic speeds. Realizing that Sonic is in danger, his mentor, Longclaw, gives him a bag that contains rings that could transport him to different planets and he uses one to go to Earth where he will remain until trouble finds its way to him and in that case he must go to another place. A decade then passes by and Sonic is still spending his days on Earth and is really enjoying life in the town of Green Hills, Montana, despite not making any contact with its citizens. He particuarly has a huge liking towards local sheriff, Tom Wachowski (or as he likes to call him, Donut Lord), who is planning on relocating to San Francisco with his veterinarian wife, Maddie. Tired of being lonely Sonic gets so upset that he accidentally causes a power outage that affects the entire Pacific Northwest. This then attracts the attention by the government who reluctantly sends in the only man they know that can solve this, a scientific genius by the name of Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Using his armada of drones Robotnik is determined to find the source of this mysterious no matter what, meaning Sonic has to leave Earth right away. Problem is he unintentionally dropped his bag of rings leading them to land in San Francisco and now he must team up with Tom and head on a road trip in order to get them back before Robotnik catches up to them!
If this kind of story sounds kind of familiar well that’s because it is. This is one of those movies that strand their title, fantastical character on Earth instead of their own world and they have to team up with a human to accomplish a specific goal much like Hop, and the Smurfs movies to name some recent examples. Yet this movie works in ways that those ones just didn’t and is a lot more enjoyable all things considered. Yes the story itself is pretty run of the mill with not too many huge surprises but it is executed decently and actually does manage to subvert some expectations as it doesn’t follow all of the cliches you’d expect from this type of story which was kind of refreshing in a way (heck, slight spoilers but it avoids doing what Detective Pickachu did with it’s duo later in the movie). It also does stay true to the fun nature of character and doesn’t insult the property in any way (there some nice easter eggs here and there) while also being able to stand on its own terms as a stand alone feature (with only explicit sequel teases saved for the mid, and post credit scenes) and serve as a good introduction to newer fans of the property. I also found myself laughing quite a bit at some of the jokes here and the comedy is mostly consistent save for a couple of pop culture references, and cheesy lines of dialogue, here and there (two glaring ones that promote Olive Garden for some weird reason, even though it was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but laugh). Some of my favorite jokes are ones to do with Sonic’s speed, a lot of Eggman’s lines are really funny as well, and there is a really hilarious sequence in a bar that was a lot of fun. Pacing wise it can be uneven at times as I felt the opening was a little rushed as we are thrown into the moment and not given enough time to learn about Sonic’s relationship with Longclaw and there are times where it can be a little slow but things do pick up once Sonic, and Tom head on their road trip and it was mostly smooth sailing from there. There are even some legitimately touching scenes that are actually well done and give the movie some substance. It really does remind me of one those family films from the 90s one that is more concerned with providing small scale thrills rather than big, epic battles, some good lessons about being there for your friends, and home, and a certain charm that is similar to those types of movies (sort of like Bumblebee in that respect). While it may not reinvent the wheel I do feel that it does a good job of entertaining kids, and fans alike while also being good fun on its own terms.
Director Jeff Fowler does a good job behind the camera and from what I’ve read in interviews it seems he is very passionate about the source material which is always a good thing as you want the people behind a movie based on a popular IP to know how what their doing with it. But anyway his direction is pretty good for the most part but it is clear that he had a ton of fun with the action of the movie as they are high on energy and are a highlight of the feature. They take advantage of Sonic’s speedster skills and are the times in which this movie does truly come alive and when it feels like we’re watching the games come to life, particularly in the climactic showdown between Sonic, and Eggman as we see the latter chase down the former through many places around the world. I also really enjoyed the scenes in which Sonic’s speed slows down time as, while very reminiscent of the dynamite Quicksilver sequences in Days of Future Past, are still very funny, and cool to watch. The CGI in all of these places is also really well done and never distract from the conflict at hand. We also do get a glimpse of Sonic’s homeworld in the beginning and what is shown looks gorgeously rendered and is very accurate to the games and here’s hoping we see more of it in the sequel. Speaking of video game accuracy the music by Junkie XL is pretty exciting and does capture that feeling very well while the credits themselves are really cool as they are pixelated to look like the old 2 bit games which was a nice touch. Then there’s the elephant in the room which is Sonic’s design and I’ve gotta say that this is miles better than the one we got initially. Not only does it resemble the character perfectly but it is also a lot more appealing to look at and is actually pretty cute. The animators (whose studio sadly went out of business after this) really outdid themselves here and if it weren’t for the horrid reception to the original the final product would’ve likely suffered due the absence of this design. With that said though a great design wouldn’t mean as much if we didn’t care about Sonic himself or if he was very annoying which are among the bigger problems when it comes to these types of movies like with Hop, Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Smurfs, etc. Fortunately the writers nailed the easy going, and cocky personality of the character he is a very likable presence with Ben Schwartz (in like his fourth animated role that involves voicing a blue character) doing an excellent job voicing him and making me forget that current Sonic voice, Roger Craig Smith, could’ve easily voiced him instead. Also really liked his arc here involving his yearning to make friends with other and not be alone anymore as it made him very relatable and helped give the more emotional scenes some oomph. Another very well done aspect is the relationship Sonic develops with Tom as their interactions are not only really entertaining to watch, but they can often be quite touching as well largely due to James Marsden’s charismatic turn (funny enough he also played a similar role in Hop) who makes Tom into a good straight man and a fun character in his own right. I do wish that Tika Sumpter got more to do as Maddie though as she felt really underutilized playing “the girlfriend”, though her disapproving sister, Rachel (Natasha Rothwell), did get some chuckles out of me sometimes. But what about the most prolific, and buzzy member of the cast, Jim Carrey himself as one of the most iconic video game villains ever, Dr. Robotnik? Well the man is definitely channeling his comedic roles from the 90s with a wacky, and over the top attitude and he is clearly having a blast whenever he is onscreen! His cartoony antic, and sheer resentment of those he feels are inferior to him (which is pretty much everyone) make him entertaining to watch and he is responsible for some of the biggest laughs of the picture (also enjoyed his right hand man, Agent Stone played by Lee Majdoub the only person Robotnik some what tolerates). Funny enough the villains of these kinds of movies I keep referring to tend to be the best parts (or at least most entertaining aspect) of them yet they couldn’t quite get the other characters right which I felt this movie mostly did and I am impressed by it for that reason.
Well this was certainly a lot better than many of us were expecting it to be. Overall Sonic the Hedgehog is a solid family flick that respects it’s source material, has some good messages, contains some creative action set pieces, and nails the core character, and villain. It does get off to a bit of a bumpy start, and have a pretty standard story with some jokes that land more than other and certain character archetypes that don’t leave much of an impact which does keep it from being among the best video game movies but it still is a fun movie that got better as it went along. I’d say its about on par with Ratchet & Clank on the video game movie spectrum and with how enjoyable this, Detective Pikachu, and Angry Birds Movie 2 turned out I think we should start giving these movies the benefit of the doubt. It’s funny how I went from dreading this movie to actually anticipating the inevitable sequel as I am very hopeful that it will improve upon this one and actually go all out in terms of the fantastical elements (and judging by the post credits scenes that seems very likely).
Rating: B
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