SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (2024)
Starring Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Krysten Ritter, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Lee Majdoub, Tom Butler, Adam Pally, Alyla Browne, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernández, James Wolk, Jorma Taccone and the voices of Ben Schwartz, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves.
Screenplay by Pat Casey & Josh Miller and John Whittington.
Directed by Jeff Fowler.
Distributed by Paramount Pictures. 110 minutes. Rated PG.
Having seen all the Sonic the Hedgehog movies up until now, I never quite know what to expect. With confidence I can say I was not completely disappointed by what I was shown. The returning cast of Ben Schwartz (Sonic), Idris Elba (Knuckles), and Colleen O’Shaughnessy (Tails) delivered well in their voice roles. Their performances, being the primary focus of the film, were enjoyable, especially with the newcomer to the cast Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog. The returning live action cast included James Marsden (Tom), Tika Sumpter (Maddie), Lee Majdoub (Agent Stone), and Jim Carrey as Doctor Eggman. Carrey made his return from retirement to reprise his role from the first two films and was consistent in his zany acting style.
While the cast delivered effectively in their roles, I feel the need to point out that some effects did not. During the movie I noted an odd lack of quality in the CGI and lack of emotion in the rigging for the models of Sonic and his crew. The first two movies had fairly good animation for their 3D models that conveyed a believable character. However, in this installment the characters did not always sync with the emotion in their voices. Aside from the character models, some of the CGI used for special effects looked off. Flying shards of glass, or water dripping off of a surface, they didn’t look completely convincing to me.
The plot itself was not something about which I could complain. Most story beats, or characters, come directly from certain Sonic games. The main plot driving Shadow the Hedgehog was a great callback to his actual backstory involving a young girl named Maria Robotnik, who was played by Alyla Browne in this film. The effects used for Shadow’s larger scenes were well done and conveyed the right amount of fantasy. Overall, towards the end of the film I saw the effects get better, which is a pattern I don’t often see.
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a fairly lore-accurate portrayal on the big screen and heard my fellow audience members feel the same. There is an undeniable excitement when seeing a silver screen adaptation of something you grew up with or love even now. I don’t feel these movies are being churned-out as many films now are. Instead, I feel there is a narrative that these movies want to tell based on the original source material. For that, I respect the choice to set up a fourth film.
The most enjoyable parts of this movie for me were some of the smallest jokes or details. Using the over-the-top archetypes of video game characters in modern scenarios can be tricky, but in some cases in this film it was done right. I mainly look at Jim Carrey’s performance where he is fully acknowledged to be odd for his personality, but fully leans into it regardless. Another example was Shadow, my personal favorite character from the movie, making completely serious commentary on a Telenovela.
Certain scenes that ran with those ridiculous scenarios landed well for me. Personally, I felt that of the main trio of Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails, Knuckles made me laugh the most. Idris Elba nailed his line delivery for the character and made him very lovable.
I am sure that we will be seeing previews for Sonic 4 in a couple years. When that happens, I hope to return to see how the story continues to unfold. Something I noted was the post credits scene of the movie played out exactly as I had jokingly predicted walking into the theater. For that I can say that I look forward to seeing the next addition or additions to the cast. All I can hope for in the fourth installment is a dial-back on some of the meta-jokes.
Jordan Wagner
Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: December 20, 2024.
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