Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Review — slow down, blue hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a continuation of one of the most successful film series about a video game hero—the blue, super-fast hedgehog Sonic. The first two installments showed excellent box office results, so the release of a sequel was only a matter of time. True, the films had their share of problems, but many chose to overlook them. Moreover, a new wave of popularity among children allowed the movies to firmly establish themselves in the modern film industry. The premiere of the third installment took place back in December. The new film grossed a solid amount at the box office and was quickly released digitally, so we couldn't miss the chance to check it out. How did the third chapter of Sonic's adventures turn out? We’ll tell you in the review below.
Honestly, we can't be called fans of the first two movies. Despite our love for the character, the original film turned out to be too simple and childish. And this is considering that the film was anticipated by people aged 30+. If you're used to such projects trying to reach the widest audience possible, the situation here is the opposite. Adults were rather disappointed, and the plot was absolutely unimpressive. This brings to mind the relatively recent animated film about Mario — The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where there were plenty of jokes that younger school-age viewers wouldn't understand. Sonic had nothing of the sort.
The sequel was intended to be more grandiose, adding geography of events and a pinch of gags, but even the second time, the film was disheartening. In the worst traditions, friendship saved everyone, Sonic couldn't say anything harsher than the word "butt," and everything around was so cute and cheerful that watching felt like pouring sweet syrup over your eyes. At the same time, the characters didn't receive any significant development either.
Sonic remained almost the same as before but was learning the essence of being a true hero. The little fox Tails was left without any backstory and described his life before landing on Earth in just one sentence. Only Knuckles was somewhat intriguing, and even then only in contrast to the vanilla-positive main characters. This isn't so bad if you focus solely on a children's audience, but it's much worse if you consider the film "for all ages." Even Dr. Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, who seemed like he should handle the "adult jokes," was acting as if he was in a comedic morning show. All of this made both films rather mediocre and unremarkable.
In the threequel, they promised to show Shadow, who, according to canon, was almost entirely the opposite of Sonic. Moreover, the character has always been positioned as a cold-blooded and ruthless anti-hero, which should theoretically raise the stakes. Did it work? Let's say, partially. When Shadow first appears in the film, he indeed feels like a breath of fresh air. The entire team of the blue hedgehog suffers a resounding defeat, while the black hedgehog dominates in every scene. He teleports instead of running, knows how to handle firearms and technology, and isn't averse to helping the bad guys.
However, it quickly becomes clear that the plot will repeat the situation with Knuckles. As soon as Robotnik's grandfather (also played by Jim Carrey) appears, he literally demonstrates with his entire demeanor that he will be the main and only villain. The appearance of the "super grandpa" clearly hints at his true plans, so when everything falls into place, there's no surprise. With enough viewing experience, the threequel won't impress viewers older than 10 years, or maybe even younger.
Naturally, Dr. Eggman himself also makes an appearance. This time he's not as caricatured, but still extremely mediocre. It seems that Carrey wasn't tasked with adding depth. This is even more amusing considering the actor's words about pausing his career until offered a truly powerful script. The only genuinely amusing part is the interaction of the two Carreys in one frame. All these performances, especially the dance, are the best part of the film, but also the smallest.
There are also outright plot holes. For example, the heroes directly ask Eggman about his family, but he says he has no one and never did. Literally a few minutes later, the beloved grandfather appears, who, of course, was out of the doctor's life for many years but couldn't have completely faded from memory. The issue is further complicated by the theme of the elderly Robotnik's granddaughter, Maria, who is supposed to be Eggman's sister. The doctor simply ignores the fact of her death or any connection, and the girl herself has nothing to do with the family.
One could add here that little Eggy might have been just a child when the fateful day happened. After all, we don't know his age. Another plausible explanation is that Maria is not a biological sister. All of this would provide at least some understanding of such behavior, but the problem is there's nothing. Not a single phrase. All of this further proves that the target audience of Sonic the Hedgehog is children, who don't need to be burdened with complex moral dilemmas and interpersonal character connections.
The biggest failure, as we see it, can be called Sonic's so-called family. If in the first and second films the hedgehog evolved at least somewhat, now the entire colorful trio, including the human actors, is simply frozen in space. Over the years, Knuckles remains just as dim-witted and straightforward, Tails is merely a function, and the sheriff and his wife haven't gained any new affairs, children, or other variables. All of this makes the world around the main character decorative and lifeless, and this is already a threequel.
The only plot twist that was intended by the authors to feel pivotal ultimately doesn't evoke any particular emotions. It's immediately clear that this is a fairy tale, and no one dies forever. The threequel feels not like a full-fledged numbered part, but rather another episode of a long-running sitcom show where all events are magically annulled at the end, and the characters return to their usual states after the twists and conflicts.
As for the action, everything is standard here. There are no mind-blowing scenes, but they do well with the minimum program as usual. When needed, the blue hedgehog speeds up to such an extent that he can run on water, but if it's inconvenient for the scriptwriter, Sonic can't outrun a sports motorcycle. Literally a few hours after watching, it's already hard to remember what exactly happened in the movie, and only the ending is more or less epic. The battle between Sonic and Shadow turned out to be decent, although thoughts still linger that the fight between two "Flashes" could have been made more interesting.
This time, Dr. Eggman also got a personal battle, and it's... just terrible. The caricatured fight is even inferior to the giant mustached robot from the second part. If you watch until the end, you'll unmistakably understand what we're talking about. It seems that Jim Carrey has done everything he could with this character, and his appearance in the fourth part, hinted at by the post-credits scene, would be redundant. The actor can clown around, but even now the character is copying himself, and there's been no development.
***
Summarizing all the impressions, Sonic the Hedgehog is a decent film, but for the youngest fans. Those very old-school men and women from the '90s who met the hedgehog on their first console, alas, are not the target audience of the series. In a similar style, it's easy to make a fourth, fifth, and even sixth part, but it won't add any value or new experiences.
