“A whole new speed of hero.
Powered with incredible speed, Sonic The Hedgehog embraces his new home on Earth. That is, until Sonic sparks the attention of super-uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now it’s super-villain vs. super-sonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic’s unique power for world domination.” – Letterboxd Synopsis
This movie is without a doubt a triumph when taking into account the very tumultuous history of adapting video games into movies (or tv shows as well). This is not the best movie ever made, it has flaws, and before it even released it looked like it was going to be another adaption to throw in the large waste bin of movies of its kind. But, back then, the studio listened to the qualms about Sonic’s design (which was awful). They changed it to something really good and now at the dawn of the third movie of what is currently a trilogy, but will definitely be expanded beyond that, the Sonic movie stands out to me as a turning point in video game adaptations actually being good (for the most part). This movie kicked that off and it is a very fun time.
A story like this is always gonna pull me in to some degree. I’m a sucker for the found family trope. I loved the journey that Sonic and Tom go on. I love their growth, but specifically Sonic’s growth throughout this movie. It actually pulls at your heartstrings a lot when it all sets in that he lost his only family as a young child and was hiding away for years in a foreign land and the only thing he knows how to do is run. Run from his feelings, his problems, run away from the people of the town who he desperately wants to be friends with. Sonic is a lonely child and its so heartwarming to see that lonely child actually grow to have friends, relationships, and a family. I loved sonics journey; I loved his character. He’s funny, not only fast on his feet but very quick-witted. His jokes land most of the time. In a lot of ways this is basically an origin story for all characters involved and I loved the direction they took with this character while still making him cool sf cause he is still very, very cool. Ben Schwartz did a great job voicing him as well.
The other characters are fun as well. I really liked Tom. James Marsden is just a great actor, whether it’s in rom-coms or comic book movies. I absolutely love him in whatever he’s in. Tom is a character dealing with family legacy in a small town and wanting to make a name for himself in a big city. Parts of that resonate with everyone. He was a fun character, his dynamic with Sonic is great. I absolutely adored him and his wife. Tom, as a character, is just a good dude with a good heart and It’s nice to see.
The standout characters besides Sonic are easily Jim Carrey as Doctor Robotinic and Lee Majdoub as his Agent Stone. First of all, their dynamic is hilarious. They have the funniest bits in this movie and the sequel hands down. When he told him to pin himself to the wall, me and my girlfriend were dying. Speaking on just Doctor Robotinik. Okay, Jim Carrey is one of my favorite actors ever and he has been since I watched the Mask as a kid. This man is a comedic genius and the perfect Dr. Robotnic. He is the funniest, self absorbed, evil scientist. Again though, I love what this movie and series does with his character. This is just as much of an origin story for him and his obsession with Sonic as it is for Sonic. For all intents and purposes, this is Dr. Robotinik. I would make the argument that he doesn’t really become Dr. Eggman until the third movie, which is just brilliant seeing his evolution (or devolution) throughout this movie, then the next, then finally in this third one coming out today. It’s a very cool and kind of risky take on this character, but it works very well slowly transforming him into the Dr. Eggman that we know.
The action scenes were always fun. Shout out to whoever’s idea it was to do that slow-mo Quick Silver scene in the X-Men reboots because you have single-handedly changed the way speedsters are shown on the big screen forever. The slow-mo speedster scenes in this movie are cool, not the best I’ve seen, but cool. I much preferred when they zoomed out and showed his raw speed from afar and him covering great distances or conjuring up whirlwinds. It looks cool. Also, I’m glad they gave him more powers other than just being fast. I think whatever blue electricity things he can do is very interesting. Sonic himself looked really damn good. Like okay, sometimes he didn’t look blended that well into the scene, but a lot of the time he looked good and there were points that just looked amazing with the details in his hair specifically. the CGI was real solid.
So yeah, this movie isn’t perfect, but I do feel like it’s an achievement. There was so much love and care visibly put into this movie (the end credit scene is chefs kiss) that is admirable and at least in my eyes, I don’t think we see the success of the Mario movie or the fallout tv show (the just won best adaptation of the year at the TGAs. I gotta check that out) if not for this movie’s success and willingness to give the audience a good movie. Sonic fans have it so bad compared to fans of other media. Way more stinkers than there are good games or shows. And with sonic being such a monumental character in our cultural zeitgeist for decades now, it was about time we got a good movie. Also, sonic is just cool. He’ll probably always be cool.
Sonic the Hedgehog – 8/10
