Movie Review: Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Is Sonic 3 perfect? No. Is it definitely the most fun family movie of 2024? Yes.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fr4yx5IG41VGnPAmQK929?si=PPhmXUJlREytnQDNZRZkiQ
***Spoilers For Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Follow***
I won't say Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a perfect film. I will say that it is the most fun I've had in a movie theater in 2024. Jim Carrey is visibly having a blast as both Gerald and Ivo Robotnik. The dynamics of Team Sonic are fun as Knuckles grows into a supporting role with his domineering personality. The third act is just an absolute delight for anyone who played and enjoyed Sonic Adventure 2 in childhood.
There are a few problems though. There are a few editing choices in the third act that break up the action in questionable ways. After Sonic and Shadow have their massive fight and they reconcile to team up against the Robotniks, they lean into the fan service by blasting the theme from Sonic Adventure 2 as they turn into their Super forms and they fight the robots from the game. The problem is they keep cutting away from this to go to a comic relief scene of a physical fight between Ivo and Gerald which breaks the tension in a way that never really recovers. Knuckles and Tails are both also sidelined for a good amount of the movie, which is a shame because there are multiple opportunities for Tails to use his technical ingenuity to save the day but they just don't do it. The second act is a prime example of this, especially when GUN has gravity altering technology but nothing really comes to pass.
The movie is basically top-to-bottom fan service but it isn't in your face about it. The billboards in the background come directly from the games, the Chao designs are fantastic (why don't we have a Switch Chao Garden game yet Sega?), there are quotes directly from the games like when Sonic goes to jump out of the helicopter and he says exactly the quote from the beginning of the game. Check out Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and make sure you stay through the post-credit scene for a great potential setup for the fourth movie (officially coming in 2027) to be a loose adaptation of Sonic Heroes.
Seriously though, I feel like Sonic Adventure 2 is the easier adaptation than the first game but I really want to see them build towards a massive event movie fighting against Chaos.
★★★★★
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Directed by: Jeff Fowler
Written by: Pat Casey, Josh Miller, John Whittington
Starring: Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves, Krysten Ritter
Rating: PG
Release Date: December 20th, 2024
