Ok, I thought *that* would work for the title since it’s not as obvious as the actual phrase that I’m referencing there and it’s not as obscure as something like “Aw man, this is happening!”… boy I’m a nerd
Hey Everyone! I thought I’d do a little bonus review in the midst of my Spider-Man marathon with a review of a 2020 release (like, WHAAAAAAT?!) in the form of Sonic The Hedgehog. So, blah blah blah, no movie summary, let’s get on with it: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3794354/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
So in case you couldn’t tell by this point, but I am massive fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise prior to the blue blur’s debut on the big screen. I’ve been playing his games for as long as I can remember and overall, Sonic as a character is probably my second favorite just under the little wall-crawler who I’ve been giving all the spotlight lately. …BUT saying that I’m a Sonic fan is also equivalent to saying I am part of one of the most bizarre fandoms on the face of the earth.
But one thing that I think every Sonic fan could agree on (and I do mean EVERY fan) is that the decision to actually delay the movie so that they could fix the abomination that he was prior. Yeah… that happened! And even though I still remember liking the second trailer and hearing that it was getting surprisingly decent reviews, I still couldn’t help but be cautious when heading into the theater to watch the Sonic movie (Ha… good times). I mean, besides Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, the video game movie curse has plagued so many properties so how could I not be nervous that they were mess up one of my favorite characters.
Now, with a second viewing just under my belt, I am still happy Sonic The Hedgehog is a still a surprisingly enjoyable movie. It’s definitely not amazing, but to the movie’s benefit, they nailed the most important thing to make this movie work: Sonic himself. (“GASP!” said absolutely no one) Ben Schwartz really did do a great job at bringing a ton of that fun-loving energy with some genuine heart that Sonic is known for and when he’s the title character—not to mention one of my favorites (*cue broken record scratch sound*)—that’s pretty good to see.
Surprisingly enough, he’s actually not the only enjoyable character to watch onscreen since the humans here are actually not that terrible. If I’m gonna be quite honest, I originally thought James Marsden in this movie just wasn’t going to work out but he actually ended being a standout. It’s not an especially complicated role, yet there’s just something about the way that Marsden plays this cop-character that makes him feel like an actually believable goody two-shoes, which is oddly rare nowadays.
You wanna’ know what else is rare in the modern age? (“High five me!”) Jim Carrey embracing what made him a Hollywood icon in the first place. Yup, silly Jim Carrey is back and he plays to all of those strengths to make his version of Dr. *Eggman* (I’ve grown up calling him Eggman, the movie finds a way to call him Robotnick AND Eggman, so he’s EGGMAN!) an enjoyable presence whenever he is in the room. When I saw this the first time, I actually did feel it was jarring how they were trying to take him seriously as villainous threat when he is clearly very silly, but this is actually something that felt more natural upon my second viewing so… that’s a thing.
To head back to Sonic’s personality, a lot of what makes Sonic the character is also a major factor into what makes Sonic The Hedgehog the movie (the review ;)) enjoyable as a whole. The dialogue is nice and loose. The comedy works for the most part (I mean, this is a movie made for kids and as such, there are just some jokes that might fall flat by default). It has a good heart and a good message. And Jeff Fowler’s direction can lead to certain visuals and sequences having a lot of personality and adrenaline fueled into them because well, it’s Sonic.
When the movie really leans hard into what makes Sonic fun and unique, it really thrives. Unfortunately (and I say “unfortunately” in case you needed something more glaring than a blinking red sign on the highway to let you know that I’m getting into the negatives), there are bunch of things that are holding this movie back from what it could be. Not the least of which is an ungodly lack of cleverness in making the story/plot anything that audiences have not seen 15-million times already.
Tell me if this sounds familiar: an being from another world with unique powers and/or attributes gets sent to earth, only to be discovered leading to a man-hunt to get them, while they are in the midst of enjoying life on earth. If that didn’t sound familiar, then what rock have you been living under?! …alright, joking aside, the movie feels railroaded by a studio formula, which limits a lot of chance for this movie to feel more creative. Again, it’s a shame since there are glimmers of something really unique that would help to make all of the good here that is here shine even brighter (Ay… as someone who is actively against bad puns, I keep walking into them- huh…).
Also, I present Exhibit B
Does this seem pretty glaring and distracting to the honest and genuine tone that I’ve been going for? Yes and congratulations, you just pointed out how the product placement in Sonic The Hedgehog is PRETTY obvious and overt. #Notactuallysponsored (but if you would like to… well, I’m all ears;))
With all of that said, this movie is still surprisingly enjoyable and hey, it gave me enough fun to wanna’ watch it a second time and desire a sequel. If that isn’t a good sign, I don’t know what is anymore.
Rating: 7/10 and I liked it!
Well, that about a does it for this little bonus review. If you’ve stuck around by this point, then thank you so much for reading this post… and for surviving my dumb little jokes and insults that I like to call “wit”. Apologies for not getting this done sooner than I had originally intended, although hopefully you’ll still be able to enjoy this nonetheless. I should be all good to get back into the Spidey-review marathon with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 this weekend, so be sure to look forward that (“Or don’t. It’s a free country but I know what I would do in your situation”- Grahm Norton, funny guy!) If you saw and enjoyed the Sonic movie, then please free to let me know what you though in the comments below. And as always, I think you should all know who I am at this point…
I’m Alex, Your Friendly Neighborhood Film Nerd!!!
*Sees the official greenlight for a sequel*
“Huh, was that convenient timing or WHAT?!?!”
Spinning the Cineweb 