Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Review: Lacks Novelty, Yet Somewhat Fun

RATING - ⭐ ⭐ ✨ 2.5/5*

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 REVIEW MOVIE TALKIES:

I have never been a huge fan of this franchise, but some of my neighbors' children love it. I also think that if I were a kid, I would have loved it. What I mean to say is that it is not a critic-friendly film/franchise, so I am entitled to have my own negative thoughts about this movie while others enjoy it. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is soapy, dragged out, and lacks novelty as a Sonic film of its own, but the finale here, i.e., the last 20 minutes, made it better than what it could have been. As for the rest, the characters, plot, and even the action now seem repetitive.

Sonic 3 introduces a new powerful character, Shadow The Hedgehog (played by Keanu Reeves), who arrives to destroy the city. Consumed by revenge, he overpowers the members of Team Sonic: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and the team decide to stop Shadow and Professor Gerald Robotnik (Ivo's grandfather, played by Jim Carrey), who plans to destroy GUN's headquarters in London by using a key card to activate the Eclipse Cannon, which will obliterate everything within a 25,000-mile radius. Ivo (Jim Carrey) betrays Sonic and joins his grandfather, but is unaware of his true mission. Will Team Sonic be able to defeat Shadow, Ivo, and Gerald?

The film follows a very predictable plot, which was pretty much expected from the previous installment. The humor felt fresh in the first film, but by the time we reached the third film, I have started to feel annoyed by the same childish jokes. More Carrey should have been more fun, right? It doesn't work that way here. Instead, he was quite annoying in some scenes. That "one happy day with grandpa" segment was too childish for someone as deadly as Ivo and Gerald. Sonic's anger issues also didn’t excite me much, as they are such an old trope. Shadow looked surprisingly good, but they had to culminate his evil character with a 'change of heart' cliché. Why? Why can't the writers try something different for a moment?

Jim Carrey's role as the voice of Professor Gerald Robotnik and Dr. Ivo Robotnik was somewhat funny but mostly flat. Ben Schwartz as Sonic and Keanu Reeves' Shadow brought some fun back to the game. Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Miles "Tails" Prower and Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna were decent. The supporting members, including James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Krysten Ritter, Lee Majdoub, Shemar Moore, Natasha Rothwell, and others, delivered so-so performances in poorly written roles.

Sonic 3 isn't high on action. It occupies a similar space as the previous films, so the visual effects are on par. The climax sequence, especially the circular figure created by Sonic and Shadow, was absolutely gorgeous. The sound design felt solid, and the cinematography was average. The film runs for 110 minutes, which I think should have been around 90–95 minutes to make it more gripping. There is a small surprise in the end-credit scene, so watch out for that. Jeff Fowler provides fan service with some hiccups, but it's far from a critic-friendly gesture. It should either change its format to become as big as Pixar movies or limit itself to family clubs; they seem to prefer the latter at the moment. So, if you are a Sonic fan, this film will be a decent watch for you; otherwise, it is below average.

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