Review of Sonic 3 The Hedgehog

After the Paramount logo—the stars replaced by gold rings soaring towards the famous mountain—and the Sega ident, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 somewhat humorously segues to a huge credit for Neal Moritz's production business, " Original Film." Though there is really little originality in Sonic 3's next 109 minutes, it is not very often a production banner sheds accidental shadow over the film that follows. Though this is still the kind of low-hanging fruit — endless quipping, bland moralising, dance routines — meted out by every bog-standard animated kids' flick since the turn of the century, Director Jeff Fowler's inoffensive, all-too-familiar third adventure for the Blue Blur is probably the pick of the bunch.

The arrival of furious adversary Shadow The Hedgehog, played by Keanu Reeves, unexpectedly channelled John Wick rather than Ted Logan here. Teased in a teaser at the conclusion of Sonic 2, Shadow is a black-hearted agent of mayhem (imagine Nigel Farage with Quills) who leaves prison after 50 years to wreak havoc on defenders of Earth G.U.N. (Guardian Units of Nations) with inventor Gerald Robotnik ( Jim Carrey). Soon Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his friends, Tails The Fox (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles The Echidna (Idris Elba), are sent to control the anarchy only to find they must team up with Ivo Robotnik (also Carrey), the grandson of Gerald and the Big Bad (presumed dead after the second film), to save the day.

When I think about this Sega saga, scattershot comes first. From the humor, a fart gag here, a Bea Arthur joke there — to the needle drops — the Traveling Wilburys, The Prodigy, The Beach Boys, united at last! — to the action, a bike pursuit in Tokyo, antics over London landmarks — everything has a let's-hope-this-sticks vibe. This random approach extends to the theme content - you can select from a) listen to your heart, b) trust your friends, c) don’t let grief alter you or d) always make the correct choice — but none of these are eloquently stated or truly felt. Key emotional relationships imprinted are in throwaway montages. Little seems earned or real even on its own terms.

On the positive side, Sonic 3 has more narrative focus and urgency than Sonic 2, and there are some really humorous moments (a spoof of telenovelas, a killer Green Lantern comedy and the punch-y pomposity of Elba’s warrior anteater garner some chuckles). The MVP of the first two films, Carrey turns down the physical humor in both his parts, amping up punning (“Dorkupine!”) to hit-and-miss effect. For all the actor’s gurning and the film’s visual bustle, few images jump or lodge in the mind. Perhaps what’s required is a written vision. The promotion for Béla Tarr’s ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 4’ starts here.

Slightly better than its predecessors, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 strives hard to entertain – it has the occasional brilliant moment — but largely lacks surprise, novelty or anything to set the heart pounding. It’s a Saturday-morning cartoon writ long.

The Sonic flicks are amusing family material, providing a challenge as Shadow's tragic history needs a sophisticated thinking. Series screenwriters Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington don't compromise any conceptual substance from the source, preserving the proper balance between dark pathos and the usual absurdity of the film predecessors.

Read Also: Reviewing Content Piece by Piece

In contrast to his other media appearances, the Sonic movies portray the blue blur as being highly empathetic, albeit hyperactive, exhibiting a mixture of Dominic Toretto and Steven Universe (which is funny, as I have been describing Fast & Furious as “Steven Universe with cars” for years considering how often Toretto befriends nearly every enemy).

The writers never lose sight of the series' throughline with loss, grief, and familial love, carried from the first chapter at the center, between the rapid, high-octane action segments. Reaching the heights of the series even beyond the source's madcap plot, this one genuinely examines Sonic contrasting Shadow outside their similar looks, often confronting the "what ifs," if it weren't for his adoptive parents Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) taking him in. It's steady and has a fascinating path for Sonic that leads to emotionally powerful, tear-inducing passages.

Given that Sonic Adventure 2 provides them genuine material to work with, the film crew refines the annoying, often obnoxious flaws of the predecessors. This means unnecessary side characters like Wade (Adam Pally), Maddie's sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell), and her beau Randall (Shemar Moore) – who famously took up much of Sonic 2's overlong 2-hour runtime – are barely integrated, and the pop culture references as a basis of its humor are at a minimal. Sonic 3 is not without cheesy allusions and brings back several character members, although only for a brief period. It’s more focused on its kid-natured Fast & Furious/Mission Impossible-styled heist tale, like watching the repercussions of someone finally taking Adderall for their ADHD.