Inspired by the video game series starring the titular character, Sonic the Hedgehog follows the speedster hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz) as he evades his arch nemesis, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). After living in hiding in Green Hills, MT for 10 years, Sonic is discovered and teams up with local sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) to avoid being captured and experimented on by the evil doctor.
New-look Sonic
Unfortunately, no review of Sonic can go on without touching on the visual effects debacle after the movie’s initial trailer. Fans were immediately (and loudly) critical of the character’s look. So much so, in fact, that director Jeff Fowler announced that its release date would be pushed back three months in order to update and improve the character’s look.
And while that is a slippery precedent to set, at least it paid off. Sonic looks markedly better after the redesign. He now in no way detracts or distracts from the movie. But that being said, good effects do not a good movie make. So what about the rest of the film?
Basic plot
Sonic’s plot is nothing special. In fact, it functions as a pretty by-the-numbers alien story. New species arrives on earth, is discovered, government gets involved, evil agent (or in this case, doctor) takes control and wants to capture it for his own nefarious plans.
Sure, there are some deeper moments of Sonic coming to terms with how lonely his life is. And there’s an underlying message of the importance of friendship. But it’s not enough to make up for the bland, larger story.
Jim Carrey is Jim Carrey, for better or worse
Often times, a movie can only be as good as its villain. And Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik is…good? Sometimes? He’s completely over the top, which fits the character and the actor quite well. But Robotnik comes off as more of a jerk (to put it nicely) than an eccentric, odd-ball super genius.
The problem is that he’s instantly hateable from the first moment he steps on screen. He doesn’t turn or become more evil after he discovers what Sonic and his powers are capable of. He starts at 100. The character has nowhere to go from there.
But credit given where credit due. Carrey fully commits to the role, going all in on the condescending antagonist. But with only one mode, and one that’s consistently in your face about it, the act wears thin fairly quickly.
You can always count on nostalgia
While Sonic is clearly a kids movie, there is no doubt a nostalgia factor at play here too. For anyone who grew up on the Sega Genesis games, there are a handful of fun callbacks and references to grab your attention. One easy example is the town of Green Hills, MT, an obvious reference to the Green Hill Zone opening level of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game.
But nostalgia can only take a movie so far. It adds some definite fun to the overall experience, but doesn’t contribute much, if anything, to the movie itself.
When you add it all together…
Sonic is a perfectly adequate movie. Not exactly the high praise most (all?) movies gun for, but not everything can be a home run. And with the initial problems the movie faced, along with the poor track record of video game movies in general, adequate might be the best you can hope for.
The Verdict: 6.1/10
Sonic the Hedgehog is now playing in theaters everywhere.