Review of 'Sonic the Hedgehog'

Yes, it is another film based on a video game. Who knew? I suppose if there is a remote possibility of making money…In this case though, Sonic is actually quite entertaining.

When his world is attacked by echidna warriors Sonic (the Hedgehog; voiced by Ben Schwartz) escapes through a ring portal to a distant planet: Earth. He has been warned to keep his powers of extraordinary speed hidden. Ten years after his arrival he is captured on a speed camera doing ludicrous speeds by the sheriff of Green Hills, Montana, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden). Sonic seems to enjoy his life safe in the knowledge he can escape any time he wishes with one of the magic rings given to him when he fled his home world, but he lives his life alone and is lonely. After creating a huge electromagnetic pulse that cuts out power across the whole of the Pacific Northwest the Pentagon sends the eccentric psychopath Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to investigate. Tom eventually discovers Sonic and agrees to take him to San Francisco where Sonic has accidentally sent his magic rings. Road trip! However, Dr. Robotnik is hot on their trail..

Ok, ok, suspend your need for deep plots or brooding characters and just soak in the sheer mania of the film and you might just be pleasantly surprised. The writing is sharp and quite funny with characters that are engaging and believable. Having a cartoon character in the real world is always going to take some convincing of the audience but it works well here. The effects are good and it does look great with little spared in the FX department. Though obviously based on a video game and echoing back to various elements of game play (the rings, super-speed, loops, etc) this does not feel like an overt ad for the game, which is nice. It just seems to have been done “for the fun of it” rather than trying to sell anything, again, nice.

Carrey is in perfect maniac mode dominating every scene he is in, reminiscent of his early films such as The Mask. The rest of the cast actually do have stories to tell rather than simply supporting Sonic's journey which is nice to see with perfectly adequate performances throughout.

A fun, silly, bit of light entertainment perhaps aimed at the young but may even entertain an older crowd…“Sonic the Hedgehog” likely won't win any critical accolades , but they are in the film-watching minority, for the rest of us we can just sit back and enjoy.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2022-06-20

Directed by: Jeff Fowler

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Year: 2020

Length: 99 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3794354/