MOVIE REVIEW — Sonic the Hedgehog
It Didn’t Go Fast — ★★1/2
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This review is going to be on the shorter end of the spectrum as I really don’t have a whole lot to say about this movie. I grew up playing Sonic games on Gameboy, and a few on the Xbox 360, as well as a few of the cartoons, but aside from that, I do not have this overly important connection to the character that some people have. Would I have liked for this movie to be great? Absolutely! I don’t go into new releases hoping for them to be bad (with a recent exception being Cats), and this could have had some awesome potential to be a family friendly video game flick, with enough for adults to enjoy, but instead, we got a poorly written, mess of kids movie with a decent amount of poop and fart jokes, bad dialogue, and just no real standout moments aside from a sequence in a bar and the climatic final battle. Anyways, here is an incredibly informal review of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Based on the global blockbuster video game franchise from Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog tells the story of the world’s speediest hedgehog as he embraces his new home on Earth. In this live-action adventure comedy, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his new best friend Tom (James Marsden) team up to defend the planet from the evil genius Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and his plans for world domination. — Paramount Pictures
This was significantly less fun that I expected. Almost none of the humor landed with me, with a few exceptions from Marsden and Carrey, the writing was really just abysmal with characters often knowing things they shouldn’t or referencing something like they’ve heard it before when they haven’t (example: Tom asks Sonic why he keeps calling him “Donut Lord” after he calls him that for THE FIRST TIME), and the plot was just… I don’t even know. And yes, it’s a kids movie about Sonic the Hedgehog, but let’s not act like kids movies have to be so dumbed down. Shrek, Shrek 2, How to Train Your Dragon, and all of the Pixar & Studio Ghibli films are prime examples of how kids movies should be made. Media to be enjoyed and consumed by children, that can be enjoyed by adults, and have meanings that resonate with viewers of any age.
I can’t even sit here and write a paragraph praising the cinematography, directing, or musical score, as they have already just been flushed out of my mind. Leaving little impact, the biggest travesty is that the only time any music from the Sonic video games appear is very briefly at the end following the victory over Robotnik. The Sonic series has some of the most iconic video game music in history, and for some reason they just chose to not use it, while also not creating any memorable original music to go along with it.
I know this has sounded extremely negative, but here are a few reasons this gets a ★★1/2:
• Jim Carrey as Robotnik is fantastic casting, and even with poor writing he knocks it out of the park
• the bar sequence is A+
• the final 15 minutes or so of the movie make me really want a sequel, just with better creative minds behind it
Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t very good, save for the occasional funny joke from James Marsden or Jim Carrey, and a very intriguing set-up for a potential sequel. It is not offensively bad by any means, and should you need a movie to take your kids to for a few hours, there have without a doubt been worst options in that past few years (looking at you Minions). If you are an adult without children reading this and hoping that this might have been a nice love letter to your favorite speedy blue hedgehog, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that is not what you should be expecting. Instead, go see Birds of Prey, Parasite, or Portrait of a Lady on Fire (if it’s playing near you) instead this weekend!
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