HOLLYWOOD—I have seen most of the “Sonic: The Hedgehog” movies mainly because my nieces and nephews adore the character who is a staple in the videogame verse. Yes, that is where I notably know the character from because I played the video game growing up as a kid on Sega. The first one was something interesting, the second one while cheesy still delivered the laughs and you get the same with this third installment that introduces another baddie, one that is our biggest threat to our hero.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has some fantastic special effects. They are absolutely fun to watch on the big screen and just continues to show the evolution in cinema in terms of what can be done with actual visual effects with movies. We have Sonic (voice of Ben Schwartz) back, in addition to Tails (voice of Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (voice of Idris Elba). The three are living as a happy family with their adoptive parents Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter).
All that family love is disrupted when the gang receives a visit from GUN (Guardian Units of Nations) requesting their help to capture an alien form that is the best version of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails all combined, better known as Shadow (voice of Keanu Reeves). Put it like this, Shadow is what Sonic would be if he was bad, and instead of being blue he’s black and he can teleport and move at wicked speeds.
Hands down he’s the toughest opponent our hero has encountered up till this point. So when Shadow wrecks havoc in Japan, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles attempt capture, but find themselves sorely beat up in the process that brings us back to the re-introduction of Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey). Look, I can’t imagine anyone else portraying this role except for Carrey after seeing him embody the character. He has the mannerisms, he has the look and he almost has the voice of the iconic villain to a ‘T.’ So imagine the audience’s fun when we get to see an older version of the character this time embodied as Ivo’s long lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. He’s even kookier and hilarious than his grandson.
Unfortunately, the movie’s trailer spoils that twist, but it raises a bigger question as to who is Ivo’s father and why haven’t we seen the character after three movies? Perhaps he will be revealed in the next entry slated to hit theaters in the near future. I will admit the movie has plenty of laughs, not just for the kiddos, but for the adults as well. While some of the jokes and the antics are indeed very cheesy and obvious, you can’t help, but chuckle.
What is very obvious with this third outing is that the pacing is off slightly. This movie clocks in close to two hours, around one hour and 50 minutes to be exact and it didn’t need to be that long. About 15 to 20 minutes could have been trimmed off and the movie would have still worked well where you don’t have dad moments in the story. I did notice some kids and adults get a little restless near the end of the second act and the start of the third act because it feels like a whole lot of nothing is taking place.
I found the third entry to be effective in the franchise, it just needed to highlight the primary characters more and not introduce characters we don’t know all that much about as if they’re major players when they’re not. Not sure the purpose of Shemar Moore and Natasha Rothwell’s characters besides giving the audience a slice of Maddie’s sister and her hubby. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” grossed over $200 million at the domestic box office and even more on a global scale, so be prepared for “Sonic the Hedgehog 4” in the near future, and it works as a movie that can entertain the entire family regardless of age.
