When the first Sonic The Hedgehog movie was announced – after having languished in development limbo for quite a while – there was some skepticism from many fans, myself included. Then when the first teaser trailer came out, the backlash to Sonic’s initial design was like you wouldn’t believe. Fortunately that little error was resolved and then when the film finally came out there was both a relief and a sense of joy from many fans who liked the film. Then when the second film was announced there was less skepticism and more optimism this time around, and the results were pretty good. Now there was the question of the third film – which was heavily teased at the end of the Sonic 2 – as to whether it could be as good as the previous two, or would it be the film that breaks the momentum?
Well, after watching the theatrical trailer as well as the movie itself, I think I can safely say that this film delivered on everything it promised and then some.
What I really like about the film is just the character dynamics between Sonic and his friends/family which has built up so well over the course of the previous two movies and even the Knuckles limited series to some extents. And it really was going to come in handy with what was coming around the bend with Shadow The Hedgehog appearing in this film, and this character more than tests Sonic and his friends like no other.
Realizing that desperate times call for desperate measures, Sonic grudgingly reaches out to Robotnik in hopes of trying to stop Shadow from doing any more damage, and while the crazed scientist seems willing to help, chaos – pun intended – breaks out.
Like I said before, this film takes the best of the previous two films and builds them into an incredible third part that is heavy on action as much as it is heavy on the heartfelt moments, which helps elevate the stakes and lead into an amazing conclusion. The fact that it takes cues from Sonic Adventure 2 – one of my personal favorites from my GameCube days – only makes it better for me personally.
As always, the cast knocks it out of the park. James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and Idris Ilba nail their roles so well, and Jim Carrey as Robotnik just steals the show every time he’s on screen. But the one who steals the show more than Carrey is Keanu Reeves as Shadow. Whoever ultimately made the decision to cast Reeves should be given a raise because his portrayal of Shadow really elevated everything fans knew to a higher degree. From the broodiness to the sadness and anger, you know it’s Shadow on the screen. And best of all, even if you weren’t familiar with him via the games, this film will show you everything you need to know about Shadow. Plus, having him as a mirror image of what Sonic could have become really shows that this won’t be easy at all for Sonic and he can’t do this alone.
Does this mean that the Sonic film series is done? Well, if you stuck around to the end you’ll get your answer. Either way, all three Sonic films are worth watching, because while they add something new via the human characters, at the same token the movies keep the feel of what makes the Sonic mythos special. So even if you never played the games or seen the 90s animated series like SatAM, you will watch this and recognize is as Sonic without feeling out of place.
With three successful films, who knows where Cinema Sonic goes from here. But either way, this Arcader is looking forward to what’s next!
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