Mucking with Movies: “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”

Call it hubris or the fact I’ve played most of the Sonic games, but I was confident I’d be able to keep up with the “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” plot despite not having seen the first two in the trilogy.

And I could!

It does not gatekeep knowledge like a Marvel film of the past five years or feel the need to prove itself like a Star Wars installment; its mindlessness is almost refreshing. It introduces characters with a minimum amount of exposition, which provides a rapid pace that is still an easy current to merge into. Director Jeff Fowler has plenty of practice by now, as he has directed each installment in the franchise and is smart to ensure “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” does not dawdle or dither. It knows its goals, however limited they are, and delivers to its audience what they paid to see. 

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has a willingness to accept its preposterousness. That character introduction I mentioned earlier is for the evil twin version of Sonic known in the games as Shadow. Shadow is locked up on an island in Tokyo Bay, referred to appropriately as “Prison Island.” I

It’s a little detail but is also an exquisitely telling one. It is funny, that calling a vital plot piece something so simple as “Prison Island” circumvents expectations. You’re expecting something grandiose, but instead, you are rewarded with the succinct and telling “Prison Island.” Furthermore, it fills in all the information you need for your new antagonist.

Right away, you know that he’s dangerous; in fact, he’s SUCH a dangerous abomination that he needs his own island to keep him away from the general population. Frozen in a tank, the station’s two nameless goon security guards jump from talking about how “He’s been asleep for fifty years!” To “Oh my god, he’s waking up!” within a five-minute span — no meaningless build-up that drags on for too long with the audience caring too little or banal explanations on Shadow’s place in the cosmic universe, just a beautifully simple setup of Here’s-your-villain-now-settle-in-for-your-movie.

Shadow is very well-designed; he looks incredibly slick and cool and exactly how you would imagine an alter ego Sonic would look like. It both pays homage to the original video game version while translating neatly to the silver screen. Voiced by Keanu Reeves, I wish he had gotten a few more lines, as I think the role was perfectly cast. The few words he does get to say are delivered with his trademark stellar coolness that fits the Shadow persona so well — to be lucky enough to have Reeves as that character and wring as much as you possibly can out of him is a disappointment. The one glaring mistake in the film. 

Speaking of wringing as much as you possibly can out of a role: Jim Carrey returns as Dr. Robotnik! Carrey is constantly threatening to retire from acting, and for the most part, he has. The only sets he shows up to are for the Sonic movies. That’s not an exaggeration, by the way; the last non-Sonic role he took was nearly ten years ago, in 2016. In fact, in this flick, he pulls double duty, playing opposite of himself as Dr. Robotnik and as his long-lost grandfather, General Robotnik.

I think it’s noteworthy and frankly rather hilarious that Carrey has decided this is going to be the one role he’s willing to do, while Reeves has also turned a multitude of Marvel roles but accepted this one and appearances in two SpongeBob Squarepants movies. I don’t know what, but this says something about something. Carrey is as hilarious in this one as he was in the past two, as he has been in almost every role he’s ever been asked to be comedic in. He’s up in that tier with Chris Farley and Will Ferrell in his ability to make almost every line or mannerism laugh out loud funny. Now add in a very game Idris Elba as Knuckles, and you have an ensemble of charming and appealing Sonic characters. 

The film has one ending, which only goes along with what a nice change of pace blockbuster “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” is. The ending comes when you expect it and is tied up as neatly as you would want. It all comes together at once, and you leave the theater feeling satisfied. 

Critic Score: 6.0/10

Jack Simon is a mogul coach and writer/director who enjoys eating food he can’t afford, traveling to places out of his budget, and creating art about skiing, eating, and traveling while broke. Check out his website jacksimonmakes.com to see his Jack’s Jitney travelogue series. You can email him at jackdocsimon@gmail.com for inquiries of any type.