The popular Sega game character comes dashing to the big screen in a fun-filled buddy romp!
Sonic the Hedgehog first burst on the scene in 1991 as a video game by Sega. Since then his popularity has increased. He has been the star of multiple cartoons shows and comics books, and of course, more video games. Fans are passionate about this little hedgehog.
So does the movie live up to the hype?
Sonic ends up on Earth at a young age, after escaping evil forces try to harness his speed. He escapes using these teleporting rings. He settles down in a small town. As time passes, Sonic still stay in hiding, but feels a kinship with local sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden). Sonic ends up forming a one-sided bond with Tom. Tom, himself, is tired of small town life and has put in to be a cop in San Francisco. When Sonic inadvertently makes himself known to the world, the US Government sends Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), a mad scientist who favors robots to human interaction, to find out what the cause is. Sonic goes to hide at Tom’s house, but ends up surprising Tom, getting shot with a tranquiler, and having his teleporting rings transported to San Francisco. Tom, feeling guilt and compassion for Sonic, agrees to accompany Sonic to San Francisco to recover the rings. But with Dr. Robonik in hot pursuit, with Sonic and Tom get to San Francisco in time to recover the rings and allow Sonic to teleport to another safe planet?
OK, before I really get into it, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. When the trailer first dropped, there was a lot negative feedback on Sonic’s look. The studio went back and fixed it. I got to admit it was a huge improvement. It’s not perfect as I’ve seen with some CGI, but you need to use your suspension of disbelief.
This was a really fun family, buddy, roadtrip film. It doesn’t take itself too serious and was actually quiet enjoyable. There’s a little of everything in here. Jokes for kids. Jokes for adults. And plenty of stuff for fans of Sonic. The pacing was great, and the next thing you know, the film is over, and you liked it!
Ben Schwartz voices Sonic and Schwartz is no stranger to voice over work. Schwartz currently voices Dewey on the Duck Tales reboot and Leonardo on the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Schwartz add a lot of inflection to the CGI character. You can truly feel all the emotions that Schwartz is portraying.
James Marsden does what he does best: playing the straight guy. I really like Marsden but he does a great job as Tom. Someone trapped in a small town with dreams of bigger life. Marsden playing of a CGI character is very seamless. The banter between Tom and Sonic really comes across as natural and works on screen.
Jim Carrey is the one who seriously steals the show here. It is so nice to see Carrey just go over the top. It’s just so nice to see him just let loose and be that funnyman.
Bottom line, yes this film is no Oscar winner, but it’s fun. Like I said before, it’s a fun all ages film. Definitely worth checking out!
Many thanks to Paramount Picture for allowing us to check this film out. What was really cool about the screening is most times for movie screenings it’s either just you, or you plus 1. Paramount allowed reviewers to bring our whole families. As a dad, I really appreciate a sentiment like that. There are still a lot of movie studios that don’t do that with their family films. It turns work into a fun event.
Sonic The Hedgehog opens everywhere, Friday, February 14th!
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Glad to hear that the movie was actually fun! I might as well check it out.