If
any film has been a major topic of discussion within the past few years, it’s
hands down the film adaptation of Sonic
the Hedgehog. What started out at seeming to be like the next worst thing
since a live action Disney remake, the Sonic
movie seemed like an initially horrible idea and possibly worse execution of
it. But thanks to a rare delay in production changing the character design, the
film has become one of the more supported video game adaptations for taking
such a risk and seemingly pay off. However, does that make for a good movie?
While not an end all be all film based around the blue blur, Sonic the Hedgehog serves as a fairly
entertaining film adaptation that even despite some flaws as a film and
adaptation is a nice serviceable rendition of the iconic SEGA character.
Geared More Towards Younger Than
Older Fans
The
film of course centers on Sonic living as recluse on Earth and enjoying himself
until the government finds out about his existence and he has to return to his
original home. He teams up with a Police Officer named Tom to try to make it so
he’s safe and away from the clutches of the evil Dr. Robotnik. For a franchise with such an extensive
history as Sonic, many would expect
for his first appearance on the silver screen to be a grand explosion of
awesomeness the blue blur is known for with in-jokes and references on the
level of something like Spider-Verse.
The downside is, the film isn’t really that and instead serves as a road trip
movie with a very childlike tone and humor attached to it. It feels very
similar to other live action hybrid kids’ films with not a whole lot of
substance and very joke heavy. Some would not take issue with this however,
because Sonic is essentially a kid’s
video game franchise, so having the film geared more towards kids would not be
an issue typically. However, something that should have been considered more
often is the fact that Sonic has a massive fan base that have been around with
him throughout his near 30 year history. With so many games, shows and comics
really expanding on the lore and doing unique things, one would have hope that
this could have been a huge celebration of the character introducing film
audiences to the character in a faithful fan service movie with some edge to
it. Unfortunately, that’s not the case because it feels fairly standard with a
straightforward story and typically elements you’d see in a kids film. That’s
not to say there isn’t any fan service or neat references here or there but not
as much as one would hope for. That’s not to say the movie is bad however,
because even for its more child friendly tone, it still relatively works. The
film never goes ridiculously insulting with out of place try hard references or
incredibly cringe worthy humor that is seen in films like the Aladdin remake. There are modern humor
and references, but that is something that has usually been associated with
Sonic’s hip attitude so it doesn’t feel too out of place here. For what it is worth,
it does serve as a very cute and fun kids' movie that does have enough energy
and character to it that younger fans of the series can enjoy. Think of it like
Paddington except with more modern
day internet humor that could appeal to kids, and in that way, it does work.
Nails the Blue Blur as a Character
If
there’s anything that should be right about a film like this, it’s the title
character and how he is represented as part of a big franchise like this.
Fortunately, Sonic the Hedgehog himself is fantastic being every bit the fast, smart
talking mammal with attitude that so many fell in love with. Not only does the
character look great with so much expression and personality based on the new
redesign alone, but Ben Schwartz gives a very good performance that is true to
his character. He is the best part of the movie as he should be, but it would
not hurt to mention how fun Dr. Robotnik is in the film. The casting of Jim
Carrey as the character seemed so bizarre that it had to work and it does as
Carrey looks like he is having the time of his life playing the character. He’s
an over the top mad scientist that adds to the movie’s energy just like how
Eggman should be in the first place. The downside is, outside of the main two
characters, there’s not a whole lot of this movie from a character standpoint.
The human characters feel very standard for this movie with not a whole lot,
such as Tom, who doesn’t have a whole lot to him as a character outside of
having a decent chemistry with Sonic thanks to James Marsden’s performance. The
film is at its weakest when it focuses on the human element that doesn’t really
need to be there and feels very much like filler to a good extent. Thankfully,
it’s not a huge distraction from the movie as the film still is very much more
focused on Sonic and Robotnik for a good 75% of the film. It does feel like it
goes through a bit of a halt when watching the scenes with the humans only, but
fortunately it picks up big time thanks to Sonic’s high speed energy feeling
very appropriate for the fast pace character.
CGI Characters with Personality and
Passion Behind Them
The
Redesign of Sonic as mentioned earlier was one of the best decisions the
filmmakers had for this movie. Not only because it looks so much better, but
more so because it showed how the people behind this film were willing to make
something good for the fans as opposed to being plagued by soulless studio
executives. A lot of modern day films have this issue of trying to be more
realistic when they’re based on animated properties to a fault where the
characters just look unexpressive and grotesques looking. The Sonic movie escapes that trend because
this was a film made by people who cared more about the property than anyone
who greenlit something like a live action Disney remake would. Sonic doesn’t
look like a realistic hedgehog because he’s not supposed to, he looks cartoony
and expressive just the way fans initially loved the character for. Even
outside of the design, it still is a relatively decent looking movie with some
fun action sequences that really emphasized the sense of speed Sonic is known
for even if it does feel similar to films like the recent X-men movies. Sonic does
get some respect for making it an expressive CGI character that isn’t plagued by
studio interference and should be more of a standard for future films based on
animated properties.
A Solid Sonic Movie that Deserves a
Chance
Sonic the Hedgehog
is not quite a game changer of a film nor is it the 100% perfect film for the
character but as a first attempt into the film world, it is decent. It caters
more towards the kids than older Sonic
fans but it’s not too much of an issue due to how expressive and fun the movie
can be, especially when representing Sonic.
If a sequel were to be made from the ground up with the new design in
mind, it could be a vast improvement from what came prior being a full on Sonic movie. As it is however, Sonic the Hedgehog is a movie that is
cute and faithful enough that it deserves a chance especially from longtime
fans of the series. It’s not the ultimate mania of a Sonic experience but the
fastest thing alive has experienced slower days for sure.
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