I was very much surprised and charmed by the first ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’, but I don’t remember if I have seen the sequel or if I missed it. So, coming into ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ meant there was a lot of goodwill from the first film that was carried into the cinema with me. Surrounded by a family with their unruly children (really, parents should learn to discipline their kids in public spaces), I was expecting to have a really good time with the third installment of this series. I was quite disappointed when the charm and warmth that the first film had was gone and was replaced by an over emphasis on plot while, at the same time, sidelining it to give way for Jim Carrey to have his gags.
In the third installment, we are introduced to Shadow (voiced by Keanu Reeves), another hedgehog who appears faster and stronger than Sonic and unlike our protagonist, he’s not a nice hedgehog. Shadow has been locked up in a containment cell for the last 50 years, but he awakens in the first ten minutes of the film, frees himself, and wreaks havoc in the nearby city of Tokyo. In the other side of the world, Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessy), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) are having a picnic with Tom (James Marsden) and Madie (Tika Sumpter), They celebrate Sonic’s first arrival on earth and at a race, they manage to find Sonic’s old cave (from the first movie). Here, Sonic and Tom get to talk about choices and being a good person – a very scripted scene that underlines the theme of the whole film and you know will be important later on – before the agents of G.U.N, come to take Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to Tokyo to face off Shadow.
When Shadow proves invincible, Sonic must resort to working with Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who is determined to find out who is using his technology without his permission. The team-up is short-lived, though, for they discover that Shadow is working with Professor Robotnik (also played by Carrey), Dr. Robotnik’s grandfather.
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles must reunite with Tom and Madie and figure out how to stop Shadow, and the two evil Robotnik’s from taking over the world.
What makes ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ arduous is that the film feels like multiple segments leading up to an obvious realisation at the end of the film for its two main characters (three if you count Dr. Robotnik). The film’s formula is way out in the open for you to see and nothing about its elaborate plot feels surprising. What makes it even worse is that the film’s tedious plot ends up pausing and taking breaks so that Jim Carrey can play out a sketch or a gag – and with two Jim Carreys in a scene, it can get a little overindulgent – and the whole pacing of the film is ruined. Some gags are funny. Some feel tired and old. Some the kids in the audience loved and others went way above their heads.
When the big finale comes, without that feeling of surprise and the callback to the obviously scripted parts about the choices people need to make, the film feels spoiled before it even got a chance to get good.
The only thing that still manages to surprise me is how good James Marsden is with such a flimsy script. He is practically performing to a CGI character and I’m not privy to how the scenes were shot, if there was a puppet or if Ben Schwartz was actually there, but Marsden really sells Tom’s good guy persona and makes it believable that he’s talking to a blue, anthropomorphic hedgehog from another part of the universe. It’s such an amazing performance. Jim Carrey is Jim Carrey. He’s good at that. Whether you are tired of his shtick or if it can still capture you (like it still sometimes does, for me), then that’s a personal thing.
It’s unfortunate that none of the heart and warmth of the first film found its way to ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ but consider the response of the kids in the cinema when that mid credit scene came out, the fourth looks like it still has an audience excited and waiting for the sequel.
My Rating:
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now showing in cinemas! Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.
