by Nick Nitkowski

Looking back at the humble beginnings of how the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie came to be, it’s truly amazing to see how far we’ve come with this franchise. We all remember the nightmare fuel that was Sonic’s original design which horrified fans so badly that they took to the internet to voice their disdain for the design. But what was very unexpected afterward was the fact that the filmmakers heard the voice of the fans and instead of shrugging it off and releasing it as is, they actually listened and delayed the film’s release in order to do a complete overhaul of Sonic’s design, which we can all agree was a major improvement. If that didn’t happen, I’m confident in saying that we would not be here discussing “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”, but here we are. We’ve come a long way to get here. So now, I’m sure you must be wondering just one thing, how is this third Sonic movie?

It should go without saying that if you are a fan of Sonic, there is no doubt in my mind that you are going to absolutely enjoy this third installment. I know this to be true because I myself am also a fan of Sonic! I had such a blast with this movie! It was chock-full of action, humor, and amazing moments for the fans. You could say that it is darker than the first two movies, but not too dark because it’s still a family movie and families have to be able to take their kids to see it without any trauma. I believe all elements of action, humor, and darkness were all well-balanced in this film.

With this being a third film, we have some recurring characters from the previous films such as of course, Sonic voiced again by Ben Schwartz, Knuckles voiced by Idris Elba, Tails voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and for the live-action characters we have Tom and Maddie played again by James Marsden and Tika Sumpter, Agent Stone played again by Lee Majdoub, and Dr. Robotnik was played brilliantly once again by Jim Carrey, which was a very welcomed surprise considering that he announced his retirement from acting shortly after the release of “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”. There was a moment when no one was sure if he’d be returning to the franchise. Now that it has long been confirmed, we are all so very glad to see him return to this role. 

We are also introduced to some new characters as well. Most notably and fan-favorite, myself included, Shadow the Hedgehog voiced by Keanu Reeves. A very welcomed addition who I thought did a great job voicing the role of this vengeance-seeking hedgehog. We also have the introduction of Dr. Robotnik’s long-lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik played by… Jim Carrey also! That’s right! Jim Carrey is playing two Robotniks in this third Sonic movie and he greatly chews up every scene that he is in with great delight. There was never a dull moment when the Robotniks were on screen.

What else is there that I can really say about this movie? I’m sure I don’t need to sell you “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”. If you have seen any of the Sonic movies, go start with the first one and work your way up provided that you like what you see. Without spoiling anything in this review, this movie was definitely made with the fans in mind. It’s the fans that salvaged this franchise from a dead-on-arrival fate with the first film. This goes to show that when you cater to the fans of the source material, you are bound to have a great return. 

This movie, in my personal opinion, was so much better than “Mufasa: The Lion King”. The only reason why I bring this up is because both movies are competing for family dollars this weekend and of the two, I believe “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is more deserving of your money this weekend. You could do a double feature if you so choose, but I’d sooner watch “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” a second time before watching “Mufasa” again. I eagerly await the results of this weekend’s box office. Mainly because I would love to see Sonic outrank the Lion King. 

Overall, I had an amazing time watching “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”. It had lots of moments that had me laughing as well as many amazing action sequences that had my eyes glued to the screen. There were even a few moments that had the audience cheering their heads off. So, there’s plenty of fun to be had with this movie. All the voice acting for all the characters are great and Jim Carrey’s performance as two Robotniks is also great. Granted, not every joke worked for me in this movie, but that’s a small thing compared to how much fun I had watching it. And like I said before, I really hope this film’s box office results cast a very big Shadow this weekend. I can’t wait to see it again.

4.5 stars