Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Powers Up The Franchise

One of the primary problems with the infamous Sonic ’06 game, among many, including glitches and god-awful voice acting, is the bloated nature of the story. One fastest living hedgehog wasn’t enough. Now you have Silver the Hedgehog on top of Shadow, Tails, Amy, Blaze, Dr. Eggman, some evil demon that looks like Shadow, a human child and way too much more. After a while, you forget Sonic is even in the game.Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the latest film from director Jeff Fowler and lead voice actor Ben Schwartz, could easily have been the filmmaking equivalent of Sonic ’06. With characters like Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, more than one Robotnik, Sonic’s human family, Tom (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter), and then finally, the blue hedgehog himself, there’s a potential for overkill. Plus, neither of the film’s predecessors impressed aside from being glorified fan service.

But Sonic the Hedgehog 3 doesn’t necessarily embrace a massive story with way too many characters. Instead, it uses convoluted Sonic canon to tell a genuinely impactful story that gives actors like Jim Carrey, playing Dr. Robotnik and his grandfather Professor Robotnik, a chance to shine again.

The movie still has some of the cliches and pitfalls of the modern blockbuster—with a massive chase for a MacGuffin that creates some deadly laser in the sky—and has some stiff voiceover work from the supporting characters and newcomers like Keanu Reeves, who plays Shadow. But Sonic the Hedgehog 3 still strikes at the heart more than either of its predecessors, making it a vast improvement for the film franchise.

The titular blue hedgehog starts out as he normally has in the past two films: messing around with Tom. This time, though, Tales (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba) accompany Sonic in the fun from the beginning. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 suffered mightily with storylines that felt so out of place and created a disjointed experience. Mike Crowley of Film Obsessive identified as such in his review, stating, “When our characters run back into the Wachowskis, the film comes to a screeching halt before gaining momentum again.”

What makes Sonic the Hedgehog 3 better comes from an acknowledgment that supporting characters can just be supporting characters. Wild concept, I know. Tom and Maddie are actually involved in the main story and don’t have a pointless side quest that’s shoehorned into the plot. But they are kept at a minimum and focus on the characters Sonic fans actually want to see. Additionally, Knuckles and Tales are fully by Sonic’s side the whole time and give the film some momentum.

With less time focused on way-too-big B stories, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 gives what people have actually enjoyed: Carrey as the nefarious doctor and professor. Whoever cooked up the idea that there should be two Jim Carrey’s might need a Christmas bonus because the comic actor remains a joy in the antagonistic role. Carrey mixes his physicality and his comedic instincts to make the doubling act work. As the two Robotniks dance with each other while wearing headsets, it’s hard not to crack a smile.

The artificial world in which the Robotniks bond actually creates an honest-to-god metaphor and foreshadows how this relationship will end. Unsurprisingly, Professor Robotnik is revealed to have much more sinister intentions and doesn’t care for his grandson. Through flashbacks, Robotnik and Shadow create a kind of family with the former’s granddaughter, Maria (Alyla Browne), who meets an unceremoniously early death that creates a rage inside the professor.

Carrey has a great dramatic actor inside of him. Look no further than Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or The Truman Show for clear examples of that. So once Professor Robotnik shows his thornier side—where he wants to get revenge on the entire world—we believe it.

Of course, revenge and edginess in a Sonic project wouldn’t be complete without Shadow the Hedgehog, who like the professor, wants everything to burn. The screenwriting trio of Pat Casey, Josh Miller and John Whittington tap into the Sonic games and classic script tricks to put the blue and black hedgehogs on the same playing field. One hedgehog had a supportive family through and through, another had it brutally ripped away from him.

This narrative strength of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 leads to an emotionally shocking moment when Shadow takes out Tom, causing Sonic to go into a rage-filled tailspin. Is it predictable? Absolutely. Does it pander to fans of the video game? Absolutely. But when a script has a coherent structure and purpose, emotions have the ability to feel more genuine.

One downside to Shadow in this film is how Keanu Reeves’ voice work translates to his CGI character. Sure, lines like “revenge guac” make you want to giggle. But Reeves, with his experience as John Wick, has some stiff line readings when trying to be the bad boy hedgehog. Part of this makes sense, considering some of the flashback sequences depict Shadow having a tough time trying to have fun with a human girl. On the other hand, once Shadow has to show moments of genuine humanity in the third act, therein lies a dissonance between the voice actor and the character. It’s similar to Elba’s initial performance as Knuckles, though there was a slight improvement in this film.

Still, Schwartz and O’Shaughnessey thrived as the two livelier hedgehogs. As Sonic builds up a vengeful anger towards Shadow, Schwartz genuinely puts together a performance that backs up good script writing. In other scenarios, audiences easily could have been inundated with boring plot mechanics and uninspired performances involving CGI characters. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 still definitely has those problems, holding it back from being a profound children’s work. But expecting that from SEGA would already be too much to begin with. So like when the video game company releases a good Sonic game such as Sonic Colors, it’s OK to give the film studio of the same name and Paramount some roses. Or in this case, some gold rings.