Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Sonic the Hedgehog
- 3/5 Cameras 🎥🎥🎥
- Directed by: Jeff Fowler
- Starring: Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, and Jim Carrey
- Where to find it: Netflix
 |
| No Copyright Infringement Intended |
Sonic the Hedgehog is a household name, there’s no doubt
about that. Since the now-beloved blue speedster first appeared in his own SEGA
game in 1991, he’s become a character almost synonymous with the term ‘video game’,
but will his long-awaited live-action (sort of) cinematic debut be worth the
wait?
Sonic the Hedgehog’s first silver screen adventure follows
the titular blue extra-terrestrial (voiced by Ben Schwartz) as he finds himself
on Earth after his homeworld becomes unsafe. Alone on Earth, Sonic has spent
years hiding from humanity and concealing his abilities, but when an incident leads
to him almost being discovered, Sonic must team up with local sheriff Tom Wachowski
(James Marsden) to stop mad scientist Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carey) from using his
powers for evil.
One of the things this film does well is assume that
audiences are already familiar with the character of Sonic the Hedgehog. In
most cases, this assumption would be correct, and the film, therefore, spends
little time on Sonic’s origins, instead opting to jump straight into the action
that fans were expecting. This lack of origin may be a disappointment to some,
but the only way to rectify this would be by increasing the film’s run-time,
which in my opinion would have been a mistake.
Cast your mind back to 2019, when the first trailer for
Sonic the Hedgehog dropped. Fans were so disgusted by the animated hedgehog’s
appearance, mainly by his features looking too human-like, that the animators eventually
decided to push the release date back 3 months so that they were able to
completely redesign the main character. Luckily, this redesign turned out a lot
slicker than the original and makes for a less jarring viewing experience, but
a film with an animated lead is only as good as its’ lead voice actor, and thankfully
Ben Schwartz delivers. I’m not saying that Schwartz gives an award-worthy
performance here, but he does bring the character to life in a way that’s fun for
all the family, and even adds some emotional depth at times. Elsewhere, James
Marsden makes for a fine supporting character in Tom Wachowski, he’s nothing
special but the buddy-cop dynamic he has with Sonic elevates the film slightly.
However, as with any film where he is allowed to let loose and be as
balls-to-the-wall nuts as he wants, Jim Carrey is a standout as the mad
scientist Dr. Robotnik. Carrey’s eccentric mannerisms bring the famous villain
to life in a satisfying way, and once again show where the universally loved
actor’s true talents lie.
Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t a perfect movie, in fact, it’s far
from it. Many plot points fail to make sense and much of the film is devoid of
any logic. For example, are we really supposed to believe that a bar full of
people wouldn’t question an anthropomorphic hedgehog drinking with them? Additionally,
the movie takes heavy inspiration (or maybe it’s just stealing) from Quicksilver’s
infamous running sequences in recent X-Men movies, which makes you wish this film
could have found a way to be more original.
Despite these flaws, however, Sonic the Hedgehog achieves
its goal of being a fun, family-friendly movie that isn’t meant to be pulled apart
by critics but instead enjoyed for what it is. And yes, I am eagerly awaiting
the arrival of the Idris Elba-voiced Knuckles in the sequel.
Comments
Post a Comment