Sonic The Hedgehog

In the early days of the console wars, a rivalry was formed between Nintendo and Sega regarding their own respective heavy hitters, Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. While the latter soar to new heights in the video game industry, the blue speedster ended up struggling the past 2 decades in attempting to remain relevant and consistent for his target demographic in video games (troubles began in mid-2000s). In the attempts to try and capture the magic of the good old days, trying to mix in weird concepts with bizarre bugs/controls turned him into an inconsistent dead horse. This brings us to the newest video game movie that would officially bring him to the big screen, Sonic The Hedgehog. This movie made its mark on the public with a controversy regarding the initial design of the titular character being the bizarre nightmare audiences didn't know they didn't want, which resulted in fan backlash against the film and its release date was delayed so that a redesign could be done to remedy the publicity. I entered the auditorium ready to see what it can bring and left it glad I gave it a chance to find the good qualities in it.

Note: As for my experience on the franchise, I'm not a fan of Sonic as I haven't played the games (maybe a demo or two) and I'm more fascinated by the fanbases reaction to the modern entries in the series. I'll be judging this movie on its own merits, not on how it adapts elements of the material. Unfortunately, Motion Picture Company, the British visuals effects and production that had worked on the redesign had closed their office tied to it.

What's it about? Taking place a couple of years after arriving into East from his world, the titular lead finds himself as the target of a malevolent scientist while trying to find a way back home. This premise is basically every 1990s and 2000s family comedy adventure plot, which isn't a bad thing when trying to keep a source material started with the basics before moving to the next level. There are some angles presented here that work well such as empathy for the effect years of loneliness have on Sonic, plenty of fun Easter Eggs fans will enjoy, and the decent battles between the hero and villain. There's enough entertainment value in the first and third acts that can certainly satisfy for its genre. The best way to describe the strengths is that it has something that Pokemon: Detective Pikachu lacked: an interesting and hilarious hero-villain relationship.

However, the problems here basically lie in a couple of notable areas. The middle section drags quite a bit in stretching the runtime by becoming a predictable road trip flick, which becomes an excuse to drop in a bar and get into a goofy fight. It's a forgettable section that's only held up by the outside villain antics and the usage of a slow-motion action sequence that fellow speedster Quicksilver from the Marvel X-Men movies would sue this adventure for ripping him off (if he was real). The humor is very hit or miss with Jim Carrey delivering most of them well while others just fall flat (including a far joke for Sonic). There's some blatant product placement that's awkwardly shoehorned in and feels unnatural (particularly the ending where it's utilized to compensate a side character for the trouble with the law he went through). To jump back to the comparison I made about Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, Sonic the Hedgehog lacks more developed world building that the former had (both movies are on the opposite sides of the same coin).

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey. Ben is a solid entertainer in this family adventure with the energetic charisma he induces into this protagonist trying to be upbeat about his current predicament. Jim is the MVP of the actors by using pent-up acting momentum and overacting as this over-the-top scientist who could care less about human casualties as he ventures onto his goals. Honorable mentions go to James Marsden for looking like he actually likes the project he's on where he does what he needs to do for his role.

Overall Consensus: Sonic the Hedgehog is a basic predictable video game adaptation with pretty solid performances, nice action, and a fun spirit but suffers due to hit or miss humor and world building that needed more effort.⭑⭑⭑1/2* Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes PG
*At the time I saw this last month I would have given it a viewing type of recommendation like I usually do (either theater or at home). But since I held off on finishing this until now, I'm leaving it out due to the climate at the time of this reviews release.

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors. You enjoy the aforementioned franchise. You want to give video game adaptations a chance. You don't mind predictable 1990s-2000s family movie stories with hit or miss humor.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors. You dislike the aforementioned franchise. You don't want to give video game adaptations a chance. You are bored with predictable 1990s-2000s family movie stories with hit or miss humor.