I was dreading this third installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game adaptation franchise, so imagine my utter shock and bewilderment when I made it to the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and found myself mostly entertained, amused, and even occasionally moved by the further adventures of super-powered alien beings Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), Knuckles (Idris Elba), and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey).
The three still live with their human hosts Tom and Maggie (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter, respectively), and are enjoying some collective downtime as a family, celebrating the anniversary of Sonic’s arrival on Earth when agents from the military organization known as Gun, led by Director Rockwell (Krysten Ritter), arrive. They're asking for Team Sonic’s help in tracking down and capturing an escaped new adversary, yet another Hedgehog named Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers like nothing they have seen before and a grudge against humanity that could literally lead to the end of life on Earth. When the team realizes they are outmatched in every way, they must forge an unlikely and uneasy alliance with their arch enemy Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to help save the planet.
So why is Sonic 3 a better film in almost every way than its predecessors? I have a couple ideas about this.
For the first time, Jim Carrey is allowed to get fully unhinged, playing not one but two looney characters—he also plays Robotnik’s long-lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, who originally worked with Shadow when he was first captured. No one could get through to the hedgehog until he met a young girl named Maria (Alyla Browne), who befriended him and was taken from him in such a way that made him inconsolable.
Another reason the film works is that the voice and personality of Shadow is provided by Keanu Reeves, essentially using his John Wick voice and low-key rage persona. The elder Robotnik uses Shadow’s grief about Maria to manipulate the poor little guy and convince him that ending humanity is the only course of action.
Sonic 3 has the same director (Jeff Fowler) as the first two films, so the reason this installment is exponentially better isn’t due to a change at the helm of the series. But there is something noticeably improved about the action sequences, the animation/live-action interactions, the comedy, and the dramatic elements, which is perhaps the film’s greatest surprise.
Shadow is the ultimate emo creation, and the film benefits greatly from Reeves taking the assignment seriously. Most of the human characters outside of the ones Carrey portrays aren’t given much to do or anything resembling depth, and perhaps that’s the film’s weakest accomplishment. Still, a great deal of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 does work, including its fairly lengthy mid-credits sequence that introduces yet another new character (I have no idea who it is, but save it for the sequel). An informal look around my kid-heavy screening this week revealed a theater full of children enraptured by what they were watching. Count me in that group as well.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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