By Jack Ransom - December 19, 2024
The third instalment in what is easily the most successful video game series adaptation so far both from a commercial and fan pleasing perspective. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 sees Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Knuckles (Idris Elba) and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow (Keanu Reeves), a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance.
I think the first two Sonic films (and the Knuckles mini-series) are fine. They are easily watchable and have some genuinely creative utilisations of Sonic’s powers, fist in the air epic action moments and for every cringe inducing floss dance and pop culture reference, there is Jim Carrey having the time of his life screaming about latte’s and suiting up in a giant mech backed by Pantera riffs. I can’t deny though that I was genuinely quite excited about this third entry, largely due to my nostalgia surrounding the Shadow the Hedgehog PS2 game, of which has undoubtedly the greatest intro cutscene of all time and was a game that I played hours of back in the day. The trailers upped the stakes and it looked like there would be more prominence of the Edge Hog’s tragic origins.
Whilst that is the case here, the film once again falls into the trappings of its predecessors. The plot takes a little while to find its footing and really at this point both Tom and Maddie are essentially plot McGuffins. The humour is very much in the vein of “soooo that just happened!” and dated pop culture references (are we really still bringing up Green Lantern?). Obviously there is substantial humour aimed at a younger audience that had the kids in my screening cracking up and really they are who this is for. However, there are some gem lines here, Knuckles “dishonoring” his toasted marshmallow being a highlight and Jim Carrey once again absolutely stealing the screen in a dual role as both Ivo & Gerald Robotnik, the Galavanise dance sequence between the two of them is truly something to behold and a hilarious montage of them bonding together is silliness at its finest.
The film is at its best when centring on Shadow. Thanks to Reeves’ superb casting, Shadow’s bitterness, rage and quashed optimism and hope for humanity is palpable and makes for the most mature drama the trilogy has seen so far, especially when he and Sonic’s ideals and outlooks clash. His origin is sprinkled throughout the story and also ties into Robotnik’s character work here which is also surprisingly effective. Once it hits its stride the pacing rockets by and allows for a myriad of entertaining action beats. The gang’s first encounter with Shadow and he and Sonic’s chaotic bike chase, the London GUN headquarters infiltration attempt and a fan pleasing finale filled with bombast, a Man of Steel-esque super-powered punch up and Carrey balancing slapstick with genuine stakes… and mech-claws. The visual effects are mostly all top-notch, especially when it comes to the superpowered movement and spectacle, however there is some patchy greenscreen and the blocking/lighting can have the film feeling like an SNL skit at times.
Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba and Colleen O’Shaughnessey still have great chemistry and their enthusiasm in their performances radiates off the screen. Schwartz also gets to delve into
Sonic’s unseen rageful recesses at one significant moment. Jim Carrey’s utterly insane, babbling, bumbling pot bellied double Robotnik turn is a riot (more haircut montages backed by The Prodigy please) and he and Lee Majdoub’s Agent Stone’s relationship gets a charming focus here. Keanu Reeves is so damn good as Shadow here. Yeah, essentially he’s in John Wick mode, but he (alongside the excellent CGI animation) really showcases Shadow’s angst, snark, trauma and bubbling rage.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is going to be another sure fire hit for the Blue Blur, and after the crowd reaction to the post-credit scene I have no doubt in my mind that part 4 will be speeding into production soon. Shadow’s character work, Carrey’s craziness and a bombastic finale are the highlights and make up for the mixed bag of humour, choppy first act and familiar story beats.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 releases in cinemas December 20
