Sonic: The Hedgehog Film review

Posted on March 23rd, 2020

Ever since my first post for Urban Youth Magazine, I have been looking forward to this flick since its first trailer came out (despite the controversy.) I watched the lovable, blue hedgehog adaptation of the SEGA videogame, Sonic the Hedgehog, at my local cinema, live music and diner.

Story of a Lone Hedgehog

After the low-bit animation of the credits, the opening scene fades in bird’s eye view of a light-blue trail and an aircraft – high-speed chase in downtown San Francisco. It’s Sonic (Ben Schwartz) running from Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey).

Sonic explains from memory, as a child, he was raised by his step-mother, Longclaw the Owl (Donna Jay Fulks), and was blessed with the abilities of super speed. A tribe of echidna archers shoots Longclaw with an arrow during an ambush. She advices Sonic to keep his powers hidden and uses a golden ring in order to open a portal to Earth.

Settling on Earth, in Green Hills, Montana, Sonic comes across many residents of this small town including Sheriff, Thomas “Tom” Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife, Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter), though after an accidental power outage, it brings the detention of the United States’ Department of Defence, of whom that enlists Dr. Robotnik to capture Sonic.

Uncanny Mess or SEGA Picture Hit

From the start, Sonic the Hedgehog was a load of fun. Although it has not got quite the heart of a Disney/Pixar film like Toy Story or Finding Nemo, it still had a bit of nuance of a family-friendly affair. Schwartz’s fan-favourite hedgehog was easy to relate to as he is a lone, an interesting take on the usually overconfident, slightly impulsive yet easy-going character.

There are solid performances from the likes of Schwartz, Marsden and Carrey, which really carried the film. Despite the simplicity of the straight–and–narrow plot, Schwartz’s Sonic and the career-driven Tom are a duo not unlike Mark Wahlberg’s John Bennett and the potty-mouthed, cheeky-chappy, Ted. Carrey’s hammy side breathes life into the sociopathic and unhinged Dr. Robotnik.

Despite the film not having much in the way of heart and the gags were not landing as well, Casey and Miller’s script did more for thrills and adventure. The director, clearly, had a passion in making the best possible live-action Sonic film as the action set-pieces were stunning to say the least – though a bit over-stylized – the great sequences were the unforgettable global Robotnik and Sonic chase.

Sonic the Hedgehog stars Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally and Neal McDonough. Jeff Fowler is directing from a screenplay by Pat Casey and Josh Miller. Neal H. Moritz, Takeshi Ito, Mic Onishi and Toru Nakahara are producing under Original Film in association with SEGA, Blur Studio and Marza Animation Inc. Paramount is distributing. Sonic will be released on Digital end of March 2020 and will drop on DVD and Blu-ray in May 2020.

 

 Rating: 7/10

 

 

Words by Andre Farquharson

Online Editor/Interviewer at Urban Youth

Twitter: @lildre_cains

 

 

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