I've been meaning to talk about this film for a while; I've just never had any proper excuse to really talk about it. But thanks to the lovely people who voted for this film to be my next review on Twitter, the excuse has arrived.
With that said, had this film come out when it was supposed to in November of 2019, it is likely that not everyone would be so eager to experience it after... well, THIS abomination:
This happened. We let it happen. Let us hope that it never happens again.
Needless to say, we as audiences members were horrified that yet another icon of video games was going to be subjected to a bastardisation in celluloid form. Virtually everything about this trailer seemed wrong, but not in the fun way that makes us laugh at it's ineptitude like the Mario Brothers movie.
Thankfully, however, the criticisms were heard and the films director, Jeff Fowler, reassured everyone that the film will be pushed back and fixed before release. A pity that it also caused an animation studio to be shut down just to make it happen, and I seriously hope that the animators were able to find work at other studios to pursue their passion
With all of that out of the way, let's get down to the plot; Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is hiding out on Earth after being forced to run in fear of people coming to abuse his super-speed powers for their own ends, travelling between worlds by using a bag of rings that he has to keep safe. He is soon discovered, however, when he accidentally causes a blackout with his energy. This gets the attention of the government and mad roboticist Dr Robotnik (played by Jim Carrey), forcing the blue blur to team up with a police officer named Tom (played by James Marsden) to get to San Francisco after their first meeting causes Sonic to accidentally drop his rings on top of a building there. All things considered, a very basic plot.
Pros:
Jim Carrey as Dr Robotnik, while certainly an odd casting choice, is easily the best part of the film. A lot of it because of Carrey's signature eccentricities shining through, especially his flamboyant facial expressions and body language. But these exaggerations in his performance actually help to show that he fully understands Robotnik's character; he's a brilliant mind with unbelievable intellect, but this in turn makes him a reckless and obsessive narcissist. This is perfectly in line with how the character is traditionally written, and Carrey's performance, for lack of a better term, carries it through and makes him extremely likeable as a villain.
And let's be honest; his delivery, even with dumb lines, is fucking hilarious:
Tell me that scene didn't make you chuckle!
As for the humour itself, I wouldn't say it was a knee-slapper, but there were some pretty good quips and one-liners scattered throughout; namely from Robotnik and Sonic, but most especially when they finally go toe-to-toe with each other. They have the traditional Sonic and Robotnik banter that is expected from a rebellious speed junkie and a narcissistic would-be conqueror.
Ben Schwartz was really good as Sonic, with the writing encapsulating a lot of the classic traits associated with the character; he's a wise-cracker, he's rebellious, he's energetically cocky full of himself, but he's still the kid with a heart of gold who's willing to do the right thing to protect those he cares about. They even give him a character arc where, due to having to hide himself from the world, he's never been able to make friends or fully understand basic social norms, leaving him as all too eager to go on a fun road trip if it meant he'd get to do things he's never done before. This is something I can't recall ever being done in a lot of other mainstream Sonic media, where he's otherwise endlessly charismatic and friends with virtually everyone. Not to say that this Sonic has no charisma whatsoever, but moreso that he's socially awkward.
The human characters, while not written with complex characterisations, are still likeable enough and the actors do a decent job with what they're given. James Marsden, in his third film about a human character helping an inhuman character (what is this genre), gives a standard performance for this type of character; very much confused by this strange new arrival in his life, but willing to help because it's the right thing to do. Like I said, it's very basic and bare bones, but it's still competently written enough and the actors do the best with what they have.
Cons:
I understand that when they had to redo the special effects after the criticisms were addressed, they likely didn't have enough time to fully iron them out. But the CGI in this film, while not godawful, does have this odd uncanny valley about it, where it's very obvious where the practical effects end and the CGI takes over. One good example is with the scene from the trailer where Sonic grabs a bunch of gift shop junk and holds it in his arms. It's glaringly obvious that Sonic himself is not really there, but the rubber band balls in his arms are clearly real, and it just makes everything feel artificial when it's trying to convince that it's real. Granted, with Robotnik's drones going after Sonic and Tom, I give them a pass as they are meant to be utilitarian in their design and narrative use. They're obviously not really there, but the CGI actually compliments it and makes it feel like they're there.
Also, I got really annoyed with the pop cultural references they had in this film. Call me cranky or uncultured, but seeing Sonic do the stupid Fortnite Floss dance not once but TWICE really got on my nerves with how that dance has become a meme to pander to younger kids. I don't care if it's for fun; it's a stupid dance that shouldn't be seen performed by a socially awkward anthropomorphic blue hedgehog. I don't have as much of a problem as the blink-and-you-miss-it appearance of the original Sonic logo on his headband or a brief acoustic version of the Green Hill Zone music, or even Sonic just calling Robotnik "Eggman" due to his drones looking eggs; these are references I don't mind as they are clearly nods to the fans. Just don't have Sonic do the Floss or ask if the Rock is president in the same goddamn movie. All it does is simply date your film and make it come off as pandering to your audience.
Though I won't lie, I was not expecting an appearance by Sanic of all things. Well played, movie.
Conclusion:
While this is certainly not a major game changer in terms of storytelling, I can still say that this film was nonetheless a fun time at the cinema. It has a lot of the expected tropes and cliches that often expected with this type of genre, but it is balanced with good performances from the cast, an extremely entertaining villain, fun action scenes, and a feeling that the people who made this film understand who Sonic is and what he means to people. I just wish we didn't have to sit through random pop cultural references and mediocre CGI while the good parts are stuck in between. At the very least, I still enjoyed this movie and it wasn't dishonest it what it was being; a movie about Sonic The Hedgehog.
Overall rating: 7/10 (Liked it).
Once again, I would like to thank the people who participated in the Twitter Poll for what I reviewed next; I may be doing another one in the near future. If you want to keep up with that or know my random ramblings in general, go right ahead and follow me on Twitter; I'm @MediaHood23. Be sure to also let me know what you thought of the movie and of this review if you are so inclined.
But until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
Now where is that DAMN fourth Chaos Emerald?!
