Sonic the Hedgehog 3

I didn’t know that the human body could produce chills for two hours straight, but after witnessing the glorious masterpiece that is Sonic the Hedgehog 3, my body is operating on a higher level of excitement. My head is still spinning from how good this movie is. If you weren’t planning on seeing this already, you had better change your mind, because this movie is brilliant. It lives up to the hype and then some. Let’s dive in and take a look. 

Going in, I had high hopes. Sonic was pretty much at 2 for 2 with me, along with most audiences that I have seen. However, no franchise is perfect and I definitely had my concerns. The big one was that I noticed some early symptoms of sloppy-sequel syndrome in the second movie. I was worried that the franchise was doomed to suffer from the epidemic that’s running rampant across Hollywood these days. 

But folks, I can happily say that our blue hedgehog’s immune system is stronger than ever! Lovingly weaved between moments of action are nuggets of comedic gold. Between team Sonic and now two Robotniks, the punchlines never stop coming, yet never feel stale, old or predictable. It feels like it’s simply part of the style of the movie. 

And speaking of punchlines, hoo boy! Did Jim Carrey deliver for this role! He absolutely refuses to turn the silly off, but still manages to deliver some heartfelt emotion amidst the punchlines. I haven’t the words to describe the stunning performance he brought for this film. Or, perhaps I should say performances. Honestly, I forgot that Carrey played the older Robotnik as well for most of the film, as he donned a completely different look and set of mannerisms. But all the while, he managed to bring the same goofiness that only Carrey can bring. I don’t just tip my hat, I toss it wholeheartedly into the air for this one! 

So the overall personality was brought back to the franchise, and for that I was relieved. But the other main concern was that I couldn’t separate Shadow’s voice from Keanu Reeves. Sometimes a certain actor decides to try to do a certain character and you can’t help but think 

I just can’t unsee the actor.

That was how I initially felt about Shadow when I saw the trailers. And that leads to my one (and probably only) real gripe about the movie: that gap between actor and character wasn’t large enough. I can disconnect Grug from Nicholas Cage, and Gru from Steve Carrel, but Shadow still kind of felt like Keanu Reeves. Thankfully, Shadow is the edgy character, and as such doesn’t do a ton of talking. And it’s clear that Keanu was really trying to make it work, but I can’t help but feel like more work could have been done to polish that up. But I think Keanu tried hard enough that it didn’t become a major distraction for me. 

And speaking of Shadow: wow, did he get an introduction! Every time he sets foot on a scene, it feels like armageddon is at hand. I swear, even Sauron didn’t get a scene that is as dramatic as what Shadow gets with every appearance. The music swells and booms to a thunderous crescendo as he awakens from his slumber. The camera slowly pans to him as he emerges on top of a burning car. Everything about this makes it loud and clear that team Sonic is up against an unbeatable enemy. 

Obviously, I thoroughly enjoyed the way that Shadow was portrayed. It reminds me of Robert Pattinson’s Batman. The dramatic music, slow pans, and the look of fierce rage in Shadow’s eyes all feel like something that might have been taken from a horror franchise like IT. And yet, it blends really nicely with the high-speed action that a Sonic movie ought to have. I’m not a film major, so I can’t explain the nitty-gritties of how it all works. All I know is that this movie really works. It’s clear that this franchise is in the hands of some very capable, loving craftsmen. 

And speaking of dramatic, the settings feel far more dramatic as well. The very first encounter is the city from the trailer. I mean, you could do a final showdown right there, but that’s just the warm up! And sure, it mellows out for a while in the middle, but then it rises to a finale that holds its place amongst the best of them. And, of course, the music keeps pace to convey the direness of the situation. Ultimately, it effectively conveys the intensity that somehow manages to keep climbing through the course of this 2-hour crescendo. 

But what tops this movie off for me is how it handles its sense of morality. Nowadays, I often see two frames of mind. The first is the old-school “good versus evil.” I still prefer this one, but it’s true that you can only write it so many ways before it becomes a little stale. When done well, it turns a good story into a great one. It practically doubles the depth that the story otherwise had and creates an even better experience for everyone watching. But when done wrong, it makes for shallow characters who are just good guys because they’re good guys. And I think we have seen too many of the bad kind, making our movies particularly bland.

And because we have had such a burnout of this type of content, the second category has become popular: the antihero story. Now, this can open up a lot more doors for creativity, with a lot more variables to play with. I’ll admit, I don’t hate it entirely. There are times, like in the first season of Gotham that focuses on the power-struggles of the criminal underworld, that are really fun. It can be highly entertaining to get curious about how a plot will unfold when everyone’s evil. Because that makes everyone a bit of a wild card. 

But we often use the excuse of “it’s complicated” to blur the lines of morality. We try to justify evil by saying that people are simply in pain, cornered, or otherwise unable to do anything else. That’s where Sonic drops the cherry on top. It acknowledges the depth of Shadow’s pain, all without justifying his becoming a pretty bad guy. It manages to let you sympathize with his pain, to feel for him, but doesn’t cross the line to argue that his actions aren’t actually so bad. It still says point blank, clear as day:

Nope! He’s still pretty bad.

Not that a bad guy can’t be redeemed, or that he doesn’t have any depth to his character, but the movie is very black and white about it. And I really respect that. It’s not that heroes don’t feel pain, it’s that they don’t let pain control them. Kind of like Jesus on the cross. He didn’t let pain stop Him from saving us. He simply barreled right through it, ripping heaven and earth apart to bring us back to Him.

And I think that’s a great way to look at it. We all hurt sometimes. But letting that hurt control us, letting revenge become our new purpose-it’s wrong. And taking that hurt and passing it along to others is also wrong. Period. We can feel our hurts, we can suffer great losses, but the minute that we use that pain to hurt others, we’re doing a bad thing. Clear as day, no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. 

Ahh, so that’s my (mostly) spoiler-free review of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. This one gets a 90% on my fun-meter. Here’s to what will probably wind up becoming a highlight of 2024!

Happy holidays, folks!