Theatrical Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Date: Sunday, December 22 2024
Time: 10:30am
Party: 2 (my sister and I)

(Shadow's the first hedgehog I've drawn... and he won't be the last ;) )

Review:

(includes some minor spoilers)

The two of us have seen all of the Sonic movies thus far, but all on DVD. The mini-series "Knuckles," which had previously been exclusive to streaming, was shown over the course of a week on Nickelodeon earlier this year.
So needless to say, there was a lot of anticipation for this theater trip. And it was absolutely worth the trip. My sister really enjoyed it, calling it by far the best of the three movies.
Me, I don't remember Sonic 2 as well because we only watched it once so far, but I've been pleased with all the movies so far. Including this one.

If you'd seen all of the movies so far, you pretty much know what you're going to get. Lots of fast-paced action sequences, sometimes ending with big explosions. Heartfelt sentimental moments. The occasional dramatic backstory. And plenty of laughs to be had in between. Most of them from the comedic genius of Jim Carrey. As if it wasn't already inherently obvious, he has a line in the movie that shatters the 4th wall into oblivion. Something about "two characters being played by the same character".

Yeah, we'd been doing this self-aware meta humor for so long we're not even trying to hide it anymore. But in this instance, the movie poking fun at this move was well-played.
Jim Carrey plays double-duty as the Dr. Ivo Robotnik we've come to know from the previous films as well as his grandfather, Dr. Gerald Robotnik. Both equally zany and entertaining to watch.

For the most part, this movie is about the characters and the jokes. The story moves the plot, obviously, but the characters are why you stick around to see how it unfolds. This isn't the type of movie where it's important for the plot to make complete sense, but it kinda bugs me that some of it didn't make sense.
Particularly with this govt agency, GUN, and their connection with Shadow. He arrived on Earth inside a meteor 50 years ago and they were running experiments with him. He was particularly close with elder Dr. Robotnik and his granddaughter Maria. Then the trio makes for an escape sometime later, which results in Maria getting killed and the other two imprisoned. All of that makes sense plus the fact Shadow was too powerful for them to trust out in the world. 
Maybe this is me overthinking things, but I kept waiting for someone to spell out some elaborate plot for GUN to seize world domination with Shadow's powers. Or that it was an Area 51 thing and they didn't want their secrets to become known to the public.

Anyway, I was having a hard time figuring out who the bad guy was supposed to be in this movie until the giant laser was activated and launched into space. And elder Dr. Robotnik revealed what he really wanted to do with it. A much bigger act of revenge than simply destroying the agency's headquarters in London. 

Again, these movies really are about the characters, getting to know their different personalities and quirks, and seeing how they interact with one another.
Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all had their moments to shine. Which I appreciated a lot because in my limited memory of the second movie, Tails was out of commission for a fair chunk of it so he didn't get as much screen time in his theatrical debut.

Keanu as Shadow-- the most genius casting choice since Jim Carrey as Robotnik. I'm not as well acquainted with him as my sister (who'd seen the 4Kids Sonic series and more YouTube videos of this franchise than I have) but it's easy to see why the fanbase has fallen in love with him. He's got a tragic backstory, which has unfortunately warped his judgement, but you still root for him and want to see him succeed. Just maybe not at the cost of the whole planet getting blown up like Alderaan.
The flashback scenes with him and Maria were sweet and from the little I'd seen on YouTube, they felt pretty close to the original canon. The only difference was that the govt base where they lived had been in space and she had some fatal uncurable disease. Otherwise the plots felt very similar and Shadow's role to play at the end of it fit his character perfectly.

Minus the Robotniks, most of the human characters are minor and secondary to the plot. But they still had fun little moments. The best for Tom and Maddie (aka Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady) was the mountain of hobbies they'd amassed in the short amount of time the trio was working for GUN. Not sure which was funnier- Tom's humorous attempt at ventriloquism or Maddie's knitting (where she actually croqueted a sweater for him that says "Donut Lord" with little croqueted donuts sewn into it)... 
Tom also gives a nice speech early in the movie where he talks to Sonic about how he didn't let his past (losing his mentor before coming to Earth) change his heart... although it's one of those speeches that sounds like it was tailor-made for a movie with its not-so-subtle foreshadowing. Shadow's whole thing is that he and Sonic look like they could be twins, but the big difference between them is how they handle their past traumas. Using it to be better hedgehogs or fuel for revenge.

And Robotnik's assistant, Agent Stone, he got to have a mix of humorous and sentimental moments. The dynamic between him and Robotnik are still there, but the introduction of elder Robotnik throws a wrench into that and suddenly he's the third wheel and feels less than appreciated as a result.
I'm not sure all Sonic fans feel the same, but for the two of us, we'd been fans of Agent Stone from his first appearance. (The scene in the first movie where Robotnik does a dance break and is interrupted when Stone brings him a latte- comedy gold!). As a minion, he's extremely loyal, but he's become so much more than a minion through the course of these movies.

... and yeah, it should be noted that there is a mid-credits scene hinting at the next movie. And yet another new character is introduced. Which begs the question, at least from me, how many movies are they planning to make? How many characters are we going to introduce? Because at some point, surely, they're going to run out of new characters, right? 
From the little I've seen of Sonic X, there's a sizeable cast so we might be here a while.

Grade: A- 

Trailers:

• Dogman

According to my sister, this character came from the same author as the "Captain Underpants" series... to me, a dog's head being attached to a cop's body kinda says Hollywood's run out of ideas

• Captain Amerca- Brave New World

It's been a while since I forgot they were making this movie. Looks like it'll be impressive so it might be enough to bring me back to the theater for a Marvel movie. (I'd seen at least 2 Marvel movies in theaters since Endgame and a few more on DVD. But since I'm not running out to see every single movie anymore for fear of missing out on a crucial story element, I'm clearly not as involved as I used to be)

• Lilo & Stitch (which they showed twice for some weird reason)

We saw the poster on the way in. And as far as teaser trailers go, it's pretty good. CGI Stitch looks so realistic. 
But why the heck did the theater show this twice? Not sure if that was on purpose or not. Hopefully not...

• Elio

Pixar's latest movie. Not really sure what to make of it just based on the trailer. There's a lot of bright colors. A kid who spends more time staring at the stars than with other people gets abducted by aliens and he has adventures. The funniest part was when he says one area is beautiful and someone tells him "um, this is the toilet" and they get flushed and it's like an amusement ride.

• Karate Kid Legends

This trailer starts circulating a few days ago and it's literally everywhere now. It brings together Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, who come together to help Jackie Chan's newest student.
I hadn't seen any of the newer movies or Cobra Kai. One is streaming and we don't stream. And the other... the original Karate Kid is perfect. I didn't want to see it remade.
I just hope this sequel bringing everything together lives up to the hype because I might see it at some point, whether it's in a theater or HBO.

• The Legend of Ochi

Saw the same trailer during "Wicked"... It doesn't hold any interest for me so I have no further comment

• Superman

With James Gunn from "Guardians of the Galaxy" fame at the helm of this, hopefully we finally break the streak of inferior non-Christopher Reeves Superman movies. 
But I'm not one to talk because I'd only seen the original 1978 film and the widely panned Justice League movie.
Based on the trailer, this looks REALLY good but I'm sure the fans won't be shy telling everyone who'll listen their unfiltered thoughts.

• Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

Whether or not this will be the final Mission Impossible movie EVER, it's hard to be sure. I'm sure Tom Cruise will continue to make them as long as he's alive. 
I saw the original so long ago I have no memory of it and I think I saw Shadow Protocol because Jeremy Renner was in it. I've had no incentive to see any of the others, but who knows? There's a chance one day I might sit down and watch the rest of them. It's a lot more likely than seeing a single Fast & Furious movie... all of them are car chases and explosions, anyway.

Speaking of movies I might get around to seeing one day... I haven't seen a single John Wick movie and I really should see at least the first one. The trick is finding it on cable, preferably without commercials.