Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review – Without a Shadow of doubt

The character of Sonic the Hedgehog probably suffers from severe whiplash. Not just as a result of the speed at which he runs, but also from the inconsistency that his games have suffered from over the years. For every Sonic Mania, there’s a Sonic Forces. That one-two punch of Sonic ’06 and Shadow the Hedgehog. There’s even an argument to be made that Team Sonic Racing is the best title ever made.

All this makes it bizarre that the Sonic Hedgehog films comprise one of the most consistent modern franchises in terms of execution and quality level. This bizarreness compounds with the latest movie entry, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where fans and audiences are treated to the big screen debut of everyone’s favourite furry edgelord, Shadow. And despite not setting a new benchmark in comparison to its predecessors, the film still holds to their enthusiasm, energy and overall entertainment.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 catches up with Sonic (voiced once again by Ben Schwartz) and his teammates, Tails the fox (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles the echidna (Idris Elba), who finds themselves having to intervene when Shadow (Keanu Reeves) escapes from prison with his vengeful sights set on world-protecting organisation, G.U.N. Outrun and outfought by the ultimate life form, Sonic and his friends seek the help of their former nemesis, Dr Robotnik (played by Jim Carrey), who in turn discovers that Shadow is part of a greater conspiracy orchestrated by his own grandfather, scientist Gerald Robotnik (also Jim Carrey). It’s now a race to save the world as Team Sonic clashes with foes both old and new.

Sonic 3 faces a threefold challenge: Uphold fan expectations about Shadow, tell a coherent story, and juggle an ever-growing cast of human and anthropomorphic characters. Whereas the last two components are where the film ultimately compromises, the first is where it excels. Shadow the Hedgehog is the star of this show thanks to great characterisation and the pitch-perfect voice of Keanu Reeves.

For those of you in the know, Shadow’s backstory is where the film could’ve failed spectacularly. Fortunately, it’s executed very well with the result being a clearly motivated Shadow and his reinforced, no-f’s-given attitude. Shadow also receives the thickest layer of fan service with certain music choices throughout the film telegraphing the love and appreciation the filmmakers have for the character (fun fact, one of the first industry gigs that Sonic director Jeff Fowler had was working on the 2006 Shadow the Hedgehog video game).

That said, Shadow does at times feel sidelined in favour of the antics of Jim Carrey and his dual roles. While contrasts between Sonic and Shadow remain the emotional crux of the story, a lot of time is spent on Ivo and Gerald Robotnik’s interactions. Some of it can be forgiven for the sake of appreciating Carrey’s time on screen as his work here is his reportedly final performance before retirement. Overall, though, time allocations, given the size of the roster, aren’t treated with enough care. The biggest victim of this lack of focus is Sonic himself, whose amount of screentime doesn’t fully reflect his title billing.

The film is also saddled with dialogue that even kids would find simplistic and trite. Sonic 3 marks a full transformation since the first film in that there is more emphasis on comic book-esque elements and less on cohesive storytelling. The narrative is ambitious in 3, but convoluted. The characters are exaggerated, but also less serious (with the exception of Shadow who is portrayed dead straight). This culminates in a tone and style that feels more juvenile, and that’s even before one gets to the numerous pop culture references that comprise the film’s humour.

Still, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 does take criticisms of the previous instalment to heart and focuses less on the humans, excluding Carrey. While James Marsden and Tika Sumpter return as Sonic’s adoptive parents, Tom and Maddie, their roles are minimised to Team Sonic’s benefit. Even appearances by former cast members Natasha Rothwell and Shemar Moore are simply cameos, and Lee Majdoub, once again playing Robotnik’s sycophant Agent Stone, is present and serving up just the right amount of quips.

And that’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in a nutshell. Some missteps aside, its respect for the source material and attitude gets the film to the finish line with enough right and easy to appreciate.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now showing in South African cinemas, having released on 27 December.