• Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) Movie Review

Hey gang, Valkor here. I’d have never thought a Pokemon movie could ever work in the live-action film verse. But then Detective Pikachu dropped, and it turned out to be a damn good movie. So, then an announcement for a Sonic the Hedgehog live-action film drops and the same thing crosses my mind–can this work? The answer now that the film was released? ABSOLUTELY!! Detective Pikachu was good, but Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie was a whole mess of fun and then some!

Sonic the Hedgehog


Sonic the Hedgehog movie centers on Sega’s iconic mascot that launched during the Sega Genesis days. Since then he’s appeared in countless games over several consoles, handhelds, and even mobile devices. My favorite will always be Sonic 2 on the Sega Genesis, but Sonic Adventure 2 is also a choice of mine. And now he’s the star of his first live-action film. So digging in, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), started life on a different planet and was told to keep a low profile because of insane speed ability. Well, being an impulsive youngin, Sonic couldn’t help but flaunt his speed. And now some evil no good nicks caught wind of Sonic and are now after him. Thankfully, his owl guardian Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulks) possesses gold rings that could transport him anywhere. So, she sends him to earth to a town called “Green Hills” (love it). From then onward, Sonic has done an “OK” job of keeping a low profile; The only person who knows of his existence is the town crazy, who also drops the meme image of “Sanic” (google it if you don’t know). However, Crazy Carl calls him the “blue devil”. Anyway, things take a turn for the worse when Sonic goes on a lightning rage and takes out the power through the town and the surrounding area. This causes the military to take notice. And since they’re not sure what caused the outage, the reluctantly bring in tech genius Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and his mean machines (they don’t call them that in the film).

Sonic the Hedgehog


With Robotnik on the hunt, Sonic winds up in the home of Tom Wachowski (James Marsden). The two surprise one another and Tom ends up shooting Sonic in the leg with a tranquilizer right before he was about to teleport on out of there. So, instead of transporting to this mushroom planet where he should have hit up, Sonic ends up losing his entire bag of rings on top of a building in San Francisco. So, it’s now up to Tom and Sonic to make their way to San Fran and get the rings back all while staying ahead of Robotnik who is hot on their trails. In between, the film turns into something of a buddy picture, where Sonic attempts to fulfill his bucket list and fending off a three-tier Robotnik boss (four if you count the mini drone) among other events along their adventure. Ultimately, it all comes down to Sonic vs Robotnik, with the blue blur walking away with the win (not even a spoiler).

Sonic the Hedgehog


If you’re a fan of the Sonic games–especially the originals–then you’ll get a kick out of Sonic the Hedgehog movie. There are some audio and visual easter eggs that are a nod to the video games (loved that Sonic called Robotnik “Eggman”). Plus, in the end, there’s a nice 16bit recreation of scenes from the film that’s like the cherry on top of an amazing sundae. But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s dive right into the TOV Breakdown.

Sonic the Hedgehog


The Good:

Sonic the Hedgehog movie is one awesome Sonic adventure film! Usually, films based on video games suck hard! However, from start to finish, live-action Sonic was way more fun than I would have ever hoped it would be! Initially, I had my doubts, especially when Sonic’s look was first revealed and it was terrible. But kudos to those in the making of this picture for going back in and righting that wrong. Because now he has the perfect look for this entertaining film! The story is on point and the action sequences are top-notch, all combining to form one fitting adventure for Sega’s blue blur. The action bits are my favorite parts, as they’re based around areas of the games and works in giving Sonic his running playground. Watch as Sonic is being chased by Robotnik down the streets of San Francisco, and you’ll see a nice nod to Sonic Adventure 2 (City Escape). But the best action sequence goes towards the end battle. Once the rooftop battle starts, its edge-of-your-seat from there. The acting was pretty dope, but HUGE props to Jim Carrey; He was another doubt I had going in, but his over-the-top antics fit the film oh so well! From beginning to end, dude is hilarious! I miss this version of Jim Carrey and I hope he’s brought back for a Sonic sequel if it should go down. Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog movie is a gamer’s dream film. It not only does a superb job staying true to the source, but you get a mighty fine and entertaining film to boot!

Sonic the Hedgehog


The Bad:

The film isn’t 100%. And any issues I have are just nitpicking. However, my one issue is with the ending where Tom, Maddie (Tika Sumpter), and Sonic go up an elevator towards the rooftop to retrieve Sonic’s rings. I believe Sonic could have just run up and backed down that building with no problem. Granted, we would have missed out on that awesome climatic sequence... or maybe we could have gotten a live-action version of City Escape! That’s my only gripe, and it’s not even that serious.

Sonic the Hedgehog


The Ugly:

N/A

Sonic the Hedgehog


Sonic the Hedgehog movie is making its theatrical rounds. And I look forward to catching it again before the film makes the jump to home videos. Fans and even non-fans of Sega’s blue blur can find something to enjoy about this film. It has a great story and loads of action that’s overall a can’t miss! I highly recommend it! So, out of TOV 5 stars, I’m giving Sonic the Hedgehog a 4.5.

Sonic the Hedgehog