The Media Man Reviews: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

We've come so far with these films, haven't we?

We went from expecting a cinematic disaster to embracing these films and genuinely getting excited to see them whenever they come out now. We had the first movie where, as generic as it was, it was a solid opening film for the Sonic franchise and actually caused the internet to stop seeing him as a joke for once. Then we got the second movie which was even better and felt more like a Sonic movie thanks to the inclusion of Tails and Knuckles and some more references to the games.

And now here we are with Sonic the Hedgehog 3, a movie that has been hyped to the max and is easily one of the biggest movie events of 2024. Seriously, it's crazy how much this movie's been hyped up with the biggest reason behind the excitement being how Shadow the Hedgehog is making his cinematic debut. The moment Shadow was announced to be appearing in this film, we were sold and we knew we had to see it.

If you need a recap on my opinions on these films, I like both Sonic movies, but I like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 way more than the first film since the first film just felt like a generic road trip movie starring Sonic while the second movie actually feels like a Sonic movie. Full reviews here and here if you need a refresher.

So now we have a third Sonic the Hedgehog movie, how was it? Was it another movie worthy of the blue blur's legacy? Or will this movie have me feeling as grumpy as Shadow? Let's speed our way through Sonic the Hedgehog 3...

Section 1: The Story

The story sees Sonic enjoying life with his human family Tom and Maddie and his Mobian friends Tails and Knuckles, but the peace doesn't last long as G.U.N. informs our heroes that a new threat is on the horizon. Shadow the Hedgehog, an alien that fell to Earth and was locked away 50 years ago, is free and is on the move with one simple goal in mind: revenge. Team Sonic will have to do whatever it takes to defeat Shadow, but they also have another problem to deal with when they have not one, but TWO Robotniks to handle too...

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 follows the same path as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, namely in that unlike the first movie where it was a generic road trip movie, this movie plays out more like a superhero flick. Heck, Team Sonic being together and facing the villains is kind of like an Avengers style team up at this point. And unlike superhero flicks nowadays where they all feel the same and have gotten boring as a result, this movie is anything but boring. All throughout, I was just having a smashing time with all the awesome action, some of the comedy and just the sheer delight of seeing the Sonic cast on the big screen again. But naturally, the biggest draw for everyone watching this film is the big screen debut of Shadow the Hedgehog. I'll cover more in the characters section later, but for now, I'm just going to say that Shadow is the MVP of this film and the main reason to watch it.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 keeps true to what came before with a tone that's mostly goofy and is full of little pop-culture references, meta humour and quippy dialogue, but given this film is somewhat an adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2, it does mean this film is a little darker than the previous installments. I'm not saying it becomes straight up dark and edgy of course, just that this film does have some more serious stakes to it what with Gerald Robotnik trying to destroy the world, Shadow's past being played completely straight with not an ounce of comedy to kill the mood and how Tom Wachowski ends up looking as if he might die. The movie is still relatively light-hearted for the most part, but unlike some medias where they just can't stop ruining the mood by telling jokes every five seconds, this movie knows when to get serious. This is especially evident when Tom gets brutally injured and Sonic is left seething with rage. The movie makes it very clear that playtime is over, and Sonic is no longer kidding around. The fact he doesn't mess around with Wade and takes the Master Emerald without so much as a single quip is one big example of how much Sonic wasn't messing around anymore. Also, the flashback with Maria's death is played completely straight and not once does the movie undermine that. It's clear as day that her death is a serious matter and that it's had a heavy effect on Shadow. It says so much when the Sonic movies can handle their tones better than any MCU movie or the recent seasons of The Dragon Prince...

The film also continues what else makes these films so enjoyable to watch: and that's its strong heart. The story has a major theme about how in spite of the pain you endure, it's ultimately the choices you make that define who you are. As Tom elegantly spells out to Sonic, Sonic has been plagued by tragedy and loneliness in his life, but he never let that define who he is and that it's Sonic himself that defines who he is. This is a stark contrast to Shadow, who was also plagued by tragedy and loneliness and while Sonic continued to be a good person and even found new friends in the end, Shadow was locked up and stored away for 50 years and the tragedy he's endured has left him with a burning desire for revenge. This all comes to a climax when Sonic goes super and goes ballistic on Shadow for what he did to Tom, but in the end, Sonic still chooses not to be clouded by anger and hatred and is able to talk Shadow down a better path in the end. It's all solid stuff and very well handled.

Also, if you're a Sonic fan, then you'll be glad to know that this movie has what the previous movies have: wonderful fan service. This film series has always done pretty well with its fan service, using it in ways that are meaningful and relevant to the story and not just a cheap way of saying "Hey, remember this thing you like?" Here, we get Shadow in all his glory, more backstory regarding G.U.N., Tails and Knuckles are more involved in the story, we get a Super Sonic and Super Shadow showdown, Dr. Robotnik finally gets to wear a game-accurate suit and we even get awesome cameos from Amy Rose and Metal Sonic in the mid-credits scene, thus implying they're next to come in the upcoming fourth movie (yes, there's a fourth film in the works). None of this feels like fan-pandering or nostalgia-baiting, it feels genuine and like this is a movie written by people who genuinely love the franchise and want to respect it in the best way they can.

Oh, and you'll also be glad to know that this is a Sonic movie that remembers the most important thing: it's a SONIC movie. Compared to the previous films, this film feels the most like a Sonic movie due to the fact that the Sonic cast get the most screen time, most of the movie exclusive characters are either absent or heavily downplayed and MERCIFULLY, the plot doesn't grind to a halt for several minutes just so the humans can have all the fun. It's like Jeff Fowler and his team finally got the message that we watch these movies for the SONIC characters, not the boring humans, so they gave us our wish and actually made them the stars for once. Naturally, this further defeats the purpose of these films being live-action, but hey, let's just be happy that the Sonic cast are being given the screen time they deserve now. Oh and speaking of characters, you all have a reason to cheer for this movie. Rachel is Dame-Not-Appearing-In-This-Story. While Maddie does use Tails's gadget to disguise herself as Rachel, Rachel herself is completely absent, and yes that IS a positive. At least she isn't stealing screen time from Tails like in the last movie. Now granted, this film WAS filmed during the SAG-AFTRA strikes we got last year, so that could be why the human characters were downplayed so much and why the Sonic cast got so much screen time here, which is a blessing as we got more of the characters we wanted to see. I still feel that had the strikes not happened, the movie might've still turned out the way it did here, but who knows what it would've been like. Alternative history is a mysterious thing...

So overall, the movie is a fun time that does the best job on being a Sonic movie and has wonderful fan service and strong themes that play into the heart of the story. Does it have any flaws? Some big ones, I'm sorry to say.

First of all, I feel the first half of the movie was a little rushed. This a movie that goes for one-hour and a half, but it would've benefit from a two-hour run time in my eyes. They should've had more of a breather period with Sonic and friends before immediately thrusting them into the fight with Shadow, plus giving Shadow like an additional five minutes of screentime as he wanders around this unfamiliar world would've helped his story some more.

Second, the two Robotniks were really overbearing here. It's gotten to the point now where they feel less like the characters they're supposed to be and more just Jim Carrey doing his schtick, only now there's two of them so we have double the Carrey-ness. In the previous films, he actually managed to do his shtick AND still feel like Dr. Robotnik but here, it's just Jim Carrey as Jim Carrey now. Jeff Fowler should've told him to tone it down a bit for this one. It's especially bad when Super Sonic and Super Shadow are having this intense and serious fight with each other and the two Robotniks have a battle that's played for comedy. These two things just don't go together.

Third, Tom getting injured was just fake drama in the end. While it DID work for the story and tied into the themes very well, it just fell flat because of how predictable the outcome was. It was so obvious that Tom was going to live that it was hard to really care for Sonic's grief because we knew he was going to be alright in the end. I might sound incredibly morbid for saying this...but Tom should've died if this plot point was going to carry any weight at all. If anything, it would've made Sonic and Shadow even bigger foils for each other for now they both have dead loved ones, but Sonic proves to Shadow that having a dead loved one doesn't mean he has to be angry and vengeful all the time. But no, Tom lives in the end, which just felt like a copout. If Spider-Man: No Way Home can kill off Aunt May and let Peter deal with the consequences, then this movie can do the same for its characters.

And finally, the stuff around G.U.N. felt very surface level in the end. Yes, they're tied into Shadow's backstory heavily and they do have some relevance to the plot, but overall, they just feel like they're part of the furniture and not actually a part of the story. What do I mean by this? The fact that Sonic is distrustful of G.U.N. but nothing really comes of it. He and the others never learn about how G.U.N. killed Maria and how they're somewhat responsible for Gerald being the way that he is and one of the members of G.U.N., Director Rockwell, feels like she should've been more important to the story but overall was just a nothing character. G.U.N. is just window dressing and background details is what I'm saying. Their presence in the story should've had more of an impact on the characters and how they feel instead of it being as surface level as it was and a means to set up the climax.

As is, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was still a good time in spite of its flaws. These movies just keep getting more and more enjoyable and I can't wait until the next one...

Section 2: The Characters

The movies have a good track record with their characters, mostly the Sonic ones, and this movie is no exception.

Let's start with the blue blur himself, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz). Unlike the second movie where I complained that Sonic's character arc is essentially a retread of the first film, this time his character arc is completely new so we're not retreading familiar ground with him. Sonic's content with life now as he has loving human companions who treat him like a son and he has friends who are his own kind with Tails and Knuckles, so he doesn't need to do the "lonely guy in need of companionship" story again. This time, Sonic's arc is kind of a mirror reflection of Shadow's in how he's been through grief and loss with the loss of his mother figure Longclaw, and the fact he was isolated on an unfamiliar world with no real friends of his own. But while Shadow became vengeful and angry, Sonic remained cheerful, fun-loving and kind and while that gets tested when Tom ends up badly injured by Shadow, in the end Sonic doesn't become like Shadow and inspires him to change for the better. Sonic was great here and I love how the movies keep making him a more interesting and compelling protagonist than the games usually do.

And next, we have his faithful friends and teammates, Tails (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessy) and Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba). Tails is done way more justice this time around, especially since he isn't conveniently knocked out just so Rachel can have all the fun. Here, he proves to be very helpful to the team with his gadgets and he's even the one who comes up with the plan to raid G.U.N. headquarters. He even gets a funny and awesome moment where he finds out where Robotnik's crab-bot is hiding and literally flushes Stone and Shadow out of the sewers. That was awesome. More awesome is the climax in where he gets Knuckles to throw him out of the ship to save Sonic. Tails has been done dirt a lot in recent years, so to see him being more competent and getting his own big hero moment was very refreshing.

Knuckles by comparison is a bit of a downgrade from last time. He's just the team muscle and is a lot goofier than he was before. Like come on guys, Knuckles has already had his reputation ruined by Sonic X and Sonic Boom, don't make him the dumb muscle again. He still has his moments though, namely Idris Elba's voice acting, a lot of his dialogue and the fact even he of all people is telling Sonic he needs to calm down as he demands to know where the Master Emerald is. That moment at least reminds us that Knuckles isn't stupid and that he can be smart at times too.

But you guys don't care about Team Sonic, do you? You're here for Shadow the Hedgehog. That's all any of us are here for with this movie, so let's talk about him. Shadow the Hedgehog (voiced by Keanu Reeves) is the MVP of this movie. He owns the screen anytime he appears and his characterization is pitch perfect. He also carries most of the movie's emotional moments thanks to his tragic backstory and how pained he feels with the loss of his close friend, Maria Robotnik (played by Alyla Browne). As mentioned with Sonic, Shadow is kind of a dark reflection of the blue blur in how Sonic went through grief and loss yet remained a good person while Shadow has been tainted by anger and hatred. It's easy to sympathize for Shadow and his character arc is as solid as it has been in other Sonic media. Combine that with a flawless performance by Keanu Reeves and you have the perfect movie rendition of Shadow the Hedgehog. I also think it was a wise idea to alter his backstory a little since his usual backstory wouldn't have made sense for this continuity. The only downside is that with Shadow not being created as a cure for Maria, it does take away a critical component in why their bond was so special. Now Shadow's just a thing that Maria befriends, which is still nice, but not quite as strong as it was in the games.

And while we're still talking about Sonic characters, let's cover the final two characters from the games, Dr. Ivo Robotnik and Dr. Gerald Robotnik (both played by Jim Carrey). As mentioned before, these two don't feel like the characters they're supposed to be since Jim Carrey went way too over-the-top with his performance here. It just felt like Jim Carrey being Jim Carrey again and it got pretty annoying after a while. I do at least see what they were doing with Dr. Robotnik in how he feels like he's finally found someone who appreciates him after all this time, and even found actual family with Gerald, but it sadly comes at the cost of making Robotnik less of a threat this time around as now he's just this needy little goon who wants his granddad's approval. Speaking of, Gerald ends up being hard to take seriously as a villain because of Jim's overly goofy performance. Even the way he dies in the end was cartoonish, albeit very funny! XD I even have to ask did Gerald even need to be alive in this story? I really don't think he needed to be here, he should've been a posthumous character like in the games instead of being alive as all he does is take screentime away from the other characters and overshadow his own grandson. Gerald should've stayed dead and Jim Carrey should've only played one Robotnik in this movie and it would've worked a lot better.

Now for the movie exclusive characters. Thankfully, Rachel is absent and Wade only gets one scene, so they kept the annoying ones out of this movie. The only ones who really matter to the story here are Tom and Maddie Wachowski (played by James Marsden and Tika Sumpter respectively) and even at that, they're still downplayed a lot compared to before. I say that like it's a good thing because it means we get more screentime with the characters we actually come to see and Tom and Maddie are what they should be, supporting characters. They don't overshadow the Mobians at all and while I think Tom should've died to make the story more impactful, him getting injured still played a part in the film's themes and showed what a stark contrast Sonic and Shadow have between them.

Agent Stone is here too (played by Lee Majdoub) but he doesn't really do anything, Commander Walters is also back (played by Tom Butler) and he ends up seemingly dead and Director Rockwell (played by Krysten Ritter) is an absolute missed opportunity. When I heard Kysten Ritter was playing a character in this movie, I thought she'd have a big role to play and the fact she had nearly zero appearances in any of the marketing had me suspecting they were hiding something spoiler-y with her. In the end, she's a nothing character and promptly vanishes from the film. What a waste of Krysten Ritter! Her character should've been more important to the plot, like say she's descended from the soldier who killed Maria and is trying to keep it covered up and her dislike of aliens brings her into conflict with Sonic and friends. Hell, why wasn't SHE the villain of the movie instead of Gerald?! Kick Gerald out of the story and make her the villain and not only does her character have more screentime, but G.U.N. isn't a background detail like I mentioned earlier! Maybe the fourth movie can fix that...

Overall, the Sonic cast are mostly great with Sonic, Tails and Shadow as the MVPs here while the human cast are pretty wasted and the two Robotniks created more problems than they solved. Still, at least they got Shadow right and that's all I could ask for with this movie...

Section 3: The Cinematography

If there's anything these films have always excelled at, it's amazing visuals and this movie is no exception. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is unquestionably as good looking as the previous films, if not more so.

Let's start with the obvious: the Sonic characters. Like in the previous films, they look great and transition surprisingly well from the games into live-action, looking more realistic but still looking recognizable as their game counterparts with their body proportions, colours and appearances, and all depicted with pretty convincing CGI too. Naturally, Shadow made the transition just as well as Sonic, Tails and Knuckles have and he looks incredible too with his iconic black and red fur, upward spines and his trademark jet shoes. And of course, Amy looks great too from what little we've seen of her in the mid-credits scene with her pink fur, hair style and Piko-Piko hammer looking accurate to her game counterpart while also making her look more realistic too. Now I wonder how they'll adapt her iconic red dress, if she'll even wear that in the fourth film... But if anyone deserves a special mention, it's definitely Metal Sonic in the mid-credits sequence. They absolutely NAILED his appearance here! He looks like he came straight out of the games and since he's a robot, they didn't have to change all that much with him, just make him look solid and metal and give him realistic textures. Of all the game characters, Metal Sonic easily has made the best transition from game to live-action and I can't wait to see more of him in the next film.

This also extends to Dr. Robotnik and Gerald Robotnik. Gerald looks very accurate to his game counterpart and the make-up and prosthetics on Jim Carrey is very convincing, making him genuinely look like he's aged a lot. As for Robotnik/Eggman, Jim Carrey finally gets to wear a fat suit in this movie, thus completing his transformation into the iconic video-game villain at last. This is further exemplified by the fact he FINALLY gets to wear a game-accurate costume! And it looks REALLY good no less! Seriously, they managed to make Eggman's trademark outfit look good in real life, that's how talented these costume designers are! And while we're talking about Jim Carrey, I absolutely need to talk about the absolute feat of filmmaking that is having him play the two Robotniks. How the hell they had him play both characters and make it look like we genuinely have two people in the same room together, I'll never know. You could say it's clever camera trickery, but they have the two Robotniks interact with each other, make physical contact a lot and they even stage a dance duet between them, so it makes it seem even more believable that we have two Robotniks in the same room despite them being played by one actor! These filmmakers deserve a raise, whoever they are, they were at the top of their games here!

And all this goes into one of the highlights of this movie: the action scenes. The Sonic movies have been consistently great with their action scenes and this movie really tops them all. We have a motorcycle chase through Tokyo, battles between Sonic and Shadow, a heist scene and even a Super Sonic and Super Shadow showdown which feels like something straight out of Dragonball. The battle with the two Robotniks is a real letdown though. Their fight is played for comedy and so it feels less like an actual fight scene and more a slapstick comedy routine, which really kills the mood during the climax. But the rest of the action is awesome with the Tokyo chase and the super showdown being the highlights.

The cinematography also makes use to the settings too. We have a chase scene in Tokyo and it gets appropriately fast-paced and big given what a large city Tokyo is, we have London in where we get to see Sonic and Knuckles on some London landmarks and the heist on G.U.N. headquarters which surprisingly manages to look like a real place in London despite it obviously being fictional. Seriously, I've been to London and I haven't seen any buildings like that there. Then again, G.U.N. is secretive so that could be why I haven't seen their HQ... XD And of course, the climax in outer space takes advantage of it being in outer space with Super Sonic and Super Shadow having all the room to fight they could ask for and Gerald's big weapon is able to go into space, so the climax being there is justified. Speaking of the weapon, the Eclipse Cannon looks incredible here, blending in well with the real-life backgrounds and genuinely looking like a deadly weapon that could blow up cities, or maybe even the planet. I especially love how it gets a Robotnik-style face on it, no doubt a callback to the games where we had the Space Colony ARK.

As awesome as the cinematography is and the incredible direction at Jeff Fowler's hands is, my criticism still applies here as it did in the previous films: why do these Sonic movies need to be live action? They could be animated, and they literally would not change whatsoever. This film deserves that criticism most of all since this film is the most focused on the Sonic cast of the trilogy and so it has even less justification for being live action than the previous two. There really is zero reason to ever make these films live action and as more Sonic characters enter the fray, it's only going to further prove my point.

As is, that doesn't change how the visuals are still one of the best things about these Sonic films and I'm sure the fourth one will look incredible when that comes...

Overall

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is easily the best film in the trilogy. Yes, it does have some teething issues, but the good stuff here is too good for said teething issues to effect it too much. The story is fun and exciting, the fan service is well done, the characters are enjoyable, there's less focus on the humans, the themes are strong and the visuals are a huge highlight. If you're a Sonic fan, you NEED to watch this movie. For casual movie-goers, I say watch it for a good, fun action flick. I guarantee, you'll enjoy this more than that worthless Mufasa prequel Disney thinks we asked for when we didn't. The Sonic movies just get better and better with each installment, and I can't wait for the fourth movie. Roll on 2027...

And that's all I got for this review. I hope you enjoyed it and I invite you all to share your thoughts down below. Do you like this movie? Do you not like it? Do tell me.

Next week, I'll be counting down my Top 10 Favourite Animated Shows. See you then media fans!