Hello intrepid moviegoers!

In this short review, I share my thoughts on the recent live-action movie: ‘Sonic the Hedgehog.’

The movie begins with little Sonic narrating his origins on a distant world in another dimension. Our speedy blue friend tells us a goodly owl named Longclaw took him in and cared for him. Unfortunately, some nasty felons appeared to attack the little speedy imp. Badly wounded, the large bird bade her foster son leave their world to find a safer one.

Sonic dashes through a ring, which Longclaw gave him a whole bag of, and appears in our world. With nowhere to go the hyperactive hedgehog settles in the sleepy town of Green Hills, Montana. Owing to loneliness and boredom our lovable hedgehog stalks the townsfolk and befriends local cop, Tom Wachowski.

After a slew of silly hi-jinks, Sonic and Tom begin a road trip to San Francisco while on the run from Dr. Robotnik. The pair build a friendship and camaraderie as they dive into unprecedented danger and self-discovery. Sonic learns what a family is like and Tom learns that he doesn’t need a big city or a big title to give his life meaning. The conflict that this pair faces develops them and brings us, the audience, a nice family-friendly adventure for all ages.

This was a fun movie! It was a family-friendly, light-hearted adventure. The action, while not too intense, is just enough for its younger audience (much like the games) and this film pays clever homage to the games that it inspires from.

Furthermore, I was pleased with how Jim Carrey portrayed Dr. Robotnik. He came across as cheesy, over-the-top and devious. When Carrey landed his jokes I was pleased with how he chose not to overindulge himself with his own jokes. Heck, this even gave his assistant breathing room to be funny too.

Conversely, Sonic comes across as childlike, naive, optimistic and whimsical, much as he does in the games. I also enjoyed Sonic’s dynamic with Tom Wachowski. The two are fun-loving guys who just want to be heroes in their own narratives. But, whereas a more mature film would strike at this concept this film does not. This movie celebrates childlike abandon while still acknowledging that the real world has consequences.

I also appreciated the setting; Green Hills is a sleepy, ignorant yet optimistic town. This complements Sonics own personality. This small fictional town felt like it was lifted straight out of the Sega games.

Last but not least, I like how Robotnik is not a product of Sonics world, but of ours. Because of this is we can appreciate how Sonic’s optimism and friendship contrast the cynicism of our own. Robotnik’s pride and ambition are clearly from planet Earth, and not grounded in childlike fantasy.

Thanks for reading! If you haven’t seen it yet, go see Sonic the Hedgehog today!

Overall Rating: 8.4