When “Sonic the Hedgehog” went back into development due to the outcry from passionate Sonic fans that complained of the character’s design, I thought all hope was lost for this movie. I thought it was going to be a huge mess with a terrible story, and one of those movies people feel is a chore to talk about. So, after all that redesigning and overtime put into the movie, was “Sonic the Hedgehog” any good? No, not in the slightest.
I am a little torn, if I am being honest. Normally when I can’t decide on how I feel about a movie, I will go see it again, but there is absolutely no part of me that wants to see this movie again. From the terrible first design of Sonic himself to the fact that the film is practically an Olive Garden commercial, there is so much to unravel, and I will forever refer to this movie as a beautiful disaster — with a little more emphasis on the disaster portion.
I feel as though I am being too harsh on a movie intended for children, but the kids that were really into Sonic are now anywhere from 20 to 30 years old.
Where can I even begin to list my problems with this movie? It is very cheesy, from the voice acting to Jim Carrey doing what Jim Carrey does best: acting in a way that no human acts, yet it seems completely normal when Jim Carrey does it.
As far as the story goes, it was fairly harmless and generic. At no point was I confused and at no point did the movie surprise me. The pacing was competent enough for me not to get too bored, and at some moments of the movie, dare I say, I was enjoying it. I do not think that anyone is going to see a Sonic movie for anything outside of a fun time, and I can absolutely see this movie being added to the list of movies that are so bad they are good.
I will tip my hat to anyone who was involved in the making of this movie. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been when the movie was sent back to being a work in progress. I can only imagine the embarrassment of animating the main character of a movie — which is a process that took months — only for the internet to tear it to shreds. My best wishes go out to the animators of this movie, and I hope no one lost any jobs because of some angry fans on Twitter.
My hat is also tipped to the director that took it upon himself to make sure this is a movie the fans would like. He did everything he could to make the movie as adequate as possible, and even though he mostly failed, he went down swinging. I would talk about the director, Jeff Fowler, but he has done nothing else outside of this movie.
I have seen many attempts at video game movies, and I have seen them all ultimately fail. Movies and video games are like chocolate and chicken wings. Everyone loves chocolate, and everyone loves chicken wings, but no one in their right mind is dipping their wings in some chocolate, though a few people might enjoy it. That is the best way I can describe this movie. Nothing really works, but I can still see someone having the time of their life watching it.
This movie could have come out ten years ago and not a single thing would be different. I would actually recommend this movie, even though I just talked about how bad it is. Hear me out, in a world where negative news is coming out every day, “Sonic the Hedgehog” is just one of those movies we need, as a pick-me-up.
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Featured Illustration: Miranda Thomas