Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) Review

"Gotta go fast!"

-Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) has been on the run his entire life.  He has the power of incredible speed and someone is always trying to take that from him.  Sonic lives in hiding in the town of Green Hills, Montana.  When he accidentally makes the United States government aware of his existence, they send their top operative, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), in to capture him.  Sonic goes on the run with town sheriff, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), to flee the mad scientist and his robot army.

What Works:

Surprisingly, Sonic is actually an interesting and well developed character.  I thought he might be one note and just here to tell jokes, but that isn't the case.  He's been alone for his entire life and has gone a bit crazy.  He's got some issues and that explains his erratic behavior throughout the movie.   He's spent his life talking to no one but himself and I appreciate that the writers used that to develop the character.

I also really liked the chemistry between Marsden and Tika Sumpter, who plays his wife, Maddie.  They are totally believable as a couple and I really like their scenes together.  I thought she might end up being a generic character who is sidelined for most of the movie, and while she doesn't get a ton to  do, she shines when she does it.  I especially like the scene where she demands props from her husband for handling the insane situation so well.  Relationship goals.

The action sequences are really fun and are reminiscent of the slow-mo action scenes with Quicksilver in the X-Men movies.  Those sequences were the highlights of those movies and they fantastic are here as well.  

The 3rd act is an absolute treat where we get to see Robotnik match Sonic in speed.  It's a fun sequence with them teleporting around the world and the climax is nothing short of awesome.

Finally, the best part of the movie is Jim Carrey.  He was perfectly cast in the role and brings a manic energy to the character.  He steals the show every time he is on screen with excellent dialogue and incredible dance moves.  I really hope there is a sequel just so we can get more of him.

What Sucks:

A lot of the humor in this movie is reliant on pop culture references.  Having Sonic make a pop culture reference isn't a joke and the writers seem to think it is.  If a human character said the same line, it wouldn't be remotely considered a joke.  Having Sonic say it doesn't change that.  It's a bit lazy.

Finally, the pacing (ironically) slows down a bit too much in the middle.  I don't really know why we had to stop at a bar for so long.  Granted, the action scene we eventually get there is fun, but I think there could have been a better or more exciting reason for our characters to have to stop and slow down the story.

Verdict:

Sonic the Hedgehog was so much better than I was expecting.  The cast is great all around and the action sequences are a blast.  It definitely has some flaws, but I really want to see more of Sonic and Robotnik.  It's easily one of the best video game adaptation ever made and has absolutely got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good