After a Trailer that inspired Internet outrage, could this Film be saved? As one of the last major Films out before COVID shut everything down, let's see...
After a random In Media Res intro, we learn that Sonic has great power, was raised by an Owl and lives here on Earth in hiding now.
This Intro is oddly-serious and feels like world-building for a Sequel more than anything else.
As you can see, he can't quite do it on his own.
He must join forces with James Marsden, a local Cop who dreams of a new life. Wait- so he was the Disney Prince in Enchanted and now he acts like a Disney Princess here?!?
Continuing an odd trope, he must now drive Sonic to San Francisco and avoid danger.
A crazed Scientist named Robotnik- a scene-stealing Jim Carrey- follows them and uses his many drones to make the trip difficult.
So if his name was Mopednik, would he sic nothing but armored Mopeds on them?
Can the pair make the trip in one piece?
Will the Heroes Fight Before the Third Act trope put an end to this?
Will Sonic find his way home or is this one of those Films where he will realize that he was 'home all along?'
Aw crap, it is, isn't it? Oh well, it's on Prime now. The End.
A pretty predictable, but still well-made Film. Sonic the Hedgehog has the enviable task of being better than other Video Game Films. It doesn't turn beloved Characters into weird dinosaurs or introduce another 'Alice,' so it wins! It isn't immaculate. It isn't terrible. Somewhere between these two extremes, you have this Film. The Plot is solid. The only big critique for me here is that the Cold Open involving young Sonic feels like it comes from a different Film. The early tone just feels out of place, but does at least set up why Sonic is on Earth. It's a cute touch to make the name of the small Town he's hiding in after a Game Level. The use of Robotnik as a name is a bit silly, given that this is the real world. It would make more sense for his name to be something more normal that ends in 'nik' (like Dominik) and his nickname would be Robotnik. Instead, he's just a guy with weird family name that makes no sense. The Film is pretty by-the-numbers, even giving us the 'Quicksilver shows off' Scene. Oh look- they did it again. On that note, where is the drama for most of this if everything moves at 1/1,000th speed for him? Sonic is a fine enough Film and nothing more. It doesn't have any really new ideas, as shown by this compare-contrast picture that went around the Internet after the original Trailer dropped. On top is from the Film Hop and on the bottom is Sonic (before the redesign)...
Considering the outrage the admittedly-freaky Sonic design got, it's a miracle that this works. It isn't going to be more than a fun Kid's Film...but isn't that enough?
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