Sonic The Hedgehog

This review may contain spoilers!

I have little else to say except this is one of the family live-action cinematic events of the year. I would give Sonic The Hedgehog a 7.5/10.

Sonic The Hedgehog follows the title character, who has been forced to leave his home dimension and has made his way to Earth, where he has lived in hiding for several years. When the government discovers evidence of Sonic they send Dr. Robotnik to capture the super fast rodent and bring him in for study. With the help of a small town sheriff, Sonic must stay one step ahead of the evil doctor and escape Earth for a safer dimension. This film was pretty special to me because it had heart in spades, it really new how to depict onscreen friendships that felt meaningful and easy to connect with. The developing friendship between Sonic and Tom was so pleasant to see play out and evolve, this is a pair of characters looking to run away from what is essentially their home and it's such a heartfelt connection that enables them to stay. I really liked how aware of itself this film was, it knew that Sonic as a character was going to come off as quite camp, and at times cheesy and so it didn't go to great lengths to be taken too seriously. This meant that the film had a sense of humour that enhanced the narrative, a cast of characters who could deliver some really entertaining dialogue and scenes that I will not forget any time soon because I was laughing so much. This film really knew how to balance a genuine tale of little hero against big threat villain with a genuinely comedic script. The cinematography really enhanced the visual effects heavy film, mapping dialogue and action scenes with it's CGI lead in a gripping way. The visual effects for the film are worth applauding, especially after the Sonic design was completely overhauled and redone in such an appealing way.The soundtrack for the film is a lot of fun and greatly enhances the comedy in a number of scenes, while the score bolsters the action-blockbuster elements in quite the epic manner.

Ben Schwartz, who voiced Sonic the Hedgehog, is a lot of fun as the main leading role; Schwartz puts a lot of energy, passion and excitement into the character and I think that made for a role I was constantly engaged in. Tika Sumpter, who played Maddie Wachowski, has a lot of chemistry with Marsden and the pair feel like a genuine supportive couple; I also really liked Sumpter's more sarcastic approach to comedic delivery as it brought a new edge to some scenes. James Marsden, who played Tom Wachowski, Lee Majdoub, who played Agent Stone, was a nice foil who worked well alongside Carrey's leading antagonist; Majdoub had a calm, mild manner that complimented Carrey's more over the top performance to great effect. Adam Pally, who played Billy Robb, is just in his element as one of the films leading sources of comedic relief; Pally playing a completely befuddled deputy who is in a bit over his head is such a genuinely funny role to watch. Natasha Rothwell, who played Rachel, really embraces the meanstreak of her disapproving sister-in-law character; Rothwell's character is certainly quick to throw the boot at her onscreen brother-in-law and has some real gems of dialogue that make her side character stand out.

However, the best performance came from Jim Carrey, who played Dr. Ivo Robotnik. It was nice to see Carrey back in a role that let him play to full zany effect while also maintaining a really engaging character. This character has an exorbitant ego that he constantly wields as a weapon and a point of pride, the levels of self-satisfaction we go through are pretty funny to watch. I also found the way Carrey delivered lines was quite interesting, it was hard to tell what intent you were going to get from him in a scene and he played things in a random, unpredictable fashion to keep you guessing. I was fully hooked on Carrey's Robotnik as a leading antagonist; you really believed he was this vindictive narcissist who could back up any threat he laid down. Carrey is as naturally comedic as ever but can still lay down one of the most interesting character performances of the year on top of that.

Sonic The Hedgehog is going to be one of the more entertaining family films I've seen this year but it still falls prey to some of the lazier plot points of these types of movies. I often felt the set up for the feature left a lot to be desired; while Sonic and Tom are so great to watch throughout, the manner in which they come together feels pretty flimsy. There are multiple points where you wonder at Tom's motivations and it's hard to see why he sticks around other than to serve the plot initially. While I also enjoyed the humour the film does manage to work in a lot of corny material that can oversaturate or just flat out ruin some scenes. The film sets a low bar for itself, dealing with robotic adversaries and the villain using the heroes own power against him, but these tired elements are at odds with a script that obviously shows a lot of passion and wit.