Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 video game adaptation of one of the most iconic franchises of all time.
Video game movies will never be great, and filmmakers should stop at this point. How many times are we going to be let down by uninspired and forgettable film adaptations of video games that we enjoy playing so much? Generally speaking, many popular franchises such as Super Mario, Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Hitman have been turned into features, and they’re not good at all. And now, it’s Sonic the Hedgehog’s turn. Based on the popular series from Sega, one of the most iconic video game characters of all time finally gets his own film from Paramount Pictures. After initially getting lots of fan backlash for its original design of Sonic in the first trailer, they have decided to delay the release date in order for him to be redesigned that hopefully resembles on how he normally looks from the source material. Directed by Jeff Fowler in his feature debut, it revolves around Sonic (Ben Schwartz), a blue hedgehog with super-speed from an another dimension, who teams up with a sheriff named Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) to stop Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) from world domination. It’s a generic premise for a generic flick.
While you obviously have to praise the animators for Sonic’s new and better look, it’s unfortunately still a mess. Without a doubt, Sonic is the best part of the entire movie, and he definitely carries the film. Sonic the Hedgehog would completely fall apart without Schwartz’s likeable performance as this fun and quippy character. The rest of the cast is fine, but you can clearly tell they’re just phoning it in for a quick paycheck. After starring in Hop, Marsden is pretty much playing the exact same type of person in this film, and it becomes quite redundant and repetitive at this point. Carrey seems to be having a lot of fun as the evil Dr. Robotnik, but it’s so over-the-top to an overly cartoonish degree, and it really takes you out of it. Some characters don’t add anything to the story, and you’re wondering why they’re even there in the first place.
Another main problem with Sonic the Hedgehog is that its writing is very weak. The screenplay, written by Pat Casey & Josh Miller, is completely rushed and unfocused from start to finish. The premise is very formulaic, and you have seen it plenty of times before. The title is called Sonic the Hedgehog, but instead it focuses on his buddy Tom Wachowski that no one cares about. Also, sometimes the dialogue is horrendous, and it has humor that will make you cringe throughout. Nothing makes sense, and it becomes quite exhausting to sit through.
While it’s not the worst video game movie out there, it’s still not worth watching even if you’re a huge fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. You’re not supposed to take a premise about a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog so seriously, but it still needs some consistency in terms of having believable acting performances and a good script. Even with the character’s redesign, it does not improve the film. Sonic the Hedgehog goes fast at first, but then it starts to crash.