Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Review: Fun Old-Fashioned Blockbusters Are Still Possible

Greg Ehrhardt, OnScreen Blog Editor

I had very little interest in seeing Sonic 3 in the theatres, mainly because I was never a big Sonic the Hedgehog video game player, and these movies aren’t made for a guy in his 40s who doesn’t care anything about the IP. Still, my 10-year-old daughter wanted to see a movie in the theatres, and, while I sadly couldn’t convince her to see Nosferatu (just kidding, for the DCF folks who read my columns), the choice was basically between seeing another unnecessary Disney origin story for an overly rehashed franchise, or seeing Sonic 3.

It was an easy choice for both of us.

The first two Sonic movies had an old-fashioned formula: a wacky CGI lead character (Sonic) surrounded by likable human supporting characters (James Marsden, Tika Sumpter) facing off against an incredibly cheesy villain who comedically steps on rakes throughout the runtime (Jim Carrey). Most of the time, these movies flop with the critics and are hit or miss at the box office, but families, especially young kids, tend to enjoy them.

I don’t say this lightly (and I’m also not saying this with much gravitas, given the subject matter), but the Sonic movie franchise mastered the formula, and in some ways, Sonic 3 represents the best of that genre.

Ben Schwartz, the voice of Sonic, does his best Ryan Reynolds imitation in giving Sonic an irreverent tone, replete with topical humor that parents will chuckle at and safe enough for kids of all ages to enjoy. Jim Carrey, the MVP of the franchise and especially the third installment, was born to be a ham, and he dials up the ham to a 15 on a scale of 1-10 in Sonic 3. Watching him in this movie makes you wonder if he should have entered the family-friendly genre in the 2000s and become a legend in the family box office memories, as Jack Black likely would be.

As for the movie itself, if you came here for the review, it’s perfectly fine. It follows the general arc of the 2nd movie. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow show off their dizzying special abilities. Jim Carrey is as wacky as ever in his dual role as Dr. Robotnik and his grandfather, and the action is solid while the movie doesn’t stay away from the inherent silliness of the premise.  The main distinction is that James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are given more screen time to be silly as well, and they do very well with the opportunity.

However, my main takeaway from this movie is that I am a bit relieved this type of movie still has a place in today’s movie marketplace. I was (and still am) concerned that Hollywood forgot how to make live-action or hybrid live-action movies successful for families.  You need a brilliant comedic mind like Jim Carrey, who is available and unafraid to be silly in a movie like this to work, and yes, you still need recognizable IP, unfortunately.

But you don’t need to rehash decades-old IP, you don’t have to be meta, and you don’t have to make a movie to make a statement on how movies were made 40 years ago; you can be earnest, and you can provide a good old fashioned story with the enjoyably silly, yet semi-exhilarating story and do well.

It sounds like faint praise, but it's exactly what the box office, including this guy in his 40s, needs in the 2020s and beyond.