Movie Review – Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Principal Cast : Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Edris Elba, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Lee Majdoub, Nathasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, Alyla Browne, Tom Butler, James Wolk.
Synopsis: Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance.
********
Paramount and SEGA’s Sonic franchise continues to barrel-roll past logic with the gleeful abandon of a hedgehog on a sugar high. Director Jeff Fowler’s third outing, Sonic 3, cranks the chaos to 11 by introducing Shadow (voiced with brooding gravitas by Keanu Reeves), Sonic’s in-game nemesis, who arrives trailing angst, vengeance, and enough power to make even Knuckles sweat. Jim Carrey—still refusing to retire—pulls double duty as the unhinged Dr. Robotnik and his mad scientist grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, whose tragic experiments on Shadow fuel the film’s emotional (if wafer-thin) core.
The plot? Pure, unapologetic Sonic™️: Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) face off against Shadow, a vengeful powerhouse with a grudge against humanity. Cue uneasy alliances, explosive set pieces, and Carrey devouring scenery like a man paid by the hammy quip. The film leans hard into Shadow’s tragic backstory—think lab experiments, a doomed friendship with Maria (Alyla Browne), and enough daddy issues to power a Death Star—but don’t expect nuance. This is Sonic, not Sophocles.
Sonic 3 is a delirious carnival ride: zippy humour, eye-melting VFX, and action sequences that laugh in the face of physics. Fowler and his writers (Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and newcomer John Whittington) double down on meta gags and franchise lore, tossing winks to die-hard gamers while Carrey’s Robotniks steal the show. Schwartz’s Sonic, now sharing screen time with Tails and Knuckles, feels sidelined—a bold move in a film bearing his name. But let’s be real: this isn’t about growth. It’s about Carrey twirling his mustache, Reeves growling existential threats, and the trio of kids I brought to the cinema losing their tiny minds with joy.
The humour? A glorious mess. Carrey’s dual-Robotnik dance routine is peak chaos, while Lee Majdoub’s deadpan henchman schtick remains a stealth MVP. Shadow’s darker arc—brief flashbacks to imprisonment, grief-driven rage—teases maturity, but Fowler wisely doesn’t linger. Why dwell on pathos when you can have a CGI hedgehog outrace a tsunami? Yes, the plot’s as predictable as a Mario Kart blue shell, and James Marsden’s near-absence leaves a “family” void the film fills with more explosions. But Sonic 3 knows its audience: pre-teens craving spectacle, gamers hungry for Easter eggs, and adults just here for Carrey’s glorious meltdowns. It’s bananas. It’s bonkers. And against all odds, it works. Stay for the mid-credits tease of Sonic 4 (2027, mark your calendars). The franchise may be as subtle as a homing attack, but like Shadow’s vendetta, I’m here for the ride.
Who wrote this?
