I did not anticipate a lot from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The primary film was a pleasant little diversion from COVID, however the sequel was fairly irritating–and with the identical director and writers again for one more go-around, I figured we had been in for one more spherical of “extra of the identical.” Luckily for all of us, I used to be mistaken: The threequel efficiently reins within the popular culture references and Jim Carrey’s wackiness simply sufficient, whereas additionally giving us a critical villain for the primary time with Keanu Reeves’s Shadow, and the result’s that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 works higher for audiences of all ages than its predecessors, which had been extra squarely geared toward youngsters.
Sonic 3 picks up a while after the final film, and the Wachowskis have adopted Tails and Knuckles together with Sonic–they’ve received a pleasant little household unit going. Robotnik, in the meantime, could be very depressed, simply hanging out in his crab mech binge-eating snacks and binge-watching telenovelas. In different phrases, all is properly. No less than till an unknown particular person manages to free the mysterious Shadow the Hedgehog from stasis, letting him free to pursue revenge for one thing that occurred way back and placing him into battle with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.
That unknown particular person was, it seems, one other Dr. Robotnik–grandpa to the one we all know (however nonetheless performed by Jim Carrey). Robotnik Sr. and Shadow are allies, having shared a deep trauma a long time earlier that’s driving them each to excessive lengths for revenge. The youthful Robotnik, the one who was a foul man within the different two motion pictures, serves as a wild card, as a result of he desires to crew up together with his grandad however has a reasonably totally different final purpose.
The plot is messy and does not fairly add up. For instance: One main character, GUN director Rockwell (Krysten Ritter), positions herself as an antagonist however then bows out of the film midway by, and it is laborious to inform what level there was in together with her. But it surely’s simpler to miss potential plot holes like that one this day trip as a result of the film’s tone is extra managed than the final one was.
Have a look at the Robotniks, for instance. Jim Carrey continues to be an entire weirdo in his twin roles, however it does not really feel like he is riffing the entire time the best way it did within the final one. A part of that’s seemingly due to the technical restraints–Carrey shares most of his scenes with himself, and it is harder to improv in that form of filmmaking state of affairs. However that is an important factor for the film, as a result of it retains Carrey from crossing the edge into being outright annoying too usually, and his jokes now hit greater than miss. Although when he does miss, it is nonetheless fairly grating.
The inclusion of Shadow the Hedgehog as the opposite villain additionally helps restrain the goofiness, as a result of he is truly a critical character, not like earlier antagonists Robotnik and Knuckles (the latter’s shtick working a lot better in a supporting protagonist function this time). Shadow’s seriousness, aided by Keanu Reeves’s drained and unhappy line supply, offers Sonic 3 a marked heft that the primary two motion pictures didn’t have in any respect.
That is additionally good as a result of it offers us a foul man who can match the earnestness of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Shadow is the indignant counterpart to Sonic’s carefree nature, a darkish imaginative and prescient of what Sonic might need turned out like had issues gone otherwise for him. Reeves could be nice for the half in a vacuum, however he is additionally notably efficient as a counter to Ben Schwartz’s happy-go-lucky supply as Sonic. Schwartz as soon as once more does strong work because the speedster, although he is been so constant by all three motion pictures that it seems like faint reward at this level. He was and continues to be the fitting man for the job.
The opposite key returning human characters–Tom (James Marsden), Maddie (Tika Sumpter), and Stone (Lee Majdoub)–have just a little bit much less to do on this one, however that does not dampen their enthusiasm any. The three actors are tremendous comfy in these roles and are clearly having a blast, and that vibe is infectious. Stone specifically has grow to be a uniquely enjoyable character, as a result of he is only a genuinely good, sensible, and sizzling dude who simply occurs to be an evil henchman. It is a very uncommon characterization.
It is not laborious to determine why the people took a little bit of a backseat this time–with the addition of Shadow, there are 4 CGI most important characters now, and the film leaves a lot of the third act to them and the Robotniks as they do battle in outer house. Discovering a spot to make use of Marsden and Sumpter throughout this half would have been extra bother than it is value, and the immense success of the Tremendous Mario Bros. Film demonstrated fairly clearly that it is OK to depart behind the grounding components and go all in on the online game stuff. The result’s that the ultimate battle in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is much larger in scope than the climactic fights from both of the earlier flicks, and the solely CGI motion sequences are beautiful and really properly directed. These are simply the perfect sequences on this collection to this point.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 succeeds not as a result of it is a full shakeup for the series–it is not that at all–but somewhat as a result of it refines the franchise template in the fitting approach, swapping out loads of the pop-culture references for extra authentic humor and placing extra of the give attention to the sport characters. This Sonic movie took itself only a bit extra critically than the primary two did, with out going overboard and turning grim and gritty–director Jeff Fowler and co. discovered the fitting steadiness this time round.