What a total disaster! Sonic the Hedgehog movie tries to be deliberately funny, which it is not, banks on its story to save itself, which it hasn’t got, and scurries toward the finish line which honestly feels like a pointless stretch. The movie is a tawdry affair that makes you regret your decision of going to watch it in the first place.

The only thing that tries really hard to save the movie from being branded utterly daft is the presence of Jim Carrey. Even after all these years, he has still got it. The comedian is the only good thing going on in the entire movie. Not even Sonic could save Sonic from mediocrity.

What is it with people trying to Hollywoodize video game movies? How do they always mess it up? I think the only good ones that came last year were The Angry Birds sequel and Pokemon Detective Pikachu. The rest barely make it anywhere. Sonic the Hedgehog feels exactly the same.

The Direction and Theme of Sonic The Hedgehog Movie

So basically Sega decided to turn their very popular Sonic game into a movie, so that it seeps its way into a bigger multitude. So that it covers more audiences and people get to know a character like Sonic exists. Heck, a lot of Millenials aren’t even aware of it.

Now the video game character Sonic has been brought to life in an action-adventure comedy just because, well, Sega could do it. They want to expand, spread their wings in all sorts of enclaves with everything they have created it seems. The initiation has been done by Sonic.

The plot of Sonic the Hedgehog feels as if a child has written it. Blame Patrick Casey and Josh Miller for the writing as they squeeze out an impoverished script that’s unworthy of being used for the revival of such a popular video game character. A bad choice I would say.

Even though the movie explores the Sonic world, to begin with just to give us a kick of nostalgia it fails to leverage it. Many instances in the movie keep things wide and loud from a gaming perspective but they are not at all subtle. The movie tries to excavate Sonic’s speed quotient but with bad writing, it doesn’t look good at all.

The Redesign and For What?

One thing I have learned from life. If you aren’t sure about something, that is, if your mind breeds doubt about a deed, just don’t do it. You have to be absolutely confident, utterly cocksure about the job, only then will you succeed. Surprisingly life goes on to prove this time and again.

When the creators messed up big time with Sonic being not remotely cute, they took a timeout to fix things. The result was a much better version of Sonic, something that wouldn’t freak your five years old out.

When the fans were listened to, it naturally layered it up with expectations. Maybe it wouldn’t suck! So we thought. Since the director Jeff Fowler was concerned about such minute details, it naturally made us cross our fingers for this one. But the result is way lower than what would be your definition of average.

In a nutshell, you can’t help but wonder, all this effort and for what?

The Overacting

I could have ignored this easily since it was supposed to be a fun movie, but both James Marsden and Tika Sumpter nag you to the core with their acting. There is so much overacting ground in Sonic the Hedgehog movie that your eyes hurt just looking at them just go at it, making it all look very contrived and deliberate.

There is not one instance wherein James has got a good dialogue for himself. Not even the least bit of seriousness in his acting. Don’t even get me started on Tika. I don’t blame them. They had poor lines to perform with.

The movie is built in a way that seems like the gang was really unserious about filmmaking. There are so many mistakes and loopholes in the flick that it doesn’t score anything good in terms of filmmaking. Yes, it would be good for your kids but, hey, there are a lot of adult fans too. What about their feelings, huh?

Dr. Robotnik in the Hedgehog Movie (Spoilers)

If I try to look at the bright side, and you know I am squinting hard here, I see Jim Carrey as the only saviour. Moments he is on-screen are the moments of relief. He makes the movie a tad watchable with his presence. His Dr. Robotnik is an intriguing piece. But there is a lot of Jim elements in his act, and he becomes more of himself than the villain he is supposed to play.

The movie tries to pay tribute to the actual Dr. Robotnik by eventually showing him get into the same countenance he used to have in the game in the post-credit scene. So, basically they are preparing us for another sequel but when you look at the quality of the movie, you begin to wonder if you would go on to watch the next one.

As another post-credits scene tacked to the movie, we have Tails showing up from a different world to track down Sonic. Even though they are trying to please the fans with the gaming characters, if they are to make a sequel, in the long run, it has to have a good plot with meaningful dialogues.

Maybe better writers and a better director would do the trick here. Let’s just hope it bounces back just like The Angry Birds movie did in the sequel.

The Final Verdict

Sonic the Hedgehog movie supersedes logic. It is so cheesy and stupid that it makes you question your decision to come and watch it in the first place. Maybe it was because of all the positivity that comes attached to a new movie release, or to see a long lost gaming character take form on the big screen. Blame the thrill for that!

Anywho, you have been warned. This can be called a kids movie, to be candid for they will enjoy for sure.

Check out the trailer of Sonic the Hedgehog Movie here: