The thing about the Sonic the Hedgehog movies is that they continue to surprise–– with how humorous, self-referential and even insightful they can be. Since the first movie defied expectations in 2020 (the creative team redesigned the character after online backlash to a first look), the third film now cruises into theatres, and the series shows no signs of stopping.

 

Helmed at a breakneck pace by Jeff Fowler, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is loud, chaotic and often corny, with a distinctive visual style, but the script by Pat Casey, Josh Miller and John Whittington is funny, punny and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a clever genre play sanded down for kids (a Mission: Impossible riff this time) that gleefully breaks the fourth wall to bring us all in on the jokes.

 

There are also references to The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and John Wick, particularly with the vocal casting of Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog, a “dark Sonic” character, who here is a wounded warrior bent on vengeance. Ben Schwartz returns as the voice of Sonic, the titular blue alien hedgehog.

However, the real reason Sonic films are given a chance is the incredible performance of pure clownery by Jim Carrey, who is Sonic’s foe, Dr. Robotnik. Even better, in the third installment, it’s double the Robotnik, double the fun and twice the chance for Carrey to demonstrate the brand of outsize physical humour that made him famous. Carrey co-stars as his character’s own grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, who experimented on Shadow in a secretive military lab 50 years ago.

 

The plot is largely about a key and a space laser that Robotnik the elder and Shadow would like to use to blow up the Earth because they’re angry at the loss of a dear grandchild and friend, Maria (Alyla Browne). Robotnik the younger joins the mission in the interest of family bonding, while Team Sonic, which includes grumpy Knuckles (Idris Elba) and perky Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), as well as their human caretakers, Tom and Maddie (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter) band together to try and stop the Robotniks and learn some important lessons about teamwork and cooperation along the way.

And then, among all the chaos, dance breaks and befuddling body swaps, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 suddenly stops for a moment, for a shockingly trenchant discussion about grief and loss. That this conversation happens between two animated hedgehogs sitting on the moon only enhances the surreal nature of this surprisingly moving moment, but Reeves’ voice performance, known elsewhere for his role as an anguished vengeance-seeker, manages to sell this meditation on learning to live with the pain of loss. Shadow and Sonic realise that isolation and bitterness are no way to honour a lost loved one’s memory.

 

The series shows no signs of stopping (there are not one but two post-credits teasers), and with each iteration, there are diminishing returns on this character and formula. However, as long as they keep up the silly, fourth-wall-breaking humour and earnest messages of teamwork and unity, the Sonic franchise just might have some legs.

 

7.5/10 keep these coming

Boluwatife Adesina
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Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.