From director Jeff Fowler, the third entry into the video game-adapted Sonic movie franchise, Sonic The Hedgehog 3, creates another staple in its legacy as one of the best video game-to-film adaptations seen throughout the 2000s. It supplies a story for new franchise fans to engage with alongside several tributes to the longtime fans of the Blue Blurs catalog of games. Set after the post-credit scene of 2022’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” Fowler brings the viewer’s eyes to 2024, where Project Shadow the ultimate life form is being kept in stasis by the military organization G.U.N. After escaping the base Shadow now seeks revenge on the organization for the death of his deceased best friend Maria. It is now up to Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to Stop him, the unextinguished Dr. Robotnik, and his grandfather Gerald Robotnik from launching a massive attack on G.U.N headquarters. The plot remains similar to its past films because Sonic has to
stop a major threat for the sake of his family and humanity. However, I felt more engaged in the story of Shadow rather than the matters of the main protagonist as Fowler takes a means to delve into what Maria meant to him. The direction was taken to use flashbacks to express how Maria treated Shadow like a normal being, rather than the lab rat he was seen as by the people in the lab. The film adds this intense tragedy I did not feel in the prequel films. Keanu Reeves was a good choice for Shadow based on his resume of characters portrayed as dark and vengeful such as John Wick and Johnny Silverhand. In the film, his performance is well done for the character he is assigned, however, I found at times that his lines were forced like he was trying too hard to be vengeful in this portrayal and his somewhat comical moments felt off-putting to the silliness seen in performances of Ben Schwartz and Jim Carey.
The second act of the film felt severely lacking, with this being a film directed toward a younger audience the dialogue felt artificial and corny and the second act is where it is shown the most. There is also not much going on until the end of this act as characters such as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles remain Stagnant while the human characters, Tom, Maddie, and the Robotniks, are doing most of the movement. It felt like an underwhelming sequence of events to get to the well-crafted third act. The CGI action sequences are just as well done in the third entry as they were in the previous 2. Being accompanied by an epic soundtrack composed by Tom Holkenberg and well-put-together sound design culminate into visual and auditory eye candy. The several notions of tribute that Fowler gives to the Sonic video game franchise to please long-time fans is also appreciated. He decided to take several elements from the 1998 Sega Dreamcast game
Sonic Adventure 2” which debuted Shadow, Maria, and Gerald. The game as a whole provided a base structure for where the plot could lead as a means to possibly continue or end the film franchise. Though some of the references are fairly blatant and don’t match the context of what is going on presently. Such as in the first act where Sonic directly quotes from Sonic Adventure 2 to be used as a one-liner before jumping out of a helicopter. While it fits the reference it felt unneeded and this happens similarly again in the third act during the climax. While the dialogue may feel artificial at times and the second act may feel underwhelming, as a whole “Sonic The Hedgehog 3,” Is a quality film to kick back and enjoy. With well-produced CGI, a Well-crafted soundtrack, a tragedian-like story, and undeniable fan service It is seen how these elements and more come to lift this film among its prequels to a higher echelon of video game film adaptations.
