Hollywood has a less than stellar history when it comes to video-game movies, but there have been recent signs that filmmakers are getting closer to figuring out how to make them work. The Dwayne Johnson vehicle Rampage was dumb fun, Tomb Raider did well enough to get a sequel, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu killed us with cuteness. Now comes Sonic The Hedgehog, whose journey from video game to live-action movie has been far from smooth. The negative response to the first trailer — specifically Sonic’s disturbing, excessively realistic look — led to the film’s release being delayed and a promise of a redesign. But while the new look is a big improvement, the finished product is, by and large, forgettable.
The more emotional moments in the movie’s latter half don’t hit as they perhaps should.
It’s all the more frustrating given that its hero and villain are note perfect. Schwartz brings just the right amount of childlike energy to Sonic to make his fast-talking tendencies endearing instead of irritating, and Carrey is almost worth the price of admission by himself as the moustache-twirling Robotnik. From consistently quirky line deliveries to a weird yet entertaining dance sequence, this is easily the funniest the veteran comedian has been on screen in a long while.
It’s when Carrey isn’t on screen that Sonic The Hedgehog underwhelms. The bland central bromance between Sonic and Marsden’s overly trusting Sheriff is missing a few key beats, and the speed at which their relationship develops means that the more emotional moments in the movie’s latter half don’t hit as they perhaps should. Another character who would benefit from a slower pace would be Tom’s wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter), who is given far too little to do.
As for when things actually need to be speedy, director Jeff Fowler does a good job of letting Sonic’s confident personality shine through in the action sequences. Still, it’s not enough to distract from the fact that much of it feels derivative of Quicksilver’s big moment in X-Men: Days Of Future Past.