Hedgehog “Fast & Furious” — with a double dose of chaos and absurdity. Review of “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”

Sonic, the fastest creature in the galaxy, has finally dashed into domestic movie theaters with his threequel. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” delivers dynamic action, a double dose of absurd humor from Jim Carrey, and the brooding charisma of Keanu Reeves as Shadow. The official digital release arrives as soon as January 21. Is it worth following the blue hedgehog? Let’s take a look.

Showdown in Tokyo

The events of the film unfold some time after the finale of the “Knuckles” series, though watching it is entirely unnecessary to follow the plot. The opening scene showcases the escape of Shadow — a hedgehog who spent 50 years in confinement. Once free, he immediately stirs up trouble in the very heart of Tokyo, turning the famous Shibuya crossing into an epicenter of chaos.

Meanwhile, Sonic, along with his friends and adoptive parents — the Wachowski family — celebrates the anniversary of his arrival on Earth. Right at this point, the writers use a dialogue between Tom and Sonic to explain the “rules of the game” to the viewer: this is a family movie designed to lure a younger audience into the “Sonic club” without forgetting about long-time fans.

The second rule is — to hell with logic! A helicopter picks up Team Sonic only to drop them into Tokyo a second later… through a ring portal. All of this is done purely to stage an eye-catching airdrop of the furry “Avengers” straight into the thick of things. The movie is packed with absurd and frankly illogical moments that one might criticize anywhere else, but not in “Sonic”. The creators establish this rule right from the start and follow it religiously.

And finally, the third rule — the main trio of heroes here isn't Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails at all. Shadow, with his dark resolve, steals the spotlight, leaving Team Sonic in the background. Moreover, he does so just as swiftly and flamboyantly as he fights, inevitably evoking Nightcrawler from “X-Men”.

Shadow, both inside and out, is a dark mirror of Sonic — a glimpse of what the blue hedgehog could have become had he grown up without love and support. His storyline, along with several other narrative beats, echoes Sonic Adventure 2 (2001), but only in broad strokes, so the movie cannot be considered a direct adaptation. He is a tragic character whose heart is overflowing with pain, setting him on a path of vengeance.

His relationship with Maria Robotnik — the only human who trusted him and saw him not as a monster, but as a friend — is shown through brief flashbacks. Personally, that wasn't quite enough for me to fully feel their bond. Yet even this was sufficient to make you root for him throughout the entire movie — that is how vibrant and emotionally charged this character is.

Speaking of the Robotniks — there are three of them in this movie. The primary catalyst of madness, the inimitable Jim Carrey, temporarily paused his “retirement” and returned to “Sonic 3” not only as the familiar Ivo Robotnik, but also as... his own grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. Gerald's mustache is just as eccentric, and his villainy is even more wicked. Thus, the theme of family runs so deep through the film that it becomes central even for the villains.

Carrey turned this duo into his personal comedic tour de force. Acting double-handed, the master of physical comedy knocks on the fourth wall, grimaces, clowns around, and lives his best life. Watching it is an absolute blast.

Need for Speed

Having suffered defeat in their initial encounter, Sonic sets out to discover who this mysterious shadowy clone is and what powers lie behind his emergence. In his search for answers, he not only has to team up with Ivo Robotnik, but also embark on a journey across various corners of Earth and even beyond.

In addition to Tokyo, the characters visit London and then find themselves in outer space. The final clash between the two mega-hedgehogs is a blistering spectacle that travels from one side of the globe to the other at the speed of light, even dropping by the Moon.

The scale of production in the threequel has noticeably grown, and with it, the quality of execution has improved. The visual component, including CGI, has been upgraded in proportion to the budget, but this takes nothing away from the merits of the cinematographer and editor.

I was surprised by how well the creators managed to capture high-speed action without going overboard on motion blur or annoying choppy editing. It felt like I had already resigned myself to the idea that in video game live-actions, the more action there is, the worse the editing gets. 

Brandon Trost and Al LeVine delivered arguably their finest work, capturing on screen all the energy of the lightning-fast hedgehogs with sheer perfection — battles feel punchy and packed with impact, while chases are vibrant and thrilling.

The spectacle is complemented by an energetic soundtrack, where the track Galvanize by The Chemical Brothers stands out in particular. It plays during Jim Carrey's dance frenzy — a scene entirely unnecessary to the plot, but so brilliant, hilarious, and vivid that it is impossible to forget.

Ringing simplicity

This is a family film, so it feels appropriate to recall the saying: “There's a black sheep in every family.” The frantic action, which has increased considerably in the threequel, rushes forward headlong, sweeping away everything in its path, yet stumbles awkwardly when trying to add tragic weight to the story.

Despite all its simplicity and “childishness,” the film touches upon the characters' internal struggles: Sonic continues to grieve for Longclaw and his lost homeland, Shadow is exhausted from captivity and the loss of Maria, while Ivo Robotnik, subconsciously longing for a family, fails to realize that he already has one — even if only in the form of Agent Stone.

It also raises an important question about how we cope with loss and preserve the memory of those who are no longer with us. The line “The light still shines even if the star is gone” is uttered twice, serving as the leitmotif of the entire narrative. It reminds us that we must not let the past cast a shadow over the present or rob us of our future: our loved ones live on in our memories and help us move forward.

However, dramatic moments are not given room to fully develop: no sooner do they strike a sore spot than we are rushed forward to the next spectacular sequence or absurd gag. There are just enough of these scenes to provoke a certain emotional response, yet the movie provides no space to truly experience it. 

This approach delivers a fast pace that keeps boredom at bay. This is particularly noticeable when compared to segments like the wedding in the second film — there are no blatantly drawn-out or tedious scenes here, which helps keep young viewers engaged. Adult viewers, on the other hand, might find themselves wanting more emotional depth. Should a family-oriented movie be faulted for this? Probably not, but it is still worth noting.

The reliance on simplicity accessible to the whole family is also evident in the large number of pop culture references and nods to other projects. There are even more of them now — from the inclusion of original game soundtracks to direct mentions of “Fast & Furious,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Detective Pikachu,” and other franchises — but they have grown more straightforward.

In previous films, such elements were, among other things, cleverly adapted for Russian-speaking audiences, whereas now everything is delivered completely head-on. This robs the references of their element of surprise and fails to deliver that pleasant satisfaction when the viewer figures out on their own what a scene or phrase is referencing.

I doubt the issue stems entirely from the new localization studio, though the voice cast certainly played their part. Russian theaters are currently showing a version dubbed in Israel featuring an entirely new voice cast. Knuckles no longer speaks with the voice of Mikhail Belyakovich, and Jim Carrey is no longer voiced by Vladimir Zaytsev.

Shadow's voiceover also features none of the voice actors traditionally cast for Keanu Reeves in Russian dubs. That doesn't mean the new dub is bad — but the unfamiliar timbre, intonations, and delivery immediately catch your attention (or rather, your ear), especially if you, like me, rewatched the previous films right before the premiere of the threequel.

The new studio genuinely tried to preserve the characters' personalities, and the technical quality of the dub does not suffer. However, that iconic “Kratos-like” tone of Knuckles is gone, and Shadow, despite Keanu Reeves starring in the original, doesn't sound quite as brooding.

Diagnosis

For director Jeff Fowler, this film marks a logical and long-awaited step on a twenty-year journey. Back at the dawn of his career in the gaming industry in 2005, he worked on Shadow the Hedgehog for Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2 — Shadow's solo outing. Years later, Fowler finally managed to bring him to the big screen — and by all accounts, this is only the beginning.

If you enjoyed the first two installments, you will definitely love “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”. It is essentially more of the same, only bigger, better, and even faster! Of course, the film does not aspire to be a cinematic masterpiece, but the creators understand what they are doing and openly acknowledge it both to themselves and to the audience.

It is a fast-paced, spirited, colorful adventure for the entire family, with plenty of straightforward humor and references anyone can grasp, along with a touch of darker undertones. At the same time, the threequel expands the “Sonic” universe and introduces new characters — even if some only appear in the credits, so don't skip them.

There is little doubt about the film's commercial success. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has already grossed $420 million worldwide, pushing the franchise's total box office past one billion dollars and securing Sonic a place in the elite club of the most lucrative film franchises.

Following this evident success came the lightning-fast announcement of a fourth movie, slated for release in 2027. Sega clearly has no intention of stopping here: rumors that first surfaced on Reddit back in 2022 are gradually turning into reality. With that in mind, the coming years might bring us a remake of the Sonic Adventure duology, a full-fledged Sonic Adventure 3, a sequel in the form of Sonic Frontiers 2, and an updated version of Sonic Heroes. By all appearances, a new golden era is dawning for Sonic.

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All rights to images in this article belong to SEGA / Paramount Pictures. IXBT Games uses them for informational and research purposes and makes no claim of ownership over them. Cover image source: Sonic Stadium