Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

Today I watched Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (dir: Jim Fowler, 2024) at the illustrious Cinemark 16 XD Theater in beautiful Victorville, California. As I was ordering tickets, I decided to sign up for the Cinemark Movie Club, since they offered 50% off my first two months in the program. Given the deal and the perk of a monthly credit for one free standard ticket, I only paid about $5.50 to see this movie. I went to an early showtime at around 10:20 am and the only other people in the auditorium with me were a small family. Theater-going experience was fine, the so-called "Luxury Lounger" seating was much more comfortable than the reclining seats at the Civic Plaza 12 theater in Hesperia, CA where I watched Nosferatu (dir: Robert Eggers, 2024). Something I want to try to do with these kind of posts is highlight trailers for upcoming movies that catch my eye. With that being said, most of the trailers that played beforehand were mainly kids features as to be expected. However, I did see a promotional image in a sort of smash cut promo for the upcoming remake, Wolfman (dir: Leigh Whannell, 2025). I saw a trailer for it back at the tram ride for Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights 2024 and was intrigued, so I'm glad for the reminder and will likely go see it when it comes out later in January. Other than that, the theater played the teaser for the upcoming Superman film; I've already seen it before, but it still is a good teaser and ought to be a good watch. Anyhow onto Sonic 3.

I suppose I should preface this by saying that I have never played Sonic Adventure 2 to completion. I played a little bit of the beginning, but by the time I got to play through more non-Sonic/Shadow levels, I lost interest. Still, I played quite a bit of the 2005 Shadow the Hedgehog back in the day and have seen other friends play through SA2, so I am familiar with the material. If you have read through my thoughts on the previous Sonic movies, you will recall that I said Sonic 2 leaned more into the material's goofier video game roots. In regards to Sonic 3, it's safe to say that we are now fully in that camp with even more deep cut references and a plot that follows that of the video games more closely (albeit with some changes to fit better into the universe of the movies). Personally my brains worms went goblin mode when Sonic and the gang were describing themselves as "Team Sonic", only for the movie to make a visual reference to the 2004 game Sonic Heroes when Tails takes flight to get Sonic & Knuckles out of tight spot (see image below). Moreover, I did not think I would see Shadow (Keanu Reeves) packing heat in this movie like he does in the 2005 game, but man the shot of him on a motorcycle holding a laser gun while doing the Akira Slide made me smile.

Moving on to the other things I enjoyed about this movie, I think the visual effects and animation were incredible and outclasses the 2020 original and Sonic 2. The opening and closing credits reveal that Blur Studios was involved with this movie (and also Sonic 2). To give a brief summary for those not in the know, Blur Studios is a production company that consistently puts out high quality CGI effects and animation. Aside from their involvement with the Sonic movies, they also worked on cutscenes for the aforementioned Shadow the Hedgehog and the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog games, as well as cutscenes for other franchises like Halo and Call of Duty; they have also recently put out the Amazon Prime show Secret Level, which I hear good things about. Given that sort of pedigree, it should come as no surprise that the visual effects in Sonic 3 are as good as they look. Models for each CGI character look great, their interactions with human actors are believable and well done (special highlight to the Shadow and Maria scenes). Moreover, action scenes between characters are a treat with fluid animation. In addition, the cinematography in this movie also caught my eye. There are some legitimately well composed shots in this movie and plentiful screenshots that can be certified as Grade A Hard Images.

Furthermore, just like in the last movie, the side original characters have significance to the story and are entertaining to watch. I feel like back when the original Sonic movie came out, much of the fanbase would have preferred to see the OCs less and less, so it's nice that not only are they still given things to do, but you also kinda care about them too. Tom and Maddie, played by James Marsden and Tika Sumpter respectively, continue to act as parental figures to Sonic, but I have completely warmed up to it at this point because the first scene with the group (including Tails and Knuckles) is legitimately sweet and solidify the idea of these characters as one big caring family. However, Agent Stone (Lee Majdoub) is still my star when it comes to the side characters. The dude continues to be devoted to Dr. Eggman, even when the doctor is at his low point early on in the movie. Stone even gets has a conflict when Eggman pushes him away in favor of the doctor's grandfather, Gerald (also played by Jim Carrey). That conflict ultimately gets a sweet payoff in the end without getting too into spoilers. In addition, I felt that Shadow being motivated by grief and seeking revenge over Maria's demise is more believable here than how it's presented in the games. Again I haven't fully played SA2, so I can't totally confirm this, but the movie takes its time to showcase Maria and Shadow's friendship that we just don't really get to see in the games. Finally, the last act of this movie got me invested and admittedly even hyped. I'm typically not fond of overt fan service, but without getting into spoilers, my brain worms were sent into overdrive with the visual spectacle, story payoffs, and a well chosen needle drop in the soundtrack.

There are few things in this movie that don't work for me. Given the story that this movie is adapting, it is definitely the darkest movie in the franchise, but it's still pretty lighthearted and goofy. I'm not saying that Sonic media should be edgier (God no), but that the tone is often undercut with drawn out humor. Bringing me to my next point, while this movie still has good visual gags and some funny lines (there's a crack about Elvis that slayed me), there are a lot of goofy bits. Scenes between Eggman and his Grandfather not only have bits that are a bit too much, but go on for too long. Moreover, while I stated before that I liked how the movie fleshed out Shadow and Maria's relationship, I don't really understand why G.U.N. pulled the plug and raided the research facility that Shadow, Gerald, and Maria were stationed at. This is an issue with the games as well, but all the movie seems to give is a vague explanation of the military and some of the scientists being afraid of Shadow's power, despite Shadow getting along with Maria perfectly fine. I dunno, I did use the restroom briefly in the middle of the film, so I may have missed something. Lastly, and this is a small issue, but Keanu's delivery of Shadow's lines come off as hookey at points. It doesn't completely pull me out of the scene, but it sticks out when the other CG characters are given more believable performances.

I'm a little conflicted as to how I should rate this movie. Like the previous two, this movie is competently made, even more so with the stunning visual effects and seasoned voice acting. I know that if I did not have prior history with the franchise, I likely would not have given this movie, or Sonic 2, the time of day. However, as someone that has played these games at a young age and still plays them today from time to time, I kinda appreciate how these movies progressed and the fan service which I never thought I would have experienced on the big screen. With that said, I'll give Sonic the Hedgehog 3 a Just a Movie (if you're a parent, with no history with the franchise, just taking your children out to the movies). However, if you are a Sonic fan, a longtime one especially, I feel pretty confident to give this a Best Movie Ever in that regard.

My next post is likely to be about Babygirl (dir: Halina Reijn, 2024). Good night.