Sonic The Hedgehog digital review: Jim Carrey in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG from Paramount Pictures and Sega.
Sonic The Hedgehog digital review: The legacy of video games transferring to the big screen hasn’t been, shall we say, all that positive. Classic game staples like Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter and, more recently the likes of Doom and Warcraft, haven’t been as warmly received, and even this new one, Sonic The Hedgehog, has had a slightly rocky journey from the small screen to the big screen, so it is great surprise to see this faithful, hugely entertaining film version based around everyone’s fave blue urchin, which comes to the digital format earlier than expected.
The film, scripted by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, is set in small-town America, Green Hills, Montana to be precise and the home of Sonic The Hedgehog after being beamed down to Earth via a special ring portal by his guardian, Longclaw the Owl. Sonic seeks refuge in the town keeping a low profile, but does, as we see in the opening scenes, manage to stay out of sight, quietly watching some of the town’s inhabitants, including his idol, local sheriff and ‘Donut King’ Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and his family. After ten years of the quiet life, silently observing from the shadows, Sonic becomes annoyed with his solitary existence and takes out his frustration in a closed baseball park. His antics – essentially running round and round the park repeatedly – unexpectedly send off a massive electromagnetic pulse, shutting off the power of the town, and indeed most of the Pacific northwest. This alerts the authorities, specifically the United States Department of Defense who enlist the help of the mysterious and highly volatile scientist named Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who heads to the source of the incident, Green Hills, to seek out the problem.
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Panicked by what he has done, Sonic reaches for his bag of emergency transportation rings but after accidentally opening a portal to San Fransisco, drops the bag of rings into it, which then closes before he can retrieve it. When Sonic’s cover is blown with the Wachowski family and his hero, Tom, the two must unite and embark on a road trip west to retrieve the rings while heavily pursued by the dastardly Robotnik and his army of dangerous drones.
Sonic The Hedgehog is a lovingly crafted, well thought out and massively engaging family affair that will have the kids glued throughout and the adults sprinkled with glittery nostalgia in an adaptation hugely faithful to the source material.
Carrey is the stand-out, on top form in his best role for years as the wicked Robotnik whose also has his own origin story and we see him transform over the course of the 100 or so minutes into the villain we all used to love and battle with back in those glorious days in front our SEGA consoles. It’s a lot of fun throughout and does leave the viewer teased with more. However, this is clearly aimed at the younger audience. Whether a new generation will be as engaged remains to be seen, but there does seem to be scope for sequels, particularly following a more than decent run at the box-office. There is a lot left out from the video games but that obviously gives the potential franchise room to move in the future.
While not perfect, it’s a great one-time watch particularly suited for the home formats.
Sonic The Hedgehog is now available on digital.
