Sonic the Hedgehog returns to the big screen in late 2024 for a third time. After two successful movies, Sonic’s 3rd movie focuses on a new rival of his: Shadow the Hedgehog, voiced by Keanu Reeves. Of course, the main question is, does Sonic the Hedgehog 3 live up to its predecessors?
The movie begins with Shadow breaking out of his lab that he has been imprisoned in for 50 years in Tokyo, Japan. The government, the Guardian Units of Nations, also referred to as G.U.N., signals for Team Sonic, consisting of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, to capture Shadow. However, they are severely outmatched by Shadow. Because of this, Team Sonic seeks an alliance with Dr. Gerald Robotnik. Unbeknownst to Team Sonic, Gerald Robotnik teams with his grandfather, Dr. Ivo Robotnik to help Shadow destroy G.U.N. headquarters as an act of revenge for his own imprisonment and death of Maria, Dr. Ivo Robotnik’s granddaughter (and Gerald Robotnik’s sister).
The movie handles the topic of grief and how it can change a person through the character of Shadow, who is enraged at G.U.N. for killing Maria, despite the 50 years that has passed, and Sonic, who lashes out at Shadow for hurting Tom, thinking he might die. The climax and final battle of the movie is very climatic, but doesn’t feel like it’s too dramatic. The character of Ivo Robotnik is very fun, and the scenes where he is with Gerald Robotnik are some of the best scenes in the movie, purely due to Jim Carrey’s performance. Keanu Reeves also did an amazing job portraying Shadow’s pain through his voice, as well as the entirety of his character.
Team Sonic takes more of a backseat in this movie, only becoming relevant in the Chao Restaurant and the 3rd Act. Tom and Maddie also apply to this, however, they got even less camera time due to them being dormant in the 1st Act. Another shortcoming to point out is that Maria is not seen in the movie much, and I felt as if they didn’t emphasize the importance of Maria as much as they should’ve. Dr. Ivo Robotnik’s plan during the climax of the movie also feels random because we don’t get to explore his character outside of his backstory, which is mainly focused on Maria to begin with.
Even with the flaws this movie has (which, in my opinion, is very little), it is an absolute must-watch to Sonic and non-Sonic fans alike. Although the story is a bit mature, children can still have a fun time watching the Blue and Black Blur, while older audience members can enjoy the complexities of the full story. Their message is great, the action scenes are intense, and the characters are all very enjoyable, especially the Robotniks. Sonic 3 slots in comfortably with the first two movies in its series, making a fantastic trilogy for Sonic lovers that normal moviegoers can also enjoy.
