Remember that creepy weird Sonic the Hedgehog design that so freaked out fans this movie was put back three months while the film's effects department went through the entire film and reworked the CGI character to be less... spindly? Out went the smaller eyes and long legs, in came the more compact and cartoony version fans love?
Watching the finished movie, that original design makes sense: this Sonic is, for most of the movie at least, an awkward, hyperactive teen trying to figure out if he has a place in the world. It makes sense that he'd look a bit off; then again, he also looked a bit off, and the new and improved version is a lot closer to the super-fast blue alien hedgehog we all know and possibly have feelings towards.
Opening mid-explosion in the kind of "that's me - Sonic. Bet you're wondering how I got into this predicament" introduction that even the kids this is aimed at have seen too many times, this rushes through Sonic's origin (alien raised by an Owl, has magic teleporting rings, is sent to Earth to hide out, is given the not at all psychological damaging advice of "never stop running") to get to the status quo: he lives in a cave of the outskirts of the small town of Green Hills, where he spies on everyone and talks to himself in an attempt to prevent the isolation from driving him insane. Good luck with that.
James Marsden was having a bit of a career comeback when he signed on for the role of local cop Tom Wachowski, so that's probably over now. But he remains the most likable man in Hollywood and brings a lot of charm to a largely thankless role as firstly a bored cop and then secondly a surrogate parent to Sonic after an emotional outburst from the depressed and frustrated hedgehog results in an energy burst that attracts the attention of the US military's most unhinged drone pilot, Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey).
Carrey is doing a greatest hits tour here, dusting off all the old tics and antics that made him a star twenty five years ago. The good news is they still work, putting the film in the awkward position of having its star hedgehog as the weakest performance in the film. But there are a bunch of decent speed-related action sequences, and Sonic's emotional arc - he knows he should flee the planet but his next stop is a lifeless mushroom planet and he can't keep living alone and on the run - is strong enough to hold everything together.
This is much more aimed purely at kids than last year's Detective Pikachu, and it moves fast enough (sorry) to keep them entertained while the grown ups wonder why Marsden doesn't get better roles. The ending leaves the door open for at least one sequel, though there's nothing much here that'll leave you wanting more; guess Sonic'll have to be happy with the games and comics and TV series and collectable figures and hoodies and phone cases and whatever else the Sega official store is selling this week.
- Anthony Morris
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