September 5 review

 Coming Soon! 

Wolf Man review

 Coming Soon! 

Sonic the Hedgehog Reviews: Mega Collection Plus

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG REVIEWS: MEGA COLLECTION PLUS: 

By Nico Beland

 

PARAMOUNT PICTURES, PARAMOUNT+, AND SEGA

 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: 

SONIC'S BIG SCREEN DEBUT IS FORMULAIC BUT HAS PLENTY OF FAMILY FUN AND FAN-SERVICE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

The world’s fastest hedgehog hits the big screen in Sonic the Hedgehog

 

The blue blur (or Blue Devil as the movie calls him) makes his big screen debut in Sonic the Hedgehog, based on the beloved Sega video game franchise of the same name. Believe it or not out of all the video game franchises, my favorite is and always will be Sonic the Hedgehog and have been a proud supporter of the hedgehog since childhood. 

Granted, it wasn’t until after Sega became a third-party developer for consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo when I became a fan of the blue hedgehog, but ever since I got my hands on the Nintendo GameCube port of Sonic Adventure 2 as a kid, my Sonic fandom was pretty much instant. I’ve played many of the video games both old and new, watched all the cartoons, read the comic books published by Archie Comics at the time, and I owned several action figures, plushies, and other Sonic merchandise throughout my childhood…in fact I still have most of those even to this day. 

I’ve been clamoring for a Sonic the Hedgehog theatrical movie for years despite video game film adaptations usually being critical and/or box-office poison. But given the popularity of Sonic especially during the 90s when he was rivaling Nintendo’s Mario franchise who already had a theatrical film released in 1993, I’d assume one would have been made back then or at the very least in the early-late 2000s when Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and Sonic Heroes as well as the hit Saturday morning anime series, Sonic X were released, I was so eager for a Sonic movie that a couple of friends and I got together and made movies of our own when we were kids (They sucked BTW!). 

After years of waiting and Sonic making a few big screen appearances prior in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph movies and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, the world's fastest hedgehog finally gets a movie of his own which leads us to today. The film is directed by newcomer Jeff Fowler in his directorial debut, produced by Neal H. Moritz (Fast & Furious franchise, XXX, 21/22 Jump Street), and executive produced by Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate) and is a live-action/animated hybrid (Yep, just like Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs), which had me very worried when it was announced back in 2014 and was even more worried and disgusted when the first trailer came out last year which had an absolutely atrocious design for Sonic, fortunately they fixed it.  

So, how does Sonic’s first movie hold up? Honestly, while I can’t call it the Sonic movie I wanted as a child, I had a fun time with it. It isn’t a perfect representation of its source material and the plot is pretty generic, but the charm of the film’s leads, humor, and subtle references to the games that inspired it are enough for me to overlook that flaw. 

The film follows Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz-Parks and Recreation, The Other Guys, The Walk), a blue anthropomorphic talking hedgehog from another dimension with extraordinary speed who travels to Earth to escape from those who want to capture him and harness his power. However, when he accidentally causes a power outage while hiding out in the town of Green Hills (Get it?), Sonic is targeted by the government and the tyrannical mad scientist, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey-Ace Ventura 1 and 2, The Mask, The Truman Show) who plots to use Sonic’s power for world domination. 

This forces Sonic to team up with Green Hills sheriff, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden-X-Men franchise, Enchanted, Westworld) who agrees to help Sonic on his adventure to find his missing bag of magical rings that have the power to get him home. Of course, while getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. 

The film also stars Tika Sumpter (Ride Along 1 and 2, Get On Up, Southside with You) as Tom’s wife Maddie, Adam Pally (Happy Endings, The Mindy Project, Iron Man 3) as Wade Whipple, and Neal McDonough (Star Trek: First Contact, Band of Brothers, Justified) as Major Bennington. 

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog probably isn’t the movie longtime fans wanted, but it still manages to be an entertaining and fun adaptation in its own right. It’s easily one of the best films based on a video game alongside Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and The Angry Birds Movie 2 and shows that we’ve come a long way since the dark days of Uwe Boll’s directing career. 

As mentioned before, the plot is nothing special and rehashed from other kids’ movies however what sets this apart from things like The Smurfs or Masters of the Universe is that Sonic and Tom do have a strong chemistry together. It’s amusing to see them interact with each other on their road trip, cracking jokes, getting into trouble, and over the course of the film they learn more about one another thus making you care more for them over ANY Smurf or Chipmunk. 

While there are a few jokes that don’t quite stick the landing, the humor for the most part not only made me laugh but there were moments in this movie where I laughed hard. Whether the film was poking fun at the entire Sonic franchise, a particular running sequence that’s obviously a reference to the Quicksilver scenes from the X-Men movies, or Sonic breaking the fourth wall similar to Deadpool, I was laughing while also admiring how clever some of these jokes are, and let’s not forget Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, but we’ll get to him momentarily. 

The redesigned Sonic is a lot better than what we could have gotten, he doesn’t have those ugly small eyes, questionable muscular arms and legs, or the terrifying human teeth anymore. Now, his appearance is more faithful to the source material recreating the hedgehog’s cartoony nature but is different enough to stand out from the rest of the character’s previous designs and be its own unique creation, this is a really good design for Sonic and had the filmmakers went with their original version, this movie would have crashed and burned even harder than Sonic ’06. 

Besides Sonic being more appealing to look at now, he’s also just as entertaining to listen to, Ben Schwartz while he’s far from being a replacement for Roger Craig Smith, Ryan Drummond, Jason Griffith, or even Jaleel White, does a solid job providing Sonic’s voice and captures the cocky, arrogant, but good-natured attitude Sonic is known for having. He actually almost sounds like Ryan Drummond’s Sonic voice without sounding like a cheap impersonation. 

Moving onto Sonic’s new friend that doesn’t have two tails, James Marsden as Tom, his performance is decent even though he doesn’t quite make as big an impression as Ben Schwartz’ Sonic and especially Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik. With that said, he gets some funny lines once in a while and as mentioned before has good chemistry with Sonic, so yeah, believe it or not James Marsden was partnered up with another CG animated character and this time came out with his dignity unlike his performance in Hop. 

Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik owns every scene that he’s in, he’s no Mike Pollock and is a radically different Robotnik than from the games, but Carrey’s energetic and wildly animated personality shines through and gives a million percent whenever the crazy evil genius is on-screen. He’s certainly a lot better than Dennis Hopper as Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. movie. 

Hopefully, this movie will be a hit during its theatrical run because I’d love to see a sequel especially if it introduced other Sonic characters like Tails, Knuckles, or even Shadow. Don’t make this like the recent Power Rangers movie, I need my big screen version of those characters! 

Whether a fan, newcomer, or just looking for something fun to take the kids to, Sonic the Hedgehog should make everyone happy. It’s not perfect but it has enough action, wit, and charm to make it worth checking out. You’ll be “Up, Over, and Gone” before you know it. 

 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2: 

SEQUEL FULLY EMBRACES ITS VIDEO GAME ROOTS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

Sonic and Knuckles (& Knuckles) in Sonic the Hedgehog 2

 

The blue blur is back for a new adventure in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to enormously successful 2020 film based on the iconic Sega video game series. If you read my review of the first film (and especially the longer version of that review!) then you know that I’m a huge fan of Sonic the Hedgehog and grew up on his games, cartoons, comic books, etc. and through several ups and downs during his history, I’ve always retained my Sonic fandom, even when a game bites the dust I can still go back to the ones that stuck the landing. 

The first film, I thought was a decent, if not formulaic kids’ movie with a lot of fun action, silly dialogue, and a very likable charm as well as some cute little callbacks to the Sonic the Hedgehog lore that longtime fans will appreciate and a delightfully bonkers performance from Jim Carrey (The Mask, Liar Liar, The Truman Show) as the villainous, Dr. Robotnik…or Eggman. It wasn’t quite the Sonic movie I wanted to see as a kid, but I enjoyed it and I kept coming back to it in anticipation for a sequel because of the Tails teaser at the end of the first one, which leads us to where we are now. 

In a year that saw the release of The Batman and upcoming blockbusters like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One), this was one of my most anticipated films of 2022. The trailers looked like it was giving us a Sonic movie that’s much closer in spirit to the source material with the inclusion of Miles “Tails” Prower and Knuckles the Echidna, a more game-accurate Dr. Eggman, planes, snowboarding, Death Egg Robots, Chaos Emeralds, all that good stuff. 

While the first one wasn’t the Sonic movie I wanted to see as a kid, this one certainly felt like it in terms of the marketing…and after coming out of the theater. I don’t know how this movie is doing with the public, but as a die-hard Sonic fan who had been playing and watching the character since childhood, I love the Hell out of this movie. 

When I first heard they were making a Sonic movie, this was what I wanted to see, a film that fully embraces what the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is by taking more of an adventure route rather than a buddy road trip and recreating several famous moments from the games and not just subtle references in the background. The first one felt more like a buddy road trip movie that just happens to have Sonic in it, this one however is a Sonic movie all the way through. 

The film is set right after the events of the first film, and Dr. Robotnik has escaped the Mushroom Planet and formed an unlikely partnership with a vengeful echidna known as Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba-The Wire, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Suicide Squad), who has a bit of a grudge with hedgehogs to say the least and the two of them set off to find the sacred, Master Emerald, a gem that harnesses Ultimate Power (as the film calls it) and can be used to destroy civilizations. Meanwhile, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz-Parks and Recreation, House of Lies, DuckTales (2017)) has happily moved into the home of Donut Lord, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden-X-Men franchise, Hairspray (2007), Enchanted) and his wife, Maddie (Tika Sumpter-One Life to Live, Think Like a Man, Get on Up) and tries to help the public as a vigilante, but he’s…a little careless. 

Sonic soon meets up with Tails (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who had voiced the character since 2014’s Sonic Boom TV series), a two-tailed fox from another planet who comes to warn Sonic that Robotnik is back, and he and Knuckles are on a hunt for the Master Emerald. So, the two of them set off on an adventure to find it before Robotnik and Knuckles and save the world from destruction. 

The film also stars Natasha Rothwell (Love, Simon, Like a Boss, Wonder Woman 1984) reprising her role as Rachel, Adam Pally (Assassination of a High School President, Taking Woodstock, Iron Man 3) reprising his role as Wade Whipple, Shemar Moore (DC Animated Universe) as Randall, Lee Majdoub (The 100, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency) reprising his role as Agent Stone, and Tom Butler (Sliders, Miracle, Snakes on a Plane) reprising his role as Commander Walters AKA The Olive Garden Guy. 

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 gives fans of the long-running video game franchise exactly what they want to see and surpasses its predecessor in just about every way. Keep in mind, I thought the first film was a decent starting point with this one being the main event. 

The story is much closer in spirit to the plot of a Sonic game as it revolves around Sonic teaming up with other anthropomorphic creatures to find magic emeralds, explore new worlds, and fight Eggman and his army of robots, a “Sonic Adventure” if you will. It’s the real deal, not Sonic and Cyclops going on a buddy road trip, it was cute the first time, but it wasn’t Sonic. 

The characters are also improved upon from the first movie, Sonic is still this lovable but reckless and attitude-filled hero in training who’s trying to learn how to be responsible with his powers, Jim Carrey is once again having a ball as Dr. Robotnik and manages to blur the line between being hilariously over-the-top and goofy to legitimately threatening. The new characters, Tails and Knuckles are also a lot of fun, while Tails doesn’t quite have as many funny lines as Sonic or Eggman, but as this innocent and wide-eyed sidekick who wants to be like Sonic, you really buy their brotherly bond and there are quite a few heartfelt moments between the two, while Knuckles in this movie is sort of like the Sonic equivalent to Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy where he’s this badass brute with a serious attitude problem and most of his comedy comes from how he takes things extremely literally, also Idris Elba’s voice fits him perfectly with a disappearing, reappearing British accent. 

Granted, the human characters are downplayed more this time around, they all have their moments to shine. Marsden is once again decent as Tom the Donut Lord and the scenes with him and Sonic, as a parental figure to him are pretty effective, Tika Sumpter is given a little more to do via a sub-plot with her and Natasha Rothwell sneaking into a military base that captured Sonic, which you could argue goes on for too long and brings the movie to a halt, but the sequence is so entertaining and funny that I just didn’t care. 

The action sequences are pretty much flawless in terms of a Sonic movie, it isn’t just Sonic bouncing on Robotnik’s ship a bunch of times. If anything, this has the Sonic equivalent of a Marvel Cinematic Universe climax involving Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the Death Egg Robot and like the final battle in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it made the little kid in me extremely happy, there were even moments during it where I got chills. 

What more can I say? If you’re a Sonic fan, then do yourself a favor and see this movie, you won’t regret it. This film brought me back to my youth and I look forward to watching it again, all I got to say is bring on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 already. 

 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3: 

LIVE AND LEARN, THE BLUE DEVIL’S THIRD CINEMATIC OUTING IS HIS BEST YET! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

Sonic and Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3

 

            The Blue Blur and his friends are back and this time they’re up against 2 hammy Jim Carrey (The Mask, The Truman Show, How the Grinch Stole Christmas) performances and a mysterious black hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the third installment of the Sonic the Hedgehog film series based on the beloved Sega video game franchise of the same name. If you read my reviews for the previous movies (or any of my reviews for Sonic media), you should know that I am a huge fan of the Sonic franchise and have been one since I was a kid with Sonic Adventure 2 (The debut game of Shadow the Hedgehog) being the very first game I played. 

So, I am very familiar with Shadow’s storyline and this isn’t the first time it was adapted outside of video games as there was already an arc in the 2003 anime series, Sonic X based on the plot of SA2 and the for the most part it’s a relatively faithful retelling of the story. I was excited for this movie ever since the mid-credits scene in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 where Shadow was teased for the next movie, speaking of which I should give my quick thoughts on the previous films before moving forward. 

The first Sonic movie from 2020 I like fine though it wasn’t exactly the movie I would have wanted as a child as it felt more like a generic kids film in terms of its story and execution, but the charm of the character and Jim Carrey’s over-the-top performance as Dr. Robotnik made it an entertaining enough time. The second movie in 2022 I really enjoyed as it incorporated more elements and characters from the games like Tails and Knuckles, the Master Emerald, and Super Sonic, it felt like the Sonic movie I wanted to see as a kid. 

However, where Sonic the Hedgehog 2 felt like the Sonic movie I would have wanted to see as a kid, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 actually IS that Sonic movie for me. I loved every minute of Sonic 3 and it’s not just because of nostalgia, as a movie this one is the best paced, the story is far more engaging than its predecessors, the comedy is really damn funny, and there are some genuinely strong character moments here. 

Sometime after the events of Sonic 2 (and Knuckles), Shadow the Hedgehog (voiced by Keanu Reeves-Speed, The Matrix franchise, John Wick franchise) has been awakened from his 50-year sleep and escaped a top secret military base seeking vengeance upon the world. The government organization, G.U.N. enlists the help of Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz-Parks and Recreation, The Walk, DuckTales (2017)), Miles “Tails” Prower (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey-Digimon, Danny Phantom, Naruto; reprising her role from the games), and Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba-Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Jungle Book (2016), The Suicide Squad) to locate and stop Shadow. 

But when they discover Shadow is too powerful to defeat, Team Sonic must form an unexpected alliance with their arch nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik “Eggman” (Carrey) in order to save the world. However, during their team-up Eggman encounters a mysterious person from his past, his long-lost grandfather and scientific genius, Gerald Robotnik (Also played by Carrey) with a plan of his own. 

The film also stars James Marsden (X-Men franchise, Enchanted 1 and 2, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues) and Tika Sumpter (Get On Up, Southside with You, The Old Man and the Dog) reprising their roles as Team Sonic’s adoptive parents Tom and Maddie Wachowski, Krysten Ritter (Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Breaking Bad) as Director Rockwell, Lee Majdoub (See No Evil 2, Dead Rising: Endgame, The Mountain Between Us) reprising his role as Robotnik’s lackey (and coffee maker) Agent Stone, and Alyla Browne (Three Thousand Years of Longing, True Spirit, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) as Gerald’s deceased granddaughter and Shadow’s only friend Maria Robotnik. 

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 doesn’t just feel like another fun Sonic movie, it is a feature-length love letter to those who have followed this series of video games since childhood. There are so many references, callbacks, music cues, and characters quoting iconic dialogue from the games in this movie, I was smiling ear to ear during my viewing. 

The first two Sonic movies are a lot of fun don’t get me wrong, but they weren’t exactly that great in terms of storytelling. That is not the case here as Sonic 3’s plot retains the deep emotional core and heavy edge of Shadow’s backstory from Sonic Adventure 2 and it can be gut-wrenching at times especially for a PG-rated family film. 

The scenes involving Shadow’s past with Maria are very well-handled in the film and the backstory is even expanded upon by showing their lives together before her death. It was adapted perfectly to live-action cinema and it doesn’t feel like a drastic tone change compared to the rest of the film. 

Keanu Reeves knocked it out of the park as the voice of Shadow and really captures the brooding, lone warrior antihero from the games while still being incredibly sympathetic and shares some great moments with Sonic over the course of the film. Not to mention the Shadow design looks great in live-action with the added details to his quills and seeing him in motion whether running or fighting Sonic and friends, this is also coming from the same person who gushed over seeing Super Sonic on the big screen in Sonic 2. 

Jim Carrey is once again as gleefully cartoony as ever and now there’s two of him with Carrey putting his all into Eggman and Gerald and delivering the funniest moments. Seeing two Jim Carreys dancing together to avoid lasers and having a hilariously demented father/son montage is both really funny and actually kind of touching.

This movie also has the right amount of non-Eggman human characters, James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are still in a fair amount of the film, but they never hijack the movie for a random subplot or take the focus away from Sonic. All you wedding scene-hating Sonic 2 viewers can rest easy. 

The action scenes are some of the best out of the three movies and Knuckles with some of my favorites being a glorious chase sequence in Tokyo between Sonic and Shadow on his motorcycle and one great big homage to Sonic Adventure 2 in the climax. It also has one of the funniest deaths I’ve seen all year. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 works as a love letter to fan-favorite games in the series while also being an entertaining film on its own. This film took me back to being an 8-year-old boy in 2002 experiencing SA2 for the first time and after seeing the post-credits scenes, give me Sonic the Hedgehog 4 right now!  

 

KNUCKLES: 

SONIC MOVIE SPIN-OFF SERIES NEEDS A STRONGER PUNCH! 

By Nico Beland

Series Review: ** ½ out of 4

PARAMOUNT+ AND SEGA

Knuckles the Echidna in…Knuckles

 

            The super strong but not very bright space echidna makes a splash (or rather punch) in Knuckles, the new Paramount+ miniseries and spin-off of the Sonic the Hedgehog film series based on the Sega video game franchise of the same name. The Knuckles character made his big screen debut in 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 voiced brilliantly by Idris Elba (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, The Suicide Squad) and was a massive standout in the movie. 

I guess it makes sense to give Knuckles his very own show since he already had a spin-off comic book line from Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog series as well as a game on the Sega 32X, Knuckles Chaotix but let’s not get into that. The miniseries looked promising from the marketing and given that I enjoyed the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movies and eagerly await Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s release this December, of course I was going to watch Knuckles when it came out. 

So, how’s the echidna’s first adventure without the hedgehog or two-tailed fox? It’s fine, I guess. 

I don’t think this is a terrible show as there are plenty of fun moments and the dynamic between Knuckles and Adam Pally (Assassination of a High School President, Taking Woodstock, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life) reprising his role from the Sonic movies as Tom’s dim-witted deputy sheriff friend, Wade is quite entertaining. But for a show about a character this badass and interesting, it left me feeling kind of empty. 

The series is set after the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and follows Knuckles the Echidna (voiced again by Elba) struggling to adjust to life on Earth and sets out to find an apprentice. That apprentice turns out to be the dim-witted deputy sheriff of Green Hills, Wade Whipple and begins to train him in the ways of the Echidna warriors to help him prepare for a bowling tournament in Reno, Nevada where his estranged father (Cary Elwes-The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Twister) is participating in (So, very much like the first Sonic movie it’s a road trip but replace Sonic and James Marsden with Knuckles and Adam Pally). 

Along the way, this unlikely duo encounters corrupt G.U.N. agents, Mason (Kid Cudi-Don’t Look Up, X trilogy, Trolls Band Together; who also performed the end credits song for Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and Willoughby (Ellie Taylor-The Lodge, The Mash Report, Ted Lasso) out to get Knuckles’ power, a bounty hunter with a hat that would look really good on an echidna known as Jack Sinclair (Julian Barratt-The Mighty Boosh, Flowers, Bloods), the ghost of the echidna tribe leader, Pachacamac (voiced by Christopher Lloyd-Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Addams Family (1991 movies)), a diabolical former lackey of Dr. Robotnik known as The Buyer (Rory McCann-Hot Fuzz, Game of Thrones, Jumanji: The Next Level), and probably the most frightening guests during their quest Wade’s mother, Wendy (Stockard Channing-Six Degrees of Separation, The First Wives Club, The West Wing) and FBI agent sister, Wanda (Edi Patterson-We Bare Bears, Knives Out, Violent Night). 

The series also stars Rob Huebel (Childrens Hospital, I Love You, Man, The Descendants) and Paul Scheer (The Onion Movie, NTSF:SD:SUV::, The Disaster Artist) as ESPN commentators Dylan Beagleton and Gary N. Sinclair, and features guest appearances by Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, DuckTales (2017), Renfield) reprising his role as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog, Colleen O’Shaughnessey (Digimon, Danny Phantom, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes) reprising her role as the voice of Miles “Tails” Prower, and Tika Sumpter (Stomp the Yard: Homecoming, Ride Along 1 and 2, Get On Up) reprising her role as Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails’ adoptive mother Maddie Wachowski. 

Overall, Knuckles may serve as a passable diversion from the Sonic movies and time killer for Sonic 3’s release, but as someone who grew up with this character (and the Sonic franchise in general) this echidna deserved better for his solo miniseries debut. Whether in video games, other shows, comic books, and even what was shown in the second movie, Knuckles is and always has been a fascinating character with enough interesting traits and storylines that could have made for an engaging miniseries or even his own series of movies. 

Instead, the series makes the boneheaded decision of pushing the thing the show is named after off to the side and heavily focuses on the human characters, particularly Wade because that worked so well with most of Paramount’s Transformers movies. When Wade and Knuckles are together, it’s fun and they do have a likable chemistry throughout the six episodes with one being all serious and mighty and the other is a bumbling doofus, but about halfway through Knuckles becomes less and less significant with Wade practically hijacking much of the story similar to the fake wedding subplot from Sonic 2. 

If the show was called Knuckles and Wade, I would have been fine with this and Adam Pally is clearly giving his all. But because the series is called Knuckles and given the potential that character alone has, it’s a very disappointing decision and a big slap in the face to some great lore. 

It’s a shame because the first two episodes started off very strong and I was thoroughly invested in what was happening (While also geeking out over the Sonic references). But then by Episode 3 it started to go downhill with the introduction of Wade’s sister who constantly tries to talk tough like she’s in an action movie, making wise-ass remarks and quips about the current situations and it gets old really fast. I’ve only seen Edi Patterson in a few other things and I don’t have anything against the actress herself, but her character is probably the worst female supporting character I’ve seen since Kat Dennings’ Darcy in the MCU. 

The fourth episode however (which was a rock opera episode involving Wade learning how to unlock his inner strength), was so completely bonkers and insane that I kind of loved it. Things finally did pick up again in the last two episodes and did lead to a fun climax with Knuckles and Wade fighting The Buyer inside a robot suit that reminded me of The Rhino from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 

The animation on Knuckles is amazing and about on par with how he looked in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie and despite his very cartoony appearance, it really does look like he’s actually there interacting with real people and objects. The CGI also compliments the action scenes because when Knuckles is in battle in this show, it’s some of the coolest action you’ll ever see in a form of Sonic media. 

While a lot of the humor felt like leftover Adam Sandler jokes (And believe me, there is a ton of cringy jokes here!), there were some moments in the show where I laughed quite a bit. The scene in the first episode where Knuckles builds his own throne out of what’s in Maddie’s dining room and challenging people to fight for it to the point of kidnapping is great and a line where Wade takes Knuckles to his “Battlefield” only to discover it’s a bowling alley and he says, “This isn’t a battlefield, this is a playground for adult idiots!” I ugly laughed when he said that. 

I also found the villains to be pretty weak and a huge downgrade from Jim Carrey’s manic portrayal of Dr. Robotnik in the Sonic movies. Honestly, the concepts of these villains are fine and the actors give decent performances, but because of the show’s unfocused narrative and how the series is paced it doesn’t really give them much time to shine. 

Sadly, the Knuckles miniseries is a mixed bag for me despite enjoying a lot of elements in it. It’s not a terrible show and I’ll likely revisit it again closer to when Sonic the Hedgehog 3 hits theaters later this year, but a series based on this character needed a stronger punch and less filler and awkward humor, glide on in and judge for yourself. 

Sonic the Hedgehog Reviews: Mega Collection

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG REVIEWS: MEGA COLLECTION: 

By Nico Beland

 

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: 

SONIC'S BIG SCREEN DEBUT IS FORMULAIC BUT HAS PLENTY OF FAMILY FUN AND FAN-SERVICE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

The world’s fastest hedgehog hits the big screen in Sonic the Hedgehog

 

The blue blur (or Blue Devil as the movie calls him) makes his big screen debut in Sonic the Hedgehog, based on the beloved Sega video game franchise of the same name. Believe it or not out of all the video game franchises, my favorite is and always will be Sonic the Hedgehog and have been a proud supporter of the hedgehog since childhood. 

Granted, it wasn’t until after Sega became a third-party developer for consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo when I became a fan of the blue hedgehog, but ever since I got my hands on the Nintendo GameCube port of Sonic Adventure 2 as a kid, my Sonic fandom was pretty much instant. I’ve played many of the video games both old and new, watched all the cartoons, read the comic books published by Archie Comics at the time, and I owned several action figures, plushies, and other Sonic merchandise throughout my childhood…in fact I still have most of those even to this day. 

I’ve been clamoring for a Sonic the Hedgehog theatrical movie for years despite video game film adaptations usually being critical and/or box-office poison. But given the popularity of Sonic especially during the 90s when he was rivaling Nintendo’s Mario franchise who already had a theatrical film released in 1993, I’d assume one would have been made back then or at the very least in the early-late 2000s when Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and Sonic Heroes as well as the hit Saturday morning anime series, Sonic X were released, I was so eager for a Sonic movie that a couple of friends and I got together and made movies of our own when we were kids (They sucked BTW!). 

After years of waiting and Sonic making a few big screen appearances prior in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph movies and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, the world's fastest hedgehog finally gets a movie of his own which leads us to today. The film is directed by newcomer Jeff Fowler in his directorial debut, produced by Neal H. Moritz (Fast & Furious franchise, XXX, 21/22 Jump Street), and executive produced by Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate) and is a live-action/animated hybrid (Yep, just like Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs), which had me very worried when it was announced back in 2014 and was even more worried and disgusted when the first trailer came out last year which had an absolutely atrocious design for Sonic, fortunately they fixed it.  

So, how does Sonic’s first movie hold up? Honestly, while I can’t call it the Sonic movie I wanted as a child, I had a fun time with it. It isn’t a perfect representation of its source material and the plot is pretty generic, but the charm of the film’s leads, humor, and subtle references to the games that inspired it are enough for me to overlook that flaw. 

The film follows Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz-Parks and Recreation, The Other Guys, The Walk), a blue anthropomorphic talking hedgehog from another dimension with extraordinary speed who travels to Earth to escape from those who want to capture him and harness his power. However, when he accidentally causes a power outage while hiding out in the town of Green Hills (Get it?), Sonic is targeted by the government and the tyrannical mad scientist, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey-Ace Ventura 1 and 2, The Mask, The Truman Show) who plots to use Sonic’s power for world domination. 

This forces Sonic to team up with Green Hills sheriff, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden-X-Men franchise, Enchanted, Westworld) who agrees to help Sonic on his adventure to find his missing bag of magical rings that have the power to get him home. Of course, while getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. 

The film also stars Tika Sumpter (Ride Along 1 and 2, Get On Up, Southside with You) as Tom’s wife Maddie, Adam Pally (Happy Endings, The Mindy Project, Iron Man 3) as Wade Whipple, and Neal McDonough (Star Trek: First Contact, Band of Brothers, Justified) as Major Bennington. 

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog probably isn’t the movie longtime fans wanted, but it still manages to be an entertaining and fun adaptation in its own right. It’s easily one of the best films based on a video game alongside Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and The Angry Birds Movie 2 and shows that we’ve come a long way since the dark days of Uwe Boll’s directing career. 

As mentioned before, the plot is nothing special and rehashed from other kids’ movies however what sets this apart from things like The Smurfs or Masters of the Universe is that Sonic and Tom do have a strong chemistry together. It’s amusing to see them interact with each other on their road trip, cracking jokes, getting into trouble, and over the course of the film they learn more about one another thus making you care more for them over ANY Smurf or Chipmunk. 

While there are a few jokes that don’t quite stick the landing, the humor for the most part not only made me laugh but there were moments in this movie where I laughed hard. Whether the film was poking fun at the entire Sonic franchise, a particular running sequence that’s obviously a reference to the Quicksilver scenes from the X-Men movies, or Sonic breaking the fourth wall similar to Deadpool, I was laughing while also admiring how clever some of these jokes are, and let’s not forget Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, but we’ll get to him momentarily. 

The redesigned Sonic is a lot better than what we could have gotten, he doesn’t have those ugly small eyes, questionable muscular arms and legs, or the terrifying human teeth anymore. Now, his appearance is more faithful to the source material recreating the hedgehog’s cartoony nature but is different enough to stand out from the rest of the character’s previous designs and be its own unique creation, this is a really good design for Sonic and had the filmmakers went with their original version, this movie would have crashed and burned even harder than Sonic ’06. 

Besides Sonic being more appealing to look at now, he’s also just as entertaining to listen to, Ben Schwartz while he’s far from being a replacement for Roger Craig Smith, Ryan Drummond, Jason Griffith, or even Jaleel White, does a solid job providing Sonic’s voice and captures the cocky, arrogant, but good-natured attitude Sonic is known for having. He actually almost sounds like Ryan Drummond’s Sonic voice without sounding like a cheap impersonation. 

Moving onto Sonic’s new friend that doesn’t have two tails, James Marsden as Tom, his performance is decent even though he doesn’t quite make as big an impression as Ben Schwartz’ Sonic and especially Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik. With that said, he gets some funny lines once in a while and as mentioned before has good chemistry with Sonic, so yeah, believe it or not James Marsden was partnered up with another CG animated character and this time came out with his dignity unlike his performance in Hop. 

Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik owns every scene that he’s in, he’s no Mike Pollock and is a radically different Robotnik than from the games, but Carrey’s energetic and wildly animated personality shines through and gives a million percent whenever the crazy evil genius is on-screen. He’s certainly a lot better than Dennis Hopper as Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. movie. 

Hopefully, this movie will be a hit during its theatrical run because I’d love to see a sequel especially if it introduced other Sonic characters like Tails, Knuckles, or even Shadow. Don’t make this like the recent Power Rangers movie, I need my big screen version of those characters! 

Whether a fan, newcomer, or just looking for something fun to take the kids to, Sonic the Hedgehog should make everyone happy. It’s not perfect but it has enough action, wit, and charm to make it worth checking out. You’ll be “Up, Over, and Gone” before you know it. 

 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2: 

SEQUEL FULLY EMBRACES ITS VIDEO GAME ROOTS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

Sonic and Knuckles (& Knuckles) in Sonic the Hedgehog 2

 

The blue blur is back for a new adventure in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to enormously successful 2020 film based on the iconic Sega video game series. If you read my review of the first film (and especially the longer version of that review!) then you know that I’m a huge fan of Sonic the Hedgehog and grew up on his games, cartoons, comic books, etc. and through several ups and downs during his history, I’ve always retained my Sonic fandom, even when a game bites the dust I can still go back to the ones that stuck the landing. 

The first film, I thought was a decent, if not formulaic kids’ movie with a lot of fun action, silly dialogue, and a very likable charm as well as some cute little callbacks to the Sonic the Hedgehog lore that longtime fans will appreciate and a delightfully bonkers performance from Jim Carrey (The Mask, Liar Liar, The Truman Show) as the villainous, Dr. Robotnik…or Eggman. It wasn’t quite the Sonic movie I wanted to see as a kid, but I enjoyed it and I kept coming back to it in anticipation for a sequel because of the Tails teaser at the end of the first one, which leads us to where we are now. 

In a year that saw the release of The Batman and upcoming blockbusters like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One), this was one of my most anticipated films of 2022. The trailers looked like it was giving us a Sonic movie that’s much closer in spirit to the source material with the inclusion of Miles “Tails” Prower and Knuckles the Echidna, a more game-accurate Dr. Eggman, planes, snowboarding, Death Egg Robots, Chaos Emeralds, all that good stuff. 

While the first one wasn’t the Sonic movie I wanted to see as a kid, this one certainly felt like it in terms of the marketing…and after coming out of the theater. I don’t know how this movie is doing with the public, but as a die-hard Sonic fan who had been playing and watching the character since childhood, I love the Hell out of this movie. 

When I first heard they were making a Sonic movie, this was what I wanted to see, a film that fully embraces what the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is by taking more of an adventure route rather than a buddy road trip and recreating several famous moments from the games and not just subtle references in the background. The first one felt more like a buddy road trip movie that just happens to have Sonic in it, this one however is a Sonic movie all the way through. 

The film is set right after the events of the first film, and Dr. Robotnik has escaped the Mushroom Planet and formed an unlikely partnership with a vengeful echidna known as Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba-The Wire, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Suicide Squad), who has a bit of a grudge with hedgehogs to say the least and the two of them set off to find the sacred, Master Emerald, a gem that harnesses Ultimate Power (as the film calls it) and can be used to destroy civilizations. Meanwhile, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz-Parks and Recreation, House of Lies, DuckTales (2017)) has happily moved into the home of Donut Lord, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden-X-Men franchise, Hairspray (2007), Enchanted) and his wife, Maddie (Tika Sumpter-One Life to Live, Think Like a Man, Get on Up) and tries to help the public as a vigilante, but he’s…a little careless. 

Sonic soon meets up with Tails (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who had voiced the character since 2014’s Sonic Boom TV series), a two-tailed fox from another planet who comes to warn Sonic that Robotnik is back, and he and Knuckles are on a hunt for the Master Emerald. So, the two of them set off on an adventure to find it before Robotnik and Knuckles and save the world from destruction. 

The film also stars Natasha Rothwell (Love, Simon, Like a Boss, Wonder Woman 1984) reprising her role as Rachel, Adam Pally (Assassination of a High School President, Taking Woodstock, Iron Man 3) reprising his role as Wade Whipple, Shemar Moore (DC Animated Universe) as Randall, Lee Majdoub (The 100, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency) reprising his role as Agent Stone, and Tom Butler (Sliders, Miracle, Snakes on a Plane) reprising his role as Commander Walters AKA The Olive Garden Guy. 

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 gives fans of the long-running video game franchise exactly what they want to see and surpasses its predecessor in just about every way. Keep in mind, I thought the first film was a decent starting point with this one being the main event. 

The story is much closer in spirit to the plot of a Sonic game as it revolves around Sonic teaming up with other anthropomorphic creatures to find magic emeralds, explore new worlds, and fight Eggman and his army of robots, a “Sonic Adventure” if you will. It’s the real deal, not Sonic and Cyclops going on a buddy road trip, it was cute the first time, but it wasn’t Sonic. 

The characters are also improved upon from the first movie, Sonic is still this lovable but reckless and attitude-filled hero in training who’s trying to learn how to be responsible with his powers, Jim Carrey is once again having a ball as Dr. Robotnik and manages to blur the line between being hilariously over-the-top and goofy to legitimately threatening. The new characters, Tails and Knuckles are also a lot of fun, while Tails doesn’t quite have as many funny lines as Sonic or Eggman, but as this innocent and wide-eyed sidekick who wants to be like Sonic, you really buy their brotherly bond and there are quite a few heartfelt moments between the two, while Knuckles in this movie is sort of like the Sonic equivalent to Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy where he’s this badass brute with a serious attitude problem and most of his comedy comes from how he takes things extremely literally, also Idris Elba’s voice fits him perfectly with a disappearing, reappearing British accent. 

Granted, the human characters are downplayed more this time around, they all have their moments to shine. Marsden is once again decent as Tom the Donut Lord and the scenes with him and Sonic, as a parental figure to him are pretty effective, Tika Sumpter is given a little more to do via a sub-plot with her and Natasha Rothwell sneaking into a military base that captured Sonic, which you could argue goes on for too long and brings the movie to a halt, but the sequence is so entertaining and funny that I just didn’t care. 

The action sequences are pretty much flawless in terms of a Sonic movie, it isn’t just Sonic bouncing on Robotnik’s ship a bunch of times. If anything, this has the Sonic equivalent of a Marvel Cinematic Universe climax involving Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the Death Egg Robot and like the final battle in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it made the little kid in me extremely happy, there were even moments during it where I got chills. 

What more can I say? If you’re a Sonic fan, then do yourself a favor and see this movie, you won’t regret it. This film brought me back to my youth and I look forward to watching it again, all I got to say is bring on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 already. 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3: 

LIVE AND LEARN, THE BLUE DEVIL’S THIRD CINEMATIC OUTING IS HIS BEST YET! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

Sonic and Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3

 

            The Blue Blur and his friends are back and this time they’re up against 2 hammy Jim Carrey (The Mask, The Truman Show, How the Grinch Stole Christmas) performances and a mysterious black hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the third installment of the Sonic the Hedgehog film series based on the beloved Sega video game franchise of the same name. If you read my reviews for the previous movies (or any of my reviews for Sonic media), you should know that I am a huge fan of the Sonic franchise and have been one since I was a kid with Sonic Adventure 2 (The debut game of Shadow the Hedgehog) being the very first game I played. 

So, I am very familiar with Shadow’s storyline and this isn’t the first time it was adapted outside of video games as there was already an arc in the 2003 anime series, Sonic X based on the plot of SA2 and the for the most part it’s a relatively faithful retelling of the story. I was excited for this movie ever since the mid-credits scene in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 where Shadow was teased for the next movie, speaking of which I should give my quick thoughts on the previous films before moving forward. 

The first Sonic movie from 2020 I like fine though it wasn’t exactly the movie I would have wanted as a child as it felt more like a generic kids film in terms of its story and execution, but the charm of the character and Jim Carrey’s over-the-top performance as Dr. Robotnik made it an entertaining enough time. The second movie in 2022 I really enjoyed as it incorporated more elements and characters from the games like Tails and Knuckles, the Master Emerald, and Super Sonic, it felt like the Sonic movie I wanted to see as a kid. 

However, where Sonic the Hedgehog 2 felt like the Sonic movie I would have wanted to see as a kid, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 actually IS that Sonic movie for me. I loved every minute of Sonic 3 and it’s not just because of nostalgia, as a movie this one is the best paced, the story is far more engaging than its predecessors, the comedy is really damn funny, and there are some genuinely strong character moments here. 

Sometime after the events of Sonic 2 (and Knuckles), Shadow the Hedgehog (voiced by Keanu Reeves-Speed, The Matrix franchise, John Wick franchise) has been awakened from his 50-year sleep and escaped a top secret military base seeking vengeance upon the world. The government organization, G.U.N. enlists the help of Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz-Parks and Recreation, The Walk, DuckTales (2017)), Miles “Tails” Prower (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey-Digimon, Danny Phantom, Naruto; reprising her role from the games), and Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba-Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Jungle Book (2016), The Suicide Squad) to locate and stop Shadow. 

But when they discover Shadow is too powerful to defeat, Team Sonic must form an unexpected alliance with their arch nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik “Eggman” (Carrey) in order to save the world. However, during their team-up Eggman encounters a mysterious person from his past, his long-lost grandfather and scientific genius, Gerald Robotnik (Also played by Carrey) with a plan of his own. 

The film also stars James Marsden (X-Men franchise, Enchanted 1 and 2, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues) and Tika Sumpter (Get On Up, Southside with You, The Old Man and the Dog) reprising their roles as Team Sonic’s adoptive parents Tom and Maddie Wachowski, Krysten Ritter (Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Breaking Bad) as Director Rockwell, Lee Majdoub (See No Evil 2, Dead Rising: Endgame, The Mountain Between Us) reprising his role as Robotnik’s lackey (and coffee maker) Agent Stone, and Alyla Browne (Three Thousand Years of Longing, True Spirit, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) as Gerald’s deceased granddaughter and Shadow’s only friend Maria Robotnik. 

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 doesn’t just feel like another fun Sonic movie, it is a feature-length love letter to those who have followed this series of video games since childhood. There are so many references, callbacks, music cues, and characters quoting iconic dialogue from the games in this movie, I was smiling ear to ear during my viewing. 

The first two Sonic movies are a lot of fun don’t get me wrong, but they weren’t exactly that great in terms of storytelling. That is not the case here as Sonic 3’s plot retains the deep emotional core and heavy edge of Shadow’s backstory from Sonic Adventure 2 and it can be gut-wrenching at times especially for a PG-rated family film. 

The scenes involving Shadow’s past with Maria are very well-handled in the film and the backstory is even expanded upon by showing their lives together before her death. It was adapted perfectly to live-action cinema and it doesn’t feel like a drastic tone change compared to the rest of the film. 

Keanu Reeves knocked it out of the park as the voice of Shadow and really captures the brooding, lone warrior antihero from the games while still being incredibly sympathetic and shares some great moments with Sonic over the course of the film. Not to mention the Shadow design looks great in live-action with the added details to his quills and seeing him in motion whether running or fighting Sonic and friends, this is also coming from the same person who gushed over seeing Super Sonic on the big screen in Sonic 2. 

Jim Carrey is once again as gleefully cartoony as ever and now there’s two of him with Carrey putting his all into Eggman and Gerald and delivering the funniest moments. Seeing two Jim Carreys dancing together to avoid lasers and having a hilariously demented father/son montage is both really funny and actually kind of touching.

This movie also has the right amount of non-Eggman human characters, James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are still in a fair amount of the film, but they never hijack the movie for a random subplot or take the focus away from Sonic. All you wedding scene-hating Sonic 2 viewers can rest easy. 

The action scenes are some of the best out of the three movies and Knuckles with some of my favorites being a glorious chase sequence in Tokyo between Sonic and Shadow on his motorcycle and one great big homage to Sonic Adventure 2 in the climax. It also has one of the funniest deaths I’ve seen all year. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 works as a love letter to fan-favorite games in the series while also being an entertaining film on its own. This film took me back to being an 8-year-old boy in 2002 experiencing SA2 for the first time and after seeing the post-credits scenes, give me Sonic the Hedgehog 4 right now!