Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Gotta go fast! I went to the theater and watched the movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released on December 20, 2024. Directed by Jeff Fowler, it takes place in Green Hills, Montana, as well as London, England and Tokyo, Japan. Starring Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, and Jim Carrey, it is rated PG.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles have settled into their roles as heroes. They get brought in by G.U.N. to deal with another creature like them called Shadow the Hedgehog. He ends up being more than they can handle, while also being suspiciously mysterious. They have no choice but to team up with Dr. Robotnik, but then he betrays them to join not only Shadow, but also his identical grandfather Gerald Robotnik. Can Sonic save the day again?

Being the sequel to two of the better video game adaptations in recent years, this movie had a lot to prove. It was additionally based on the 2001 game Sonic Adventure 2, not only considered one of the best Sonic games, but also my favorite one. I feel it managed to deliver. Starting with the characters and their actors. Sonic continues to be the same lovable and awesome hero, voiced well by Ben Schwartz, bringing in the comedy and emotion needed for the role. Sonic is struggling to adjust to working as a team, while also dealing with an enemy unlike what he has seen before so he does not know how to resolve things. Shadow was the new character so he had to be portrayed well to satisfy the game fans. To do that, they got Keanu Reeves to voice him, who in my opinion was perfect casting. He conveys the anger and vengeance this character is going through, while also bringing emotion and showing off the heartbreak of his past. Jim Carrey, who has been my favorite part of all of these movies so far, is at his best playing two roles. The first role being Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Similar to the first two movies, he manages to be both hilarious and intimidating at the same time without either diminishing the other. What he brings more of is not just completing the look of the game character, but giving the character humanity. We get to see him finally get a sense of family being around his grandfather, as well as the first instance of some morals. While it is unclear if he will be back for the fourth movie, this would be a great sendoff if he is not coming back. He also does well in the second role of Professor Gerald Robotnik. Having the same level of wackiness and evil genius as his grandson, he is equally entertaining. I do not feel comfortable saying much for spoilers sake, but he leaves a lasting impression especially later on in the movie. The two work off each other effectively, and you have to give the effects credit that they are in so many scenes together and it all looks real. Tails is still a cute and smart gadgeteer who provides appeal for the younger audience members, voiced by his game actor Colleen O’Shaughnessey. Knuckles provides his awesome strength and remains funny to watch with Idris Elba’s voice performance remaining engaging.

The story has much to offer. It is based on the Sonic game with my favorite story, and while I cannot say I thought the story was better than the game, it was regardless quite good. It takes the first two movies, which were rather light-hearted and makes things darker. Shadow represents the feelings of loss and vengeance. They explore the theme of revenge and how pointless it is. We get more expanding on the lore of these movies, bringing in more elements from the games. There is way more of a focus on the game characters than before, to the point where the new human characters have less screen time and only appear when in relation to the game characters. The CGI for the aliens continues to be impressive looking, with the action awesome to watch. The dark tone and more emotional moments work because they still have enough of the humor and heart to balance it out. They treat the fans by adding in several references to the games, with the climax in particular making you want to cheer watching it if you know the source material. And make sure you stay for both a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene. They both will get you excited for what is in the future for these movies. After all, there is so much plot, characters, and lore from the games they can pull from. And as long as they keep making movies like this, I will advocate for them making many more.

Overall, this really was a masterpiece. It was not only the best Sonic movie we have gotten so far, I would say it is also the best video game adaptation I have ever seen. Things just fell into place. Like I said, while I think the game’s story is still better, some elements are done better here. I have the feeling that both longtime fans of the games and casual moviegoers will have a blast. If you have not gotten into these movies yet, there is no better time.

Dr. Robotnik does all his schemes via his robots. This connects to what I want to talk about with AI. AI is a good thing if used in moderation, but people are worried about what’s to come in the future. It is so easy to worry, but I say we should try to come up with solutions. There are many people fighting to make sure AI is properly regulated. This is a necessary conversation to have. Figuring out what aspects of it have too much risk and should be regulated. Writing to your Congress people to make sure the government focuses on this could help. Spreading awareness to have more people join the cause. It is equally important to make sure AI does not eliminate too many jobs. Like the regulations, communication and spreading awareness is needed. We can make sure AI is regulated properly if we work towards it enough.