Sonic The Hedgehog 3

During the year of 1994 i used to play a lot of different video games. I owned a lot of games on my Amiga 500 computer but also had quite a lot of video games on Nintendo 8-bit home video console as well. I used to go over to my school friend Anders home because he owned both Super Nintendo and Sega Megadrive ( or Sega Genesis as it´s called as well ) and his parents bought a lot of games. For example it was in their home i tried the video game adaptation of Bram Stoker´s Dracula on Super Nintendo, clearly inspired by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola´s 1992 horror film. I still remember the game and how cool i thought it was back then. If we would play this game today i think a lot of young people would probably not think it looks cool considering the game graphics. I still have good memories from the hours we spent playing this game. On the Sega Megadrive i got to try a lot of different cool games such as Castlevania: Bloodines, Cliffhanger ( based on the Sylvester Stallone film of the same name ) wich is pretty much a kung fu game while you play the character Ranger Gabriel from the film. This was also the very first time i played Sonic The Hedgehog 3 ( i actually never played the original game or the sequel at that time simply because i was much more interested in martial art games, action games and sci fi games ). In general i thought Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was an ok game, nothing wrong about the game graphics but it just wasn´t my type of game. So on the Sega Genesis i would rather play Double Dragon 3 than Sonic The Hedgehog 3 to be honest. I didn´t really play any other Sonic games after this one, even though many more were releasd. For many years i heard rumours on a live movie adaptation of Sonic The Hedgehog and i wasn´t really interested to be honest. But in 2020 we did get a film adaptation released by director Jeff Fowler and i ended up watching the film. Actually better than i expected and legendary comedian / actor Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik really was the perfect casting choice for this role. In 2022 we got the sequel Sonic The Hedgehog 2, also directed by Jeff Fowler and this turned out to be a charming surprise. I did not see the sequel in cinema either so picked up a physical copy instead. So here we are with the third film in this franchise that i picked up in physical media and the question is, does this sequel deliver even more entertainment compared to the previous films or is this the worst film in this franchise?

In 1974, a meteorite containing the alien hedgehog Shadow crash lands in Oklahoma and is seized by the U.S. military. Shadow´s power is experimented on by Professor Gerald Robotnik ( Jim Carrey ) at a Guardian Units Of Nation ( G.U.N ) research facility under thee supervision of  Captain Walters ( Tom Butler ); Shadow also develops a close friendship with Maria Robotnik ( Alyla Browne ), Gerald´s granddaughter. One night, as Gerald, Maria and Shadow try to escape the facility to prevent Shadow from being taken away. Maria is accidently killed in an explosion. Walters shuts down the facility, imprisons Gerald, and places Shadow in suspended animation. Fifty years laterr, in 2024, an unknown individual hacks into G.U.N. prison facility´s system off the coast of Japan and release a vengeful Shadow. In Green Hills, Montana, Sonic celebrates the anniversary of his arrival on Earth with Tails, Knuckles, and their adoptive parents Tom ( James Marden ) and Maddie Wachowski ( Tika Sumpter ). Their celebration ends when G.U.N Director Rockwell ( Krysten Ritter ) arrive to recruit Sonic and his friends to apprehend Shadow in Tokyo.

If you have read my movie review blog for many years you may have noticed that i never reviewed any of the previous Sonic The Hedgehog films in the past. Even though i enjoyed each film i just didn´t end up writing any reviews, simply because i picked other films instead to review. Considering that Sonic The Hedghehog 3 was the very first game i tried of the Sonic games i figured this would be a perfect timing to review the third film. Let me start of by saying if you are not a fan of the previous films then this sequel will definetely not change your mind. It has a similar tone when it comes to the style of the previous films, and lots of speed scenes combined with family friendly action scenes. To the positive i would definetely say that the CGI effects of Sonny and his friends do look good. Especially in the most effective action scenes and i feel that this film manage to find the right balance of humour and violence combined, but still make it family friendly enough to be entertaining for all ages. Sonic The Hedgehog character is charming as always with sarcastic dialogue. His friends Tails and Knuckles also bring some charming moments as well with their different personalities. The biggest surprise of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is definetely Shadow The Hedgehog ( voice done by actor Keanu Reeves ) and his scenes fighting against Sonic and his friends. You do kind of feel sorry for Shadow when you find out his background story that might explain why he looks so angry. Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnick is exactly as you might expect, crazy and a funny performance that i appreciate. James Marsden ( who i always rememember from the X-Men franchise as Cyclops ) matches well with his character Tom. I have to mention Criminal Minds actor Shemar Moore, he is more charming than i expected in his role as Randall. In general i would say that Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is a great choice if you want to be entertained by a simple, but well made family film. It may not be perfect or bring anything ground breaking to the table but will definetely be appreciated by fans of the character Sonic. Director Jeff Fowler knows how to make video games come to life in cinemas and he understands how you transform videogames into a movie fomat. A great choice this summer if you want to be entertained on physical media and i recommend the previous films as well.

Rating: DDD