Directed by: Jeff Fowler
Notable cast: Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika
Sumpter
Of all the video games in the world to adapt, Sonic The
Hedgehog seems like a particularly tough nut to crack. Much like with the
early 90s Super Mario Brothers, Paramount had a fairly abstract concept
to work with. Sonic was designed to be the antithesis of Mario in every way,
fast, edgy and full of that ephemeral nineties “’tude.” They went with the CG-character-human-sidekick-road-trip-movie,
and while, admittedly, on its head it’s the most boring possible choice, doing
something so generic but reasonably well ends up making a solidly average film.
And compared to most other video game film adaptations? A mediocre film is
practically Citizen Kane.
Now, before we get into the review proper, it is worth
noting the very odd path that this movie took to the big screen, more
specifically how its release was delayed for months to bring Sonic’s design
more in line with fan expectations. I personally find this to be an
exceptionally dangerous precedent for several reasons, chiefly by choking the singular
artistic vision in the name of chasing the approval of an audience that, by and
large, has proven to have no idea what they want… admittedly, seems to be a
good change. The original design did have an uncanny valley issue, especially
in his human teeth, and the more game/cartoon-like creature we’re provided here
is a marked improvement.