{"id":7694,"date":"2024-10-30T23:17:59","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T03:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=7694"},"modified":"2024-10-30T23:17:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T03:17:59","slug":"sonic-the-hedgehog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/10\/30\/sonic-the-hedgehog\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonic the Hedgehog"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong> (2020)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Action-Adventure-Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 99 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (action, some violence, rude humor, brief mild language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Jeff Fowler\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Pat Casey and Josh Miller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Tom Holkenborg\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Stephen F. Windon\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: February 14, 2020 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub, Neal McDonough, Natasha Rothwell, Melody Niemann, Frank C. Turner.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $149M (US)\/$320M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0The most surprising thing about Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong>, a live-action\/CGI adaptation of the popular video game by SEGA, is that it isn\u2019t terrible. I had every reason to expect otherwise. For one thing, movies based on video games have a bad track record. I can cite several titles to back this up- Super Mario Brothers, Mortal Kombat, the two Tomb Raider movies with Angelina Jolie and Assassin\u2019s Creed, to name just a few. Second, it\u2019s been playing hopscotch all over the calendar for two years. When a movie is repeatedly delayed like this, it\u2019s almost always a sure sign of a stinker. It was pulled from last year\u2019s schedule at the last minute in response to criticism over the titular character\u2019s changed appearance in the trailer. Fans didn\u2019t like his new human-like look so Sony delayed it for a complete character overhaul. The special effects team redesigned Sonic to make him look more like the beloved character from the video game. Maybe they should have hired these guys to try and fix Cats. The final clincher is the movie landing in theaters in February. All signs pointed to a bleak viewing experience.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I didn\u2019t expect Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong> to be any different. I figured I was in for a painful 99 minutes. Much to my astoundment, it didn\u2019t hurt as badly as I thought it would. It\u2019s relatively painless compared to other video game movies. It has a plot reminiscent of E.T., Starman and other 80s-era sci-fi adventures aimed at young audiences. After an opening explaining how super-speedy blue hedgehog Sonic came to be on planet Earth and how he\u2019s gone unnoticed for ten years, we get into the plot which centers on Green Hills, MT sheriff Tom Wachowski (Marsden, Cyclops from the X-Men movies) trying to keep Sonic safe from evil lunatic genius Dr. Robotnik (Carrey, Dumb and Dumber) after accidentally knocking out the entire power grid in the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Sonic enjoys his life on our planet, but he\u2019s awful lonely. He longs to make friends. He\u2019s been watching Tom and his veterinarian wife Maddie (Sumpter, Ride Along 1 & 2) for quite some time. In a stroke of unoriginality, Tom longs to leave his small, dull hometown for the excitement of big city life in San Francisco where he just got hired as a police officer. He\u2019s preparing to move when he finds Sonic hiding in his shed. He accidentally shoots him with a tranquilizer gun which causes the blue alien to lose his bag of magic rings. Each ring opens a portal to another place, whatever place Sonic is thinking of at the time. The rings end up on the roof of a tall building in San Francisco. After Robotnik shows up at his home asking questions, Tom agrees to drive Sonic to San Francisco to retrieve his property so he can escape to another planet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Although it\u2019s been around for nearly 30 years, I\u2019ve never once played the game. I don\u2019t know the rules of the Sonic universe. Prior to the movie, I could identify the character by sight and his ability to run at supersonic speed, that\u2019s it. I probably missed a few things in the Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong> movie. In fact, I know I did. For example, a certain character shows up in a mid-credits scene. The kids in the audience oohed and aahed. I had to ask somebody who it was. Okay, I knew going in that some of it would be lost on me. Movies like this are made with fans in mind. The makers assume that a huge majority of attendees play the game (or used to). Despite this, I opted NOT to skip Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong> like I did the last Angry Birds movie. While I can\u2019t say it was a life-changing decision, I don\u2019t regret my choice either. It\u2019s actually kind of fun, kind of.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The cast of Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong> clearly knows they\u2019re not making Citizen Kane or anything remotely close. They know it\u2019s a goof and act accordingly. Carrey\u2019s character is like the evil twin of Ace Ventura with a silly fake mustache. He brings his trademark manic energy to the role of the villain known as \u201cEggman\u201d in the game. Marsden is a little bland as the human lead; he\u2019s often overshadowed by his CGI co-star played by Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) in a motion-capture performance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0But what does it matter? Nobody really cares about the acting in Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong>. In order to fully understand the intended appeal, you must put yourself in the mindset of a 9 or 10YO. At that age, they don\u2019t think about the finer qualities of fine cinema. They want to be entertained. They want to be amused. That being the case, I suppose Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong> works. None of it is especially original. The direction by first-timer Jeff Fowler is fairly flat. The storyline is uninspired. Same goes for the special effects. KIDS DON\u2019T CARE! They\u2019re there for action and silly humor. The movie has plenty of both. The whole thing is silly actually. It\u2019s like a live-action cartoon at times.<\/p>\n

If you ask a 10YO, Sonic the Hedgehog<\/strong> is a great movie. If you ask the parent that took him\/her, it\u2019s not. If you ask me, it\u2019s better than it has a right to be. It\u2019s harmless really; you could do worse. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it\u2019s not a condemnation either. I suppose that counts for something.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Action-Adventure-Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 99 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (action, some violence, rude humor, brief mild language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Jeff Fowler\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Pat Casey and Josh Miller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Tom Holkenborg\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Stephen F. Windon\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: February 14, 2020 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub, Neal McDonough, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comedies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Sonic-the-Hedgehog-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7694"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7884,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7694\/revisions\/7884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}