‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ is a gem for fans and non-fans alike

While most spend their Valentine’s day with someone they love, I spent it in the cinema watching Sonic the Hedgehog.

The film begins with a little prologue in which Sonic having to use his magic rings to escape from his home planet and the echidnas wanting his powers. After the title-card, we re-join him grown-up on Earth. Eventually, he has to gather more rings to escape Earth while being chased by Jim Carrey’s Dr. Eggman. What follows is, for a film targeted at children, a surprisingly enjoyable film.

Now, even though I used to be a massive Sonic fan in my primary school years, playing many of his classic MegaDrive outings and even the classic Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, I can honestly tell you that I didn’t really care that a Sonic film was coming out because I’m 19 years old now and have better things to do with my time than get hyped about a blue hedgehog. I thought this film was going to be a car crash. I did pay brief attention to the first trailer because no one could avoid the memes about how unbelievably bad the first design for Sonic was. Yet the fact that the studio changed the design showed us something that the film itself reinforces: the filmmakers care about the intellectual property they are dealing with.

I was more attached to the main characters of this film than I was to the main characters of 1917

Mostly in the form of references that I am slightly embarrassed to say that I recognised, this film is full of well-executed and unforced fan service. Considering most films of this sort give excessive fan service which hurts the quality of the film, this was actually somewhat impressive.

Unfortunately, the humour is very hit-and-miss – even the kids and the guy in a Sonic hat audibly groaned in my screening after Sonic started emulating Fortnite dances. It does hit more than it misses however and there were moments that made me genuinely laugh. For every moment of Sonic being annoying or Robotnik being a bit cringy, there were many more moments where a well-structured gag actually landed. In particular, the scene where the US government discuss sending in Robotnik to find Sonic is genuinely hilarious.

Now, in terms of character, I find it shameful to type these following words but I was more attached to the main characters of this film than I was to the main characters of 1917. Sonic and his friend Tom Wachowski, portrayed well by James Marsdon, form a relationship which is fun to watch as it manifests. Sonic has had to hide all his life due to being fearful of someone wanting his power and so he has always been lonely. Tom is about to leave his home, Green Hill, in order to progress in his policing career. Throughout the film, these arcs interweave in ways that are increasingly heart-warming – a major contribution to the overall charm and wholesomeness of this movie.

This feels like a film which was made with love instead of as a quick cash-grab

I genuinely cared when Sonic and Tom were in danger during the action scenes, which is something I never thought I would be saying after watching the first trailer. The action scenes themselves are very watchable and at times quite exhilarating. The film rather blatantly ‘borrows’ from the iconic Quicksilver scenes in X-Men: Days of Future Past. It was something I did not expect to see even though in retrospect I don’t understand why I didn’t expect it. The bar scene, which uses this technique, is done very well and is even quite amusing at points. Of course, the polish of these scenes is not quite on the level of the originals but it was still very competently done.

As for one of the more eagerly-awaited elements, Jim Carrey’s performance is certainly interesting to watch. At times, he’s actually funny but there were a few occasions where he was a little painful and strained. Still, for the most part, I think he did a pretty good job and he certainly looked like he was enjoying himself as did the rest of the cast.

Although I am rather shameful of the fact that I am saying this in an article that will be publicly-available, this film is actually quite good. This feels like a film which was made with love instead of as a quick cash-grab and this gives it a really joyful, endearing quality. In fact, when there was a post-credits scene which laid down sequel bait, I was disappointed in myself for how excited I got. Of course, it’s no Godfather – Sonic can be annoying at times and it is a film for children so there’s not much complexity to anything. As films for children go, though, it’s very good. It is, in my opinion, the best video game movie that has been made so far. But that isn’t saying much considering its competition.