The dream of the ‘90s is alive in “Sonic the Hedgehog,” which – and it will surprise exactly no one to hear this – is at its hyper-kinetic best when it’s channeling the turbo-charged, cartoonish energy of the world’s fastest furball to sugary visual ends, as disposable as they may be. Highways, buildings, digitized jungles, one-liners—Sonic, here voiced by “Parks and Recreation’s” Ben Schwartz, and “Sonic” sets land-speed records on them all. It’s when he’s motionless and the movie anguishes through a tedious story of adopted families and existentialism that the videogame-inspired joys tend to screech to a halt as well.
The feature debut of director Jeff Fowler, “Sonic” is arriving a few months later than intended, a delayed release that allowed the visual effects maestros to give the titular speedster a makeover after the first reaction’s to his initial appearance back in 2019 would have you believe people had dunked themselves in holy water. The movie’s writers – Patrick Casey and Josh Miller – perhaps should have also used that time to come up with an engaging story in line with its title character’s carefree sensibilities, and not the hackneyed outsider-in-need-of-a-friend template that feels like a back-to-basics homage to “E.T.” There’s at least a hint of the former in the early minutes, when the movie opts for a self-awareness of glorious storytelling delirium, like a DreamWorks project unfolding at 1.5x speed.
But, unfortunately for its audience, commercial wisdom says a 100-minute, $85 million dollar “Sonic” movie needs to stretch its legs beyond the source material’s overly-simple premise, and so Casey and Miller compensate by embarking on the most plain of narrative routes—Sonic, having been discovered after a year of solitary exile on Earth, must find his way back to an interdimensionally-misplaced bag of rings that will help him escape to another planet, evading governmental forces and Jim Carrey’s demented Dr. Robotnik in the process. Sonic can outrun practically everything, it seems, save for the frustrating predictability of American family movie fare.
Still, “Sonic” can be a hoot when it isn’t taking itself so seriously, when the saccharine piano twinkles give way to sheer chaotic fun. Sometimes that comes in the shape of an inventive roadway action set piece (the movie does its damndest to make me forget how much I get annoyed at drones in movies), and sometimes by way of Schwartz’s gleefully oversized personality shining through his CGI character (the actor’s voice reliably sells Sonic’s zippy confidence, less so the parts of the screenplay that try to tug at the heartstrings). The movie’s strange detour into a rowdy bar for one stilted scene feels like something borrowed from “Wild Hogs,” but it’s jolted to life when it gets creative with showing off what Sonic’s powers really allow him to do—it reminded me of the iconic Quiksilver sequences in “X-Men: Days of Future Past” while still feeling like its own interpretation of a speedster’s abilities.
Meanwhile (and speaking of X-Men), James Marsden is more endearing than he should be as Sonic’s human sidekick, given the lack of big-screen opportunity that’s come his way in recent years. He plays small-town cop Tom Wachowski, while Tika Sumpter plays his wife, Maddie—they bring the requisite “What is that?” reactions of incredulity if nothing else, though it’s always nice to see a major studio movie include an interracial couple without making a big fuss of it.
It’s Jim Carrey, however, who most endearingly muddles the border between reality and something more boundless “Sonic” is aspiring to with his unshackled take on the villainous Robotnik, a shamelessly high-tech private enterprise given corporeal form with a mustache Uncle Pennybags would envy and an energy harkening back to the actor’s “Ace Venture” and “The Mask” glory days. He may be pushing 60, but Carrey can still find a new level to his physicality that feels like limbs should be popping out of their sockets, not to mention deliver dialogue as if the words themselves will swallow up he’s addressing. It’s great to have him back in this mode; he fits it like a glove, and is as much a contributor to the frenzied ‘90s energy of the movie’s best scenes as Sonic is.
For as much of a low-stakes throwback adventure that “Sonic the Hedgehog” feels like, there are also awkward contemporary references masquerading as cheeky gags that work against it. Why include expendable references to Fitbit, Amazon and hipsters (not to mention a displaced and overworked Olive Garden bit) when your best asset is a timeless nostalgic spirit? It’s a strange muscle that Casey and Miller insist on flexing throughout their screenplay—crass attempts at modernization that come off as laziness.
Those moments, at least, tend to dissipate as fast as they come; it’s whenever “Sonic” insists on making its computer-animated hedgehog a harbinger of the intrinsically human effects of debilitating isolation that make one wonder what the least common denominator really is when it comes to infusing these IP-mined projects with something that makes them more than anyone is asking them to be. More of the high-speed slapstick shenanigans, less of the overcooked woe-is-me sentimentality—please and thank you. Especially when the inevitability of a live-action “Crash Bandicoot” or “Spyro” – or “Sonic” sequel, which this film obviously teases – looms large.
"Sonic the Hedgehog" is rated PG for action, some violence, rude humor and brief mild language
Starring: Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter
Directed by Jeff Fowler
2020
OTHER SCREEN TEST REVIEWS:
- 'Downhill' Review: It's all in the name
- 'Birds of Prey' Review: DCEU breaches R-rated territory with hellaciously fun, substantively thin Harley Quinn-led romp
- 'Parasite' Review: Bong Joon-ho's critique of socioeconomic systems is exacting, exciting and endlessly entertaining
- 'Gretel & Hansel' Review: There's evil in the wood, but maybe something more, too
