Content Advisory: Death/harm to Child
Movie Info
Team Sonic has to deal with a new vengeful Hedgehog and dual Eggmen in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Escaping from a Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.) prison facility off the coast of Japan, after being held in suspended animation for 50 years, Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves) has a thirst for revenge for the loss of his human friend Maria (Alyla Browne). Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz), Miles “Tails” Prower (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) are recruited to stop Shadow, though he proves to prove more powerful.
Team Sonic reluctantly are recruited by Agent Stone (Lee Majdoub) to team with Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) in order to find the man who has been using Robotnik’s technology to free Shadow. However, the mastermind turns out to be Ivo’s long-imprisoned grandfather Professor Gerald Robotnik (also Jim Carrey), who is also out for revenge. The two Robotniks end up teaming to steal the key cards for the all-powerful Eclipse Cannon, which could put an end to all life on Earth.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Synopsis
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the third entry of the film franchise based on the SEGA video game mascot, following 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog and 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with franchise director Jeff Fowler returning to the helm. The focus of this third entry is the introduction of the antagonistic Hedgehog, Shadow, with flashbacks showing the connection he makes with Maria Robotnik, played by Alyla Browne (Sting, Furiosa), the granddaughter of the film’s main antagonist Professor Gerald Robotnik, who like his grandson Ivo is played by Jim Carrey, returning for this third film, despite considering retirement after Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 features greatly reduced roles for the human protagonists of Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter), as the focus is primarily on the trio of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. The film also introduces Kristen Ritter (Breaking Bad) as G.U.N. director Rockwell, who is less trusting of Team Sonic than G.U.N. leader Commander Walters (Tom Butler). Both Team Sonic and Team Robotnik have to break into G.U.N. Headquarters to acquire the key card for the Eclipse Cannon, which is key to Gerald Robotnik and Shadow’s revenge.
My Thoughts on Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Despite being almost derailed by the terrible CGI design in the first film’s initial teaser trailer, Sonic the Hedgehog has turned into one of the more successful video game adaptations, now fully established as a film franchise for SEGA and Paramount. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 features multiple elements from the 2001 video game Sonic Adventure 2 and 2005’s Shadow the Hedgehog, the latter of which director Jeff Fowler worked as a CGI animator on. Keanu Reeves ends up being the perfect casting choice to voice Shadow, bring the same vengeful intensity he brought to John Wick.
The inclusion of Shadow’s tragic backstory inherently makes Sonic the Hedgehog 3 a darker film from the other two. Shadow is positioned as the complete opposite of Sonic, nursing a five decade long thirst for revenge. This thirst for vengeance is fuelled by the influence of Gerald Robotnik, who also wants vengeance of the loss of his granddaughter Maria.
It has now been three decades since Jim Carrey became a comedy superstar with the back-to-back 1994 releases of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. Carrey has been taking less acting roles over the last decade and seemed ready to retire after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Thankfully, Carrey was convinced to not only come back for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but take on a double antagonistic role as both Ivo and Gerald Robotnik. Jim Carrey’s extreme dedication has been one of the primary factors for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise’s success. While Sonic the Hedgehog 3 does give some closure to Robotnik’s arc, allowing Jim Carrey the chance to finally retire, here’s hoping that he keeps coming back.
After a somewhat lesser second entry, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ends up arguably being the best film in the trilogy. In fact, this would have been a good film to conclude the franchise, even though the obligatory credits scenes (note the plural) suggest that there will be many more films that introduce more characters from the games. Given the track record of most video game adaptations, this is probably a good thing.
Trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3
