We have yet another video game-to-movie… erm… movie. This time it’s a piece of Nineties nostalgia – Sonic the Hedgehog is pretty iconic, even to a self-confessed Nintendo fanboy like myself. Sega’s mascot has been the star of a huge library of games, and whilst I haven’t played many of them, I found myself rather enjoying the 90s titles – the earliest generation of Sonic’s adventures.
This film had a difficult genesis (groan – that’s an in-joke that I knew would be awful, but it had to be done). When the first trailer premiered, it gave us what could only be described as a monstrosity.
What that thing was, it wasn’t Sonic. The backlash from fans was serious enough to push Paramount into redesigning the blue blur, a time-consuming step that delayed the movie by several months. The end result?
That’s much better. Whilst Sonic isn’t completely faithful to the video game design, it works, and Sonic is instantly recognisable (unlike the earlier terrifying creation). There’s considerable confidence with the character, something that shines through in the expressions and voice acting – Ben Schwartz is likeable in the titular role, and I was racking my brain to recall why his voice was so familiar – he’s Dewey Duck in the new Duck Tales.
There’s an able supporting cast that appear to be enjoying themselves. James Marsden is Tom (aka Donut Lord), a cop who befriends Sonic. Tika Sumpter is Tom’s better half and vet, Maddie. Jim Carey brings his usual energy and enthusiasm to the role of villain Robotnik. The star is definitely Sonic, who carries the film with a mixture of child-like wonder and a full ego. With games often not translating into good movies, we’ve now had a couple on the bounce (Detective Pikachu was also a good movie). The dream now?
It won’t happen, but it would be awesome! 8/10 for the movie.
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