Exciting energy but story is bottom level
Sonic the Hedgehog (PG) Beyond one school night when I played the game on my friend’s Sega Mega Drive, my Sonic the Hedgehog knowledge pretty much starts and ends at what he looks like.
As a SNES owner, Super Mario Bros was more my video game bag – but the least said about the movie adaptation of those beloved characters the better!
The Sonic flick arrives three months later than first scheduled following the widespread backlash from fans to the original live-action design of the quick-fire hedgehog.
Sonic’s look has been upgraded to his more game-accurate frame and the Ben Schwartz-voiced hero is finally here to take on Jim Carrey’s evil genius Dr Ivo Robotnik.
Debut feature director Jeff Fowler owes his special effects team a debt of gratitude as the lead character seamlessly meshes with his real world surroundings.
He may have been wise to demand more of writer Patrick Casey and Josh Miller – also making their mainstream release bow – though, as there isn’t much to the story.
And as endearing as Schwartz makes Sonic sound, the speedster is sorely lacking in development which makes it hard to root for him in his adventures.
You can tell Carrey is in his element and his over- the- top performance, reminiscent of his 90s heyday, is the most outrageously entertaining he’s been in more than a decade.
Whereas many TV, book and video game adaptations cater more to adults – and firmly push the nostalgia button – Sonic is very much targeted at a younger audience; an odd move given that crowd won’t be anywhere near as familiar with the games.
Thankfully, the set- pieces deliver in spades and the sheer energy presented means you get swept up in the wild world.
Sonic isn’t the mess its troubled production suggested or the top level video game movie the world has been waiting for; a slightly disappointing outcome for a film nearly three decades in the making.