Sonic The hedgehog 3: Celebration of Beloved Franchise

The Sonic The Hedgehog movies have been a blast to watch. It only seemed like yesterday that trailer came out from the first one… it was pretty bizarre. It was so bad Paramount and the director Jeff Fowler delayed the film and hired a designer from Sega to get Sonic’s design right. A big decision that led to one of the greatest video game trilogies. Never got a chance to watch it in theaters since the pandemic hit and I spent money on Birds of Prey the week before. And now we got Sonic The Hedgehog 3 which unsurprisingly beat Mufasa at the box office. A movie so good it brought Jim Carrey out of retirement. The Year of Shadow has been giving my boy Shadow all the love and attention he deserves. From Sonic x Shadow Generations, Dark Beginnings, Sonic Symphony World Tour, and what better way to end it than with a movie dedicated to Shadow’s backstory taking elements from both Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow The Hedgehog.

This is a full circle moment for Jeff Fowler since he was one of the animators that worked on the Shadow The Hedgehog video game. I know a lot of Sonic fans didn’t like that game because it painted Shadow as an Edge Lord and the use of guns in a kids game. Personally, I had a fun time playing it even though I barely remember anything aside from the ending. Not the best game in the world but it’s better than something like Sonic Forces. With that out of that way let's dive in.

Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails (Team Sonic) team up again to confront Shadow, a powerful new foe whose abilities surpass anything they’ve encountered. Overwhelmed, they form an unexpected alliance with Dr Eggman to defeat Shadow and save the planet.

The movie starts off at Prison Island where Shadow is being held in this tube for 50 years. So basically the government got all paranoid and set a swat team after Shadow. One of the soldiers got too carried away pointing a gun at Maria. Olive Garden Guy tried to take the gun away but it ended up causing an explosion that ended with the tragic death of Maria. And what did they do after? Locked Shadow and Gerald up for something they did. Somebody needs to hold Olive Garden Guy accountable. Shadow did nothing wrong. Back in the present day Gerald hacked the system Shadow breaks free, wasting them Gun soldiers like Nightcrawler in X-Men 2. Shadow dashes out of there making his way to Shibuya. Then he pulls up to the main square like Steve Rogers in the rain. Fanny Packs! Tesla Robots! Twitter! Revenge Guac! Actually that’s not too bad. Pineapple on Pizza! Then GUN pulls up just to get their butts whoops again. Leave my boy alone.

Everything about this movie feels right. The Sonic movies always had great cinematography improving with each movie. It’s a story about revenge and how it can consume a person or how far they're willing to go to achieve that end. It takes inspiration from Sonic Adventure 2 without being one to one while taking elements from Shadow The Hedgehog. It's more like a retelling with fresh elements. I love Team Sonic’s dynamic here it brings back memories from 

Sonic Heroes. Sonic’s the leader. Knuckles the muscle. And Tails is the gadget guy and strategist. They’re the leads for a majority of the movie which is pretty awesome. 

And they found a way to integrate the human characters without losing focus on Sonic and his friends in a pretty surprising way. Tom and Maddie used those gizmos Tails created to turn into different actors so that they can break into that GUN facility. I was a little worried Rachel was gonna eat up the screen time again but because of the Actors strike they just filmed with the stand ins which worked out for the best. I mean getting a character poster over Maria is insane work. Thankfully Tails solved the problem with those face gizmos. So it’s really Maddie pretending to be Rachel. It made the sequence a bit more bearable.

They did Shadow justice. If you told little me Keanu Reeves was going to voice Shadow I’d be speechless. Shadow has been one of my favorite Sonic characters since forever. He’s like if Sonic had a bad day. He stole the show. He’s not a bad guy, he's just a hedgehog who dealt with a bad hand after Maria died. His backstory is pretty much the same except the asteroid part which might have come from Black Doom. I really liked how the film tackled Shadow and Maria’s relationship. Seeing them watching movies, looking at the stars and making snow angels is something I never thought I needed. The games, Sonic X and recently Dark Beginnings gave me a pretty good understanding of their relationship. It's just nice they Showed than Tell. Plus it makes it even more heartbreaking when we see Maria die which is somehow way more brutal than the games because she didn’t get to say anything to Shadow leaving him filled with anger. 

Jim Carrey is a national treasure. Each movie we slowly witnessed his transformation from Dr Robotnik to Dr Eggman from the games. Only he didn’t just play Eggman but also Gerald Robotnik. Two characters I never thought we would see interact. This was a genius move. I always wondered how Gerald would react to his grandson since he died. Double you villains. Double the fun. That dance scene is legendary. And it gave Carrey a chance to play a different kind of villain: the suicidal one. Maria's death was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He orchestrated Shadow’s escape to lure Eggman to his side. We even saw in that VR world what he was like before Maria passed away. I got the impression that Egghead really wanted to spend time with his grandfather to the point he left Agent Stone hanging. Not cool Egghead! Only thing is Gerald wasn’t in it for World Domination. He’s out for Revenge. What really sealed the dead was when he gave Egghead a taste of his own medicine. You’re no Maria. Dang. I was a little worried he was going to be too much like Eggman while he may look like him. He is way darker than he seemed. Hats off to the writers for that scene.

I think my favorite scene in the movie has to be Super Sonic vs Shadow. That whole fight was crazy. To think all it took for Sonic to crash out was Tom’s near death. Him going wild at Knuckles for the Master Emerald ngl I thought he was going to turn into Dark Sonic. I really liked how Ben gave Sonic a more serious tone in his voice. His Sonic is way different from the games for me personally but he is much better than Prime Sonic. Knuckles choosing not to fight really showed growth for his character since he always enjoys a fight but he understood that Sonic was really doing it for Tom even if he got whooped by Shadow earlier in the movie. Sonic wasted no time swiping the emerald from Wade who used it as a hockey pad going Super Sonic to the Eclipse Cannon. What confused me was from the last movie the chaos emerald scattered away then Knuckles using what remained reforged the Master Emerald so why did the emeralds appear? It’s a little confusing. Maybe the Master Emerald summoned the other emeralds since they’re connected who knows. What really struck me was in Super form Shadow was able to pry the emeralds from Sonic then they both went for it giving Shadow his Super Form which looked so cool. It made me think of their fight in Sonic X but with more of a kick. Super Sonic punch Shadow like Superman in Injustice 2. Shadow looked down on him, spitting bars going real hard. Abandoning his friends for revenge. But he shouldn’t have mentioned Donut Lord as Super Sonic gave him a mean right hook straight to the moon taking the Super outta Shadow. Sonic was about to land the final blow even Shadow pointing it right to his heart. Then threw flashback jitsu, he spares him. The parallels between Sonic and Shadow are actually pretty touching. Both lost important people in their lives only Sonic found family and friends Shadow only found pain and loss. They’re like two sides of the same coin. And then it happened. They played Live and Learn! I jumped with joy when Sonic and Shadow dapped up to save the day. I almost danced at my theater. Everyone was silent but I felt like a kid again. I know the Sonic Movie music isn’t that great to listen to but here I felt that Junkie Xl really locked in pulling from the Sonic library and putting his skills to the test like his previous films. 

Then it cuts to Gerald giving Eggman a spanking. That whole bit was just pure gold man. The suits give them like scorpion hands and a barn fence makes me wonder why Video Game Eggman didn’t think of that. Meanwhile Super Sonic and Super Shadow are taking out Gun Robots. Shadow even pulled up with the Chaos Spears. Gerald pulls a Scar letting Egghead fall to his death only to pull a Uno Reverse with Sonic’s quill sending him farting to his very morbid death. I’m just looking at it like Dang Eggman really just killed his grandfather which is even more brutal than his game death. Anyway, Tails Knuckles and Eggman redirect the cannon toward a moon, a big callback to SA2 where Eggman did it on purpose. That’s right Mufasa I’m pissing on the MOON! Sonic falls down to Earth in SA2 it was Shadow to save leaving Tails and Knuckles to save him with that last ring. With lives at stake Shadow takes off his inhibitor rings presumably using Chaos Control to move the explosion somewhere else. Right before Eggman makes a live stream to Agent Stone telling him he was more than a minion he was a minion friend. He does his little robot dance then Eclipse Cannon blows up. The writers seemingly gave Jim Carrey an out while leaving the door open for his return. We know from the second post credit scene that Shadow did survive the blast grabbing his inhibitor rings. I don’t think they're going with the amnesia route thankfully and with the box office success I think we’re prime for a Shadow movie. Introduce Team Dark (Rouge and Omega) and have Black Doom serve as the villain for that film. I’m also curious how they handle Agent Stone since he is now without a master. Maybe he’ll become a villain in Eggman’s place if Jim Carrey doesn’t return. And if this is Jim Carrey's last performance all I got to say is thank you for inspiring us to be goofy and improvise. You are a legend.

I just really loved Sonic Movie 3. It was a great adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2 while doing its own thing. It just might be the greatest video game trilogy of all time. It’s just been quite a journey seeing these films soar to new heights focusing solely on the Sonic characters. The soundtrack had great bangers like Run It and Live and Learn. Sonic Movie 4 looks to be focused on Metal Sonic looking one to one to his game counterpart with that army of Metal Sonics who all look silver. And it introduces Amy Rose with a hood and her signature hammer. They’re definitely doing Sonic Heroes and I think Metal Sonic came from the future. I really want them to travel to those other planets we saw on Sonic’s map. The Sonic Universe is a pretty expansion. And what Eggman seemingly missing it can be the start of the Eggman Empire. I mean who else could’ve created Metal Sonic? 

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a triumphant addition to the franchise, delivering heart-pounding action, humor, and heartfelt moments. With its engaging characters, stunning visuals, and a memorable storyline, it’s a must-see for fans and newcomers alike. Fast, fun, and full of heart, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 cements its status as one of the best video game adaptations in recent years. Perfect for families, fans of the games, and action lovers, it’s a film that delivers on every level.