Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Review: Unwieldly gamey adventure

Pic courtesy/Sonic the Hedgehog's Instagram account

Sonic the Hedgehog
U/A: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Cast: Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, Lee Majdoub, Frank C. Turner, Adam Pally, Natasha Rothwell
Director: Jeff Fowler
Rating:

This passably humourous live-action animation film just about rekindles nostalgic affection for the 70's Japanese Sega 16 bit game - and that too if you are well-versed with the game yourself. Mind you, this is no 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' -considered the gold standard for live-action animation flicks. Sonic the Hedgehog tells the story of the world's speediest hedgehog( voiced by Ben Schwartz) whose speed power in the wrong hands could spell trouble for the world.

In this film Sonic teams up with his hard-won, new best friend, small-town cop, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) to defend the planet from the evil genius Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey in yet another rubbery avatar) and his plans for world domination. The silly conceit of having to retrieve a pouch of gold rings that open portals to any destination - which as the movie progresses seems to become a rather selective escape route, fails to give us reason enough to be invested in this kiddy adventure. There's also the matter of Sonic's bucket list vying for attention. So, you can well understand how wayward and distracted the entire set-up is. The film has the expected insipid chase sequences, unbecoming plot twists, and throwaway pop culture references. Screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller fail to write up an experience that is both swift and daring.

Watch Sonic the Hedgehog Trailer

This attempted buddy comedy wastes much of its time trying to get the titular woodland creature and his half-hearted friend to bond while Dr. Robotnik (who comes in well past half-time) does his best to capture the elusive creature in order to tap into his power-tripping magic. Long-winded and unnecessarily protracted in trying to establish Sonic's special powers, the narrative ends up losing steam as the film nears its climax. Sonic never feels real or overwhelmingly appealing. The jokes, barring a few, fail to raise laughs and the dialogues don't have the sharpness to make things interesting.

Jim Carrey labours hard to generate some energy but it's not entertaining. The cool sci-fi trucks, attack drones and a henchman (Lee Majdoub) are mere forgettable appendages. James Marsden appears to be the only one interested in making this movie half-way interesting but even that isn't enough of a push for a 'look-see' here!

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