“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is a wired, synthetic delight. It’s a kids’ trivia movie that moves at the speed of your mind while playing video games. Video game movies rarely have this quality, they tend to be over-produced and sad. But “Sonic 3” gives hyperactivity a good name. Jeff Fowler, who directed these three films, is a faster, smarter energy wizard than he was when he made the first “Sonic” movie in 2020.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is just a lively spectacle, but it has a spirit reminiscent of the elegant absurdity of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” This is nothing but reckless. Although it never advertises itself that way, the entire film—the nuclear light shows, the plot to blow up the world, the team of heroes fast enough to run circles around physics—is a parody of the greatness of what superhero movies have become. It’s like a late Marvel extravaganza that never loses sight of the fact that it’s preposterous.
The film jumps back in time, with a backstory set 50 years ago, surrounding Ben Schwartz’s suave and brave Sonic, Sega’s speedy, demonic mascot, with enough competing anthropomorphic balls to maintain our sympathy. There are several important new characters, most notably Shadow, a red-striped black hedgehog, created from a secret government program, who is set up as Sonic’s rival seeking revenge. At first, it makes you think you’re not supposed to love him – but Shadow is voiced, by Keanu Reeves, in deeply resonant tones that draw us into his plight.
Jim Carrey will give an epic performance, surpassing everything he did in these films. He now plays two characters: the familiar Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a bad guy we know inside out, and Robotnik’s grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, who looks like the old version of himself (mottled skin, same puffy mustache, only white), but is also a tougher, weirder, and devious version. This kind of double performance is something we’ve seen a million times (the film parodies it), but how perfect it is for Carrey, an actor who is always having a conversation with himself on some level. The interaction between the two robots has a split charge that lifts the film. They are paranoid in a duel, even when poor Ivo thinks he has finally found someone in the world to love. As the truth about their relationship emerges, so does Carrie’s cynicism. “Oh, look, Nano Fist,” Ivo says. “I haven’t seen one of these since I saw Green Lantern in 2011!”
The plot finds a place for the Master Emerald, the super-powered gem introduced in the last “Sonic” movie, and Tails the fox (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles the echidna (Idris Elba), who are now part of Sonic’s superhero universe. -Created Hero Team. But the real star is Fowler’s shape-shifting filmmaking, which is skilled enough to enjoy blockbuster excess and subvert it at the same time.