Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a fast and furious race

Packed with electrifying spectacle and action-packed adventure, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 completes the best video game movie trilogy yet.

Taking inspiration from the games, but reworking them into the cinematic storyline of Sonic (Ben Schwartz) having a human family to belong to (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter) in the first film, and also gained Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and former nemesis Knuckles (Idris Elba) as brothers at the end of sonic the hedgehog 2, that is what is done Sonic The movie franchise work so far is one of the most enjoyable movie game adaptations we’ve ever had. But in Sonic 3Out this week, bringing the very sad story of one of Sonic’s most famous rivals, Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves) is a perfect bookend, and delivers on every level. Sonic 3 it left me feeling like the kid who played Sonic Adventure 2 on the Dreamcast with his brother again, as I only saw my favorite parts of the game’s story fit perfectly into the puzzle of the film’s arc.

As Shadow, Reeves delivers one of his best voice-over performances yet, one filled with bitter grief as he seeks revenge against Sonic and those who slighted him. It gives Team Sonic a fun antagonist to fight, and Sonic 3 not only revels in its gamified world, but also subtly nods to Reeves’ cinematic legacy (and more – we’ve all seen that Akira slide into the trailers). On the hero side, Schwartz, Elba and O’Shaughnessey found a comfortable vibe with each other as Sonic, Knuckles and Tails, riffing off each other effortlessly, both in moments of action of the film both in its downtime between. These great performances all around really draw you in, and that’s even before Sonic 3 really starts to dig into Shadow’s backstory from the games, giving his tragic past and his connection to the Robotniks through Maria (Alyla Browne) in a fitting way that will leave fans of the games very satisfied with how Shadow was brought up to the big screen. .

This time the human side of things is anchored in a fantastic dual performance by Jim Carrey, who returns not only as the Robotnik we knew and loved (to hate/laugh) from the first two films, but now also his grandfather . Gerard Robotnik. Not only does Carrey have fun delivering a delightfully unhinged performance as he gets to play outside of himself – it’s crazy and funny, and left me crying with laughter at times – but the relationship of the two Robotniks, as well as how Gerard exploits Shadow’s inner conflict. Maria to pull her strings, offering a fresh lens on the familiar themes of the film series.

Fans of the games may already have an idea of ​​how the role of Gerard plays here, but it really gives Carrey the opportunity to bring more than a mirror comedy to his dual roles. As Gerard, there is an extra layer of tragedy as his villainy grows over the course of the film, while as Ivo, Carrey adds another layer to his performance as his desires to take the world begin to meet with the grandfather’s plans. for revenge Not only are the stakes in the world at the high end, the Robotniks give the whole conflict an extra personal layer to the process – giving Sonic 3 a little more to chew on, although he delights in using those elevated stakes to incorporate several iconic setpieces from Sonicgame history for good measure. It is not everyone high action nods-there is a particularly funny nod to the Chao Gardens introduced in the adventure games – but they all end up feeling really earned, thanks to the series-wide time it’s taken to get there through the three films, and in Sonic 3the same interweaving of the source material.

In Sonic 3director Jeff Fowler gets to take a well-earned victory lap, a celebration of an unlikely path from a rocky, ugly beginning of Sonic-filled drama to a suitable game franchise that stands as the sign of how to make the leap from the consoles. to the big screen. While this might generally feel like the end of a particular chapter in video game movie history, Sonic 3 leaves some out-of-this-world threads open for potential exploration. For now, though, it should just be celebrated as the culmination of one of the best video game movie trilogies we’ve ever had — and it’ll probably stay that way for a long time.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 opens this Friday, December 20.

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