Overview
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.
A new, mysterious enemy named Shadow arrives on the scene with powers unlike anything team Sonic have seen before, threatening the security of the world. Sonic, Knuckles and Tails are forced to seek out aid from an unlikely source in order to track down and stop Shadow – that source being Doctor “Eggman” Robotnik who somehow survived after the events of the last film. However, along the way they discover that there are other parties involved who may cause an issue, one of which being Professor Robotnik, Doctor Robotnik’s grandfather who was the disgraced head of Project Shadow!
First things first, if you were never a fan of the games, and got caught up in the films through the human element that was heavy in the first film, but which started to get sidelined in the second film, then this third entry might be the final straw for you as this is pure video-game infused chaos from start to finish! Yes, James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are back as Tom and Maddie, but they don’t have a lot to do here, even when granted a place on Team Sonic in the final act their actions don’t really have much consequence. Instead the focus here is purely on Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails, and much of the film devolves into chaotic and frenzied action that whizzes around the globe, and even takes time to shoot for the moon.
Now, for all those Sonic fans out there, get ready to be giddy with joy as the game lore is tapped once again, this time with even more sound effects that will feel familiar, and with clashes of CGI frenzy sure to pop a few eyeballs along the way.
Jim Carrey is back, playing a double role here as the two Robotniks, and he is clearly having a blast, as he gets to go completely wild with his routines and schticks in that manner that the actor has always demonstrated throughout his career. A fun 4th wall break moment as the two Robotniks meet for the first time raised a chuckle, even if it was contrived, purely thanks to how Carrey plays it. It is almost impossible to not love what he is doing in the roles, even at times when you are supposed to hate him. On the flipside, Keanu Reeves as Shadow plays stoic seriousness, with a dark past that has led to his actions giving some weight to the otherwise bonkers affair. This balance between the light and dark works well, even if the film does occasionally feel a tad over-infused with action beats.
Slightly too long, but still generally paced well, Sonic 3 picks up where the second film ended and thrusts the franchise further into video game nonsense (for good and for bad), and I had a blast watching it. With end credit stings that will no doubt get cheers from gamers as they tease what to expect next time, this is a film that will please game crowds, but may alienate the casuals somewhat.