110 min | PG | December 20, 2024 | Paramount Pictures
The Sonic franchise introduces Shadow and Keanu Reeves voices him with tragic sincerity. Jim Carrey plays two Robotniks. The whole thing is ridiculous and consistently entertaining.
Shadow the Hedgehog is an alien creature with powers that dwarf Sonic’s. He was created decades ago on a space station as part of a military experiment. He had a friend. A human girl named Maria. She died. Shadow has been imprisoned since and now he is free and consumed by rage. Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails must stop him. They cannot. Shadow is faster and stronger and angrier. They need help from the last person they would choose. Dr. Robotnik. Jeff Fowler directs the third Sonic film with the same understanding that has powered the franchise. Take the video game characters seriously as characters. Let the human actors be ridiculous. Keep the action creative and the emotional beats sincere.
Keanu Reeves voices Shadow with a gravitas that transforms what could be a generic antagonist into a genuine tragic figure. The Maria backstory is simple and Reeves plays the grief with an understatement that makes it land. Ben Schwartz continues to voice Sonic with energetic warmth. Idris Elba voices Knuckles with deadpan intensity. Colleen O’Shaughnessey voices Tails with youthful enthusiasm. Jim Carrey returns as Dr. Robotnik and also plays Robotnik’s grandfather Gerald in flashbacks. Carrey is fully unleashed. He chews scenery with the manic energy that defined his career and the dual role gives him twice the material. The human supporting cast including James Marsden and Tika Sumpter remain grounded anchors for the cartoon chaos.
Fowler stages the action with a confidence that has grown across three films. The Shadow versus Sonic sequences use speed and power in visually inventive ways. The final battle has scale and stakes that the franchise has earned through careful escalation. The visual effects team renders the hedgehog characters with an expressiveness that makes the performances work. The animation of Shadow is particularly strong. His movement is sharper and more aggressive than Sonic’s and the contrast serves the story. The production design of the space station flashbacks has a retro-science-fiction aesthetic that gives Shadow’s origin visual distinction. The score by Tom Holkenborg supports the action and the emotion in equal measure.
The Sonic franchise is the most consistently entertaining video game adaptation in film history. That is a low bar but the films clear it with increasing confidence. Each installment has added characters and expanded the world without losing the simplicity that makes it work. Shadow is the best addition yet because Reeves gives him emotional weight. The film does not reinvent anything. It executes a formula with craft and affection. Fowler understands that these films work because children care about the characters and adults enjoy the comedy and the action is good enough for both. The third film is the best in the series. That trajectory is rare and worth acknowledging.