Sonic the Hedgehog: A Serviceable Sega Story.

If you recall in my Angry Birds 2 review, video game movies don't have a good track record. The late 2000's through the 2010's opted a more serious approach but fell short with the likes Max Payne, Silent Hill, War Craft and Assassin's Creed. Tomb Raider and Rampage came close but were still a little far-off. It wasn't until last year that Detective Pikachu and Angry Birds 2 seemingly broke the curse as the first video game films to get positive feedback. Could Sonic the Hedgehog do the same or should Illumination cancel the Mario film while they still can?

Forced to flee his home-planet, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) has been living on Earth for the past ten years in secret. When his cover is blown, he turns to help from a small town cop Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), while being tracked by Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) a mad scientist out to catch the blue hedgehog for his super speed.

The best thing about the Sonic movie is Sonic himself, joining Pooh, Paddington, and Pikachu on retaining their animated charm in live-action form. All thanks to the FX team who redesigned the character following the unanimous backlash of the original design. The fact that first-time director Jeff Fowler agreed with the public to change Sonic's appearance is a first that I've seen happen in cinema history. A milestone that will be remembered but is it enough to salvage a premise taken out of a Raja Gosnell movie?

As stated earlier when it comes to Sonic himself that's when the movie is at its best. Unlike Detective Pikachu, the Sonic movie takes full use of its character from his super speed ability, snappy banter and interaction with the human characters, just like in the video games and cartoons. Ben Schwartz captures the wisecrack personalty of the blue hedgehog and Jim Carrey as Sonic's arch-nemesis is good casting as he's having fun chewing the scenery even if it gets tiring at times. Think if Ace Ventura decided to be Dr. Evil. It's a relief to see James Mardsen in a role where he isn't a jerk or some bumbling doofus. Is it a generic role? Sure, but it's a much better than say his performances in Hop or Enchanted where he also had a computer animated co-star and is given moments to shine when he helps Sonic battle Robotnik. Tika Sumpter as Tom's wife and Lee Majdoub as Robotnik's henchman play their parts well even if the script doesn't have them do much.

The story is the same that's been done in these live-action CGI family hybrid films. A beloved animated character is given the live-action treatment, hi-jinks ensure with pop culture galore, bad jokes, weak dialogue, contrived plot, over-the-top acting, ham-fisted message, it's all here. Presentation-wise it's not obnoxious like Alvin & the Chipmunks, misinterpreted like Peter Rabbit, nor mean-spirited like Scooby-Doo. It feels less like a corporate kids movie and more of an effort in respecting its source material. I'd place it above Detective Pikachu and right next to Angry Birds 2 on the video-game movie scale. Flawed but harmless diversions. I still had fun with Sonic the Hedgehog and as the credits rolled I was excited to see what next adventures were in store for the fast hedgehog.

Film Verdict: B+