SONIC THE HEDGEHOG – Review

So with the big three day holiday weekend coming up, is there anything at the multiplex aimed at the kiddies (most of the country will still be in the “deep freeze” after all)? As you might’ve guessed, the big Oscar winner PARASITE is really not for the wee ones (subject matter and those quick changing subtitles). DOLITTLE is probably still around but may be on its last legs (perhaps down to a couple of screenings a day). That one’s based on a series of classic children’s books, but that’s “so twentieth century”. The studios know that, aside from comic book superheroes, the youngsters still love video games (hey last year saw a second Angry Birds flick and DETECTIVE PIKACHU). Well, the star of this long (nearly 30 years) running (truly galloping) game franchise does have legs (and as ZZ Top says, he “knows how to use ‘um”). Now he’s getting the big studio live-action/CGI hybrid treatment. Why it’s that lil’ blue blur SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.

At the start of this big adventure, Sonic (voice of Ben Schwartz) is on the run (of course) on his home planet of Mobius. When a vicious mob threatens to capture him (that speed power, y’know), Sonic’s big owl protector gives him a bag of magic rings and tells him to toss one of them and dash through the dimensional rift (a window really) to another world (Ms. Owl has to distract that mob as the magic occurs). And where does Sonic land? The good ole’ US of A, specifically in the sleepy burg of Green Hills, Montana. His accelerated antics liven up the day of local sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), but he thinks his radar gun is on the fritz (300 MPH, c’mon). He returns home to his loving wife, town veterinarian Maddie (Tika Sumpter), who presents him with a letter saying that the San Francisco PD wants him. Meanwhile Sonic enviously watches some local kids play baseball. That night, after they’ve left, he vents his frustrations by running the bases so fast he causes a massive power outage. This grabs the attention of the feds who, after much debate, send in arrogant super-genius investigator Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to look into it. When Sonic is discovered in the Wachowski home basement, Tom accidentally shoots him with a bear tranquilizer gun, This causes Sonic to drop his bag of rings, sending them through a “magic portal” to the roof of the TransAm building in SF. Then Robotnik barges in, words (and punches) are exchanged, and soon Tom and his new blue furry friend are on the road to California to retrieve that bag. But can they evade the demented doc and his crew that’s equipped with the most advanced gadgets and gizmos (a’ plenty)?

As we consider the cast I suppose Mr. Schwartz has the most screen time, though we never see his face, providing the vocals for the title character. This talented comic actor brings the needed emotional pathos to this blue ball of fur, but it’s offset by the filmmakers’ need to have the guy constantly chattering away so that we’re almost numb to the occasional bursts of wit and subtlety (just a ‘smidge). It’s a “wall of noise” that wears us out by the hour mark. For a lot of the flick he’s verbally, and often physically, bouncing off the amiable Marsden who’s the same kind of affable everyman (well, much more handsome really) he played almost ten years ago in HOP (with a furry CGI bunny then). He gets irritated, but we always expect him to be Sonic’s number one human pal. That’s the opposite of the film’s big draw, Carrey as the manic maniacal menace to our hero. More than 25 years after his amazing 1994 movie “hat trick’ (Ace, THE MASK, and half of the D&D bros) he’s still a crazed elastic (that proposed Plastic Man flick never happened) elf made of unbridled energy who nearly obliterates anyone (or cartoon) sharing the screen. Perhaps the notion of being a kiddie flick villain melted away any slapstick restraints, freeing him to mug and dance with delight. Though much it is indulgent (a looong sequence as he flits about his tank/HQ) he delivers the adrenaline jolt the sluggish plot often needs. As for the other comic role, Adam Pally (often motor-mouthed in his TV roles) has a low-key (thinking Droopy Dog meets Huckleberry Hound) romp as Marsden’s dim-bulb deputy Billy Robb. As for the sheriff’s domestic partner, Sumpter is the smart supportive spouse who is Tom’s best “back up” during the wild final act.

First-time feature director Jeff Fowler tries to keep the tempo flowing as the script lurches from one action or comedy set-piece to the next. He’s able to blow the dust off the buddies on the run/road trip cliches and give them a fresh glaze. The big roadhouse next to the clean log cabin motel is filled to the brim with diverse rowdies and bikers right out of central casting, intimidating but not too gnarly, who endure the brunt of Sonic’s looney antics. Unfortunately, the whole bit of our hero roaming about while the folks around are almost frozen feels far inferior to the scene-stealing set pieces of Quicksilver in the last few X-Men flicks. Still, the kiddos will giggle at them along with some gratuitous bodily-function gags (two “wind-breakers” riffs, c’mon), but they may get ‘antsy as the script tries to tug at the heart-strings with Sonic’s “bucket list” (he wants one good friend, maybe a big bro like his travel-mate). And the final showdown between Sonic and Robotnik on the CG streets of San Fran just gets repetitive (that may be why the Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales ‘toons feel just right at 6 or 7 minutes). But the locations (Canada doubling for Green Hills, MT) are lovely and the spirited performance of Carrey keeps it chugging along the racetrack. It’s not the zenith of “family films” (we only have to wait a few weeks before Pixar is back), but SONIC THE HEDGEHOG makes for modest matinee fare, though you may wish you had one of them ‘magical rings.

1.5 Out of 4