Warning: Spoilers ahead.

With many people looking forward to the cinematic debut of their favorite blue hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog had varying expectations set upon it. Some believed it to be another joke movie. Others had hoped that it would do their childhood nostalgia justice; however, after seeing the first trailer for the movie, everyone was horrified by the model for Sonic. He had human teeth (gross), strange proportions, and an attempt at a realistic face. Shortly speaking, it was nightmare fuel.

Luckily, after the vocal criticism, Paramount delayed the release of the movie to create a better Sonic model.

Not only that, but there were many clear references to the original games by SEGA. The name of the town itself references the first stage, Green Hills. His attacks reference the original moves in the actual games too, from homing attack to his classic spin.

However, where there is praise, there is criticism too. From the original games, there is a plethora of characters, but they just had to create a new one for literally no reason. Apparently, Sonic had an owl as his mother figure. Another discrepancy between the games and the movies is that the rings aren’t gateways.

There were issues with the actual plot itself too. I understand that they tried to get Sonic in a “road trip” type situation to create an empathetic/familial situation for him. I also think that it would’ve been faster for Sonic to run to San Francisco by himself, especially since it’s clear that he can read after a blatant scene of him reading stacks on stacks of comic books. He could literally just read a map and learn where San Francisco was.

Even if he couldn’t read a map, Tom Wachowski told him to “run West.” It still would have been faster for him to run across the entire west coast till he stumbles across San Francisco, considering the fact he ran from the middle of Montana to the Pacific ocean in less than five seconds.

The acting and characters themselves were solid though. Sonic had the believable arrogant child attitude like he does in the games, and Jim Carrey made an amazing Dr. Eggman. Watching Jim Carrey in this movie really reminded me of him in “Liar Liar” and “Bruce Almighty.” Many expected him to be the best part of the movie; however, Ben Schwartz’s voice really held its own too. It fit Sonic perfectly. Not only that, but the actors made it seem like Sonic was in the actual world, not some guy in a green leotard. James Marden was also pretty cohesive with the fake Sonic. He looked where his head would be, and even though some lines were cringy and some jokes were bad, it still had its good moments, also, the movie was made for children, so it was to be expected.

The ending itself was a cliche, “You belong,” kind of ending after taking out the big baddie. Not only that, but they set up for a sequel with the appearance of Tails, which I can only hope is better. Actually, if it looks to be on the same level as this one, I would still watch it.

The only issue I had was the plot itself. The rest of the movie was pretty good (for a video game movie – because those usually suck). Besides, I can’t fault a company for listening to its audience. Paramount’s casting decisions were amazing too. Again, some moments were clearly made for children, and others actually connected to the original Sonic community. For a family video game movie, Sonic the Hedgehog was solid.

Rating: 8.5/10

Opinion articles written by staff members represent their personal views. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent WSPN as a publication.