‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ review: Jim Carrey keeps things weird

The Sonic the Hedgehog movies continue to surprise by being humorous, self-referential, and even insightful. Since the first film in 2020 disappointed (the creative team redesigned the characters after online backlash to the first look), the series is showing no signs of stopping, with the third film now in theaters. do not have.

Helmed at a breakneck pace by Jeff Fowler, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is loud, chaotic, and often corny, with a visual style that can only be described as “retina-searing.” The script was written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John. Whittington is funny and entertaining and doesn’t take himself too seriously. It’s a clever genre exercise (this time a riff on “Mission: Impossible”) sanded down for kids, gleefully breaking the fourth wall and bringing us all in on the joke.

There are also references to Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift and John Wick, especially the vocal casting of Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog, a sort of “Dark Sonic” character. is a character like a wounded warrior. For revenge. Ben Schwartz returns as the voice of Sonic, the beaming blue alien who “gotta go fast.”

But the real reason to give the “Sonic” movies a chance is Jim Carrey’s brazen performance of pure buffoonery as Sonic’s nemesis Dr. Robotnik (sorry, Sonic cheekily refers to him as ” (It’s been a long year.) And in the third installment, there’s twice as much Robotnik, twice as much fun, and twice as many opportunities to display the extraordinary physical humor that Carrie has become famous for. Carrey co-stars as Gerald Robotnik, his grandfather who conducted experiments on the Shadow in a secret military laboratory 50 years ago.

The plot revolves around the elder Robotnik and Shadow, angry over the loss of their beloved grandson and friend Maria (Aryla Brown), who find a key and a space laser that they want to use to blow up the Earth. This is a funny little story about. Young Robotnik goes on a mission to protect his family’s bonds, while Team Sonic takes on the grumpy Knuckles (Idris Elba), the energetic Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessy), and their human caretakers. There’s Tom and Maddie (James Marsden and Tika). Sumpter), band together to try to stop Robotonics, and learn important lessons about teamwork and cooperation in the process.

And amidst all the mayhem, dance breaks, and baffling body swaps (Krysten Ritter appears briefly in a role that feels almost cut from the movie), “Sonic the Hedge” Hog 3” suddenly stopped for a moment, followed by a shocking moment. A poignant discussion of grief and loss. That this conversation takes place between two animated hedgehogs sitting on the moon only heightens the surreal nature of this surprisingly moving moment, while Reeves’ vocal performance He successfully sells this meditation on learning to live with pain. Together, Shadow and Sonic realize that loneliness and bitterness are no way to honor the memory of a lost loved one.

This series shows no signs of stopping (there are not one but two post-credits teasers), and with each installment, the characters and formula get less and less profitable. But as long as they keep up their silly, fourth-wall-breaking humor and serious messages of unity, the Sonic series might have a little more legs.

Katie Walsh is a film critic for Tribune News Service.