Sonic 3 was one of the most anticipated movies of the year for me. Not only were the previous films solid in their own right, but I was also curious to see how they would handle the second most, if not the most, popular character in the entire franchise, Shadow the Hedgehog. This year was already stacked to the brim with Sonic content, but does the film close out the year on a strong note? I would have to say the answer to that question is a resounding yes!

It truly is remarkable that it feels as if these films keep getting better with each installment. The first Sonic movie had to do a lot in establishing a new version of the blue blur whole also setting up a foundation for a potential franchise. Sonic 2 upped the stakes and the fan service while also introducing new colorful characters into the main cast. Now that Team Sonic is established, how can we up the stakes even more? At first, I was worried that the answer would be to throw everything at the audience at the speed of a freight train. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the first ten minutes of this film left no breathing room as it set up the narrative direction without a single moment's pause. In some ways, it was almost comical how fast everything was going.

However, thankfully, once we leave the scene of our first major action set piece, the pacing slows down to something much more manageable, which is great considering that this film juggles far more moving parts and tries to go for a stronger thematic hook compared to the previous films. The theme of family has been a constant throughout this movie franchise since day one, but now we're really pushing just how dark we can get with that theme. I know it's a joke in the fandom that Shadow is an inherently edgy character, but there is some real edge to this film with his inclusion. The franchise's lore is simplified for the sake of being consistent with previous films and making things easier to digest, but longtime Sonic fans will be very familiar with the arc that Shadow goes through in this film. Unlike Sonic, whose family keeps him grounded, the concept of family is what drives Shadow to a potentially dangerous place, and Keanu Reeves really sells the pain in this hedgehog's voice. When I reached the end of the film, I was shocked at the dark implications of where Shadow was mentally. He's great as a standalone character with a tragic backstory, but he also functions as a fantastic mirror to Sonic himself, which is how things should be.

I can confidently say this is probably the best Sonic has been written across all three films because it feels like we're working with a character that has actually gone through an arc from the previous films. He understands and appreciates what he has and tries to do the right thing. He still cracks silly jokes and acts a little impulsively, but it never gets to levels of incompetence where I want to slam my head against my desk. If anything, making sure that Sonic is at this more mature point in his character development is important for how the film tests him. This is less about him learning why family is important, and more about how that idea of family can be used against him.

However, that wouldn't work if he didn't also have Knuckles and Tails there with him as well. Idris Elba's humor as Knuckles lead to some of the funniest moments in the film, and Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Tails was given a lot more to work with compared to the last film, as the voice of reason. Everyone contributed to the story in a far more believable way than in previous films. They even did a good job of integrating the human characters into the main dramatic story without it feeling forced. In the end, when everything crescendos, we get some of the most exhilarating Sonic moments we have had across the entire franchise with animation and film direction that felt absolutely superb.

There are two characters who I don't think were handled as well as they could have been, and it's a shame considering how prominent they were in the film and the marketing. Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo and Gerald Robotnik feel like double-edged swords in this movie. On the one hand, Jim Carrey is clearly having the time of his life and chewing up scenery like it's nobody's business. I know he's done interviews about playing two characters in this film, but I was impressed by how seamless his interactions with himself were. Props to the production team and his acting abilities, because there are numerous moments throughout this film where Gerald and Ivo are physically interacting with each other in the same shot and it looks completely seamless. However, the problem isn't the practical or physical, the problem is the emotional.

I mention that family is a prominent theme throughout the film, and how your relationship with your family can either lead you to do great things or lead you to destroy things. There is definitely another parallel going on there with Ivo and his grandfather, as Ivo seemed to lack any sort of family in his life and it's heavily implied that is the reason why he became an evil scientist in the first place. But now he has a family in this mysterious grandfather, so it feels like a hole has been filled that he didn't even know he had. This leads to some interesting interactions with his henchman Agent Stone, and it's arguably supposed to crescendo in the film's climax, but things fall short here.

There just isn't enough narrative buildup to get emotionally invested in Ivo and Gerald's relationship. At least when you look at the relationship between Gerald and Agent Stone, you have the previous films to inform that relationship. Gerald is introduced in this film in a very different way from how he is in the games. There is one line that he delivers at the very end of the film that emotionally should sum up his entire relationship with Gerald and Shadow in a tragic way. But the line falls so flat because the film does so little to justify it. It feels like there are one or two scenes involving Gerald in flashbacks that are just missing from this film, and the thing that really sucks is that if I'm right, there were numerous moments where you could've put those scenes in by cutting out some of the comedy bits between Ivo and Gerald. I'm not saying they're not funny, but they definitely go on a little bit too long, and I don't think the film would really lose anything by having them cut out.

I'm only harping on this to the extent that I am because so much else about the film is done so well. If you're a Sonic fan, there are going to be subtle and not-so-subtle references scattered throughout that are going to make you cheer in your seat. Even if you've never heard of Sonic the Hedgehog, this is a solid movie with a good message about family and vengeance. The action is kinetic, the comedy is solid, and the soundtrack is stellar, filled with familiar leitmotifs from other tracks throughout the franchise. This is a good film, and while there's a part of me that feels like it could've been a great film with just a few tweaks, I do think you'd be doing yourself a disservice to not check it out.