Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: "Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"

Sonic shares more in common with Fast & Furious' Dominic Toretto than you might think. Sure, on the surface, one's a blue hedgehog and the other's a bulky Vin Diesel who's welded to a Dodge Charger, but let me explain.

Both love going fast; both have an obsession with family; both are essentially superheroes; both are great at convincing their defeated rivals to join their gang; and both are leading franchises overloaded with too many characters.

That last point is the most pressing when it comes to Sonic 3 – there are too many humans and CGI animals vying for screen time. Not only has everyone and their literal grandfather shown up for this third outing, but we're also introduced to a handful of new faces, including Keanu Reeves as Shadow, Krysten Ritter's military leader Director Rockwell, and the rest of the villainous Robotnik family. There's a lot to juggle...

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Team Sonic

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 picks up directly after the second movie's post-credit scene in which Shadow – the dark version of Sonic best known in the games for being the ultimate bad-ass anti-hero – wakes up after 50 years of being kept on ice. He quickly dismisses some guards, escapes, and battles 'Team Sonic' – that's the Blue Blur, his foxy friend Tails, and the red echidna Knuckles – in Tokyo.

It's a fairly fantastic action set piece, the colors and tone feeling like some strange, alternate-dimension version of John Wick as Sonic and a gun-toting Shadow race through the Japanese capital's streets. Yet, minus one heartfelt (if slightly cliché) flashback sequence, that's most of Shadow's interesting stuff over.

He quickly becomes just another stooge for the evil Dr. Robotnik leading to Shadow predictably repeating the same character journey as Knuckles in the last movie (while Knuckles, despite having had a spin-off series, becomes essentially a one-joke punch-line here). Considering Shadow has been front-and-center of the marketing, as well as being a key character in the games, it's a somewhat disappointing turn.

Meanwhile, James Marsden and Tika Sumpter as Sonic's adopted parents are equally underserved; a particularly egregious mistake considering how hungry the world is for more Marsden following his hilarious part in Amazon's Jury Duty series.

Then there's Lee Majdoub as Robotnik's lackey Agent Stone, this time given a surprising emotional through-line that's half-baked, and Ritter's Rockwell, who barely registers as anything other than a hard-headed military type. Oh, and then Tails and Adam Pally's Wade Whipple (who had a main role in the Knuckles series) somehow fit into proceedings too, plus a couple of cameos. Phew.

Seeing double

Still, despite half the characters getting a quarter of the screen time they deserve, there's one returning actor who makes Sonic 3 completely and utterly watchable: Jim Carrey.

Seeing him once again embrace the silliness of being a literal moustache-twirling villain is an absolute treat, to the point where his dual roles as both Robotnik and his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, overshadow everything else.

Carrey's performance is even weirder than before, especially when he dons the fat suit to portray the ageing, cranky Gerald, who has recently escaped from prison to exact his revenge on the world by manipulating Shadow.

At one point, the actor gamely does a two-man dance number that's more bizarre than words can describe. There's also an early fourth-wall break that, in the wrong hands, could have been painfully unfunny, yet under Carrey’s control, is a laugh-out-loud moment. His enthusiasm is infectious, lifting every scene; like the other two Sonic movies, this one belongs to Carrey.

That's not to say Sonic's not also a fun presence. Voiced by a consistently great Ben Schwartz, the Speed Demon has grown more confident and his jokes have become more consistent than in previous movies.

Director Jeff Fowler has previously likened Sonic to Harry Potter in the way the character is maturing at the same rate as the young audience does, and that's certainly true of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. And while his journey of self-discovery and learning to be a better leader may feel familiar, he remains the heart of the series, which will no doubt continue to run for quite some time.

A family affair

It's also worth noting that the CGI continues to impress. Where the first movie was affected by that god-awful original Sonic design needing a complete overhaul, and the second impacted by the pandemic, Sonic 3 delivers the most impressive visuals of the series yet, with the final third feeling particularly at home on the big screen.

Plus, the sequel manages to stay under two hours in length, which feels like a minor miracle for a movie starring an Avengers-like number of characters.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 then is a piece of overstuffed franchise affair that's simple and predictable – but great fun. Anchored by two great characters, Sonic and Robotnik, it's a family-friendly adventure that does nothing to revolutionize the formula Fowler has developed but keeps the wheels turning fast enough to get everyone excited for a sequel.

Should Carrey, who has consistently hinted at retirement plans, decide not to return for Sonic 4, this will certainly be a fine trilogy capper. And if Carrey decides not to retire, it would continue to be a pleasure watching him go full balls-to-the-wall mode.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 releases in US theaters on December 20, before hitting UK shores on December 21.

For more, check out our guide to the upcoming video game movies to get on your radar, as well as our picks of the best video game movies of all time.