Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Remember the outrage when the original designs of Sonic were released for the upcoming live action version? There were almost riots in the streets. Despite the enormous overreaction, I have to admit the redesigns are a welcome improvement. The connection between the filmic adaptation and the original ring collecting game are somewhat hammy (Sonic uses his magical rings to transport himself to different worlds) as Sonic is discovered as an extraterrestrial hedgehog on Earth and is tracked by an evil scientific lunatic hell bent on gaining Sonic’s powers for his own dark gains. None of it should work, and yet Sonic The Hedgehog was entertaining throughout, in part due to Jim Carrey’s funniest role in a long time as said evil scientist. Sonic doesn’t attempt to make itself remotely realistic for a minute, and it’s to the films credit that it doesn’t do so. I found myself laughing several times, a reaction I was not anticipating, and perhaps going in with as low expectations as I did was the right approach. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed it, and as it ended proclaimed that she couldn’t wait for the sequel, due in a couple of months. That was good enough for me, despite the scathing reviews this received from the critics. 6.4/10