by James Coulter

I grew up during the Console Wars of the 1990s. Back then, the big divide was between Sega and Nintendo. My first game console was a Super Nintendo, so I was squarely on the side of Nintendo.

But even though I was raised on Mario, I still had an affinity for Sonic. My friend at the time had a Sega Genesis, which we would play together when I visited their house. I was enamored with the super-fast blue hedgehog running at the speed of blast processing.

Now, nearly 40 years later, it seems as though the console wars have been revived. Only instead of games played on the small screen, both Mario and Sonic have transitioned to the big screen with their own movies. Of course, while the red plumber has one, the blue hedgehog now has three.

But how is the third installment of the Sonic film franchise? Does it have the hedgehog rolling around at the speed of sound? Or will he have to live and learn not making it to the end of the level?

Sonic 3 takes place one year after the events of the last two films. Sonic and his friends are celebrating his birthday when a new threat rears its head—and strangely enough, it looks like a darker version of the blue hedgehog.

Shadow is his name, and with the aid of not only Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but also the doctor’s long-lost grandfather, Dr. Gerald Robotnik, he has his evil eyes set on unlocking a super weapon to—you guessed it!—destroy the world! Will Sonic stop his dark doppelganger in time?

I’ve watched many films last year. Some were great (The Beekeeper and Deadpool & Wolverine). Some were bad (Harold and the Purple Crayon and Madame Web). And others were bland and boring (Despicable Me 4 and Kung Fu Panda 4). So, when I decided to end the year by watching one last film, I was thoroughly surprised to watch a movie that was…pretty good.

Sonic 3 essentially delivers what you want to see in a Sonic movie: our favorite blue hedgehog going super-fast and fighting evil machines and bad guys. And it delivers it pretty well. It’s an entertaining movie which, while not superbly profound, was still a fun movie to watch.

This movie adapts the Shadow storyline from Sonic Adventure 2 on the Sega Dreamcast, later released for the Nintendo GameCube. Shadow is a dark clone who was created by GUN for his super powers. His only friend was a young girl named Maria who met with a tragic fate. Placed into stasis and awakened 50 years later, he now sets on to avenge her.

If you understood any of that, congratulations! You understand the basic premise of this movie, and you will no doubt be pleasantly surprised as to how faithfully this movie adapts this nearly 30-year-old storyline. Certainly helping matters is Keanu Reeves’ performance, which flawlessly captures the dark hedgehog’s dark and brooding personality.

Jim Carrey returns again to not only reprise his role as the Mad Doctor Robotnik, but also as his long-lost grandfather, Dr. Gerald Robotnik. As always, Carrey does an excellent job of hamming it up as a hammy villain. And his entire dual performance as two mad doctors certainly delivers a real ham and cheese sandwich.

The Sonic movies are not profound cinema. They were never meant to be. They’re film adaptations of a popular video game franchise created to entertain little children and Sonic fans. And, well, these movies certainly succeed at doing just that. Sonic 3 was no exception. It’s a pretty good movie in a pretty good film series. And that’s…well, pretty good.