Sonic The Hedgehog Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs

A video game movie miracle.

By Jack Pooley /

It's taken almost three decades for Sonic the Hedgehog to finally make his way to the big screen, and despite the obvious entertainment potential of a Sonic movie, you'd be sensible to approach the film with middling expectations at best.

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After all, in addition to being a video game movie of all things, Sonic the Hedgehog suffered through the embarrassment of audiences rejecting the hideous original design for its protagonist en masse, resulting in the film being delayed as VFX artists scrambled to offer up a more source-accurate redesign.

Between this, a set of fairly ho-hum trailers, and the fact that reviews were held until close before release, there weren't many reasons to be hopeful that Sonic would be a fun, family-friendly romp, let alone break the famous "video game curse."

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And while gamers are still left waiting for the first great video game movie, Sonic the Hedgehog is nevertheless a surprisingly sturdy and enjoyable film, leaning into its silliness and ensuring that, despite its many flaws, it's a far cry from the depressing dud many were expecting.

Between this and Bad Boys for Life both turning out surprisingly solid, 2020 is off to a bizarrely pleasant start indeed...

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