Ryan Shoots First: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Having kids is a wild ride, one minute their life is all about one thing, maybe it’s Pokémon, maybe it’s Bluey or insert whatever here. Then, with zero notice it just becomes something else. Sometimes they come back to that old thing, sometimes they don’t, it can be hard to keep up. But there is one over the years my kids have never left… and that’s Sonic.

We all never left Sonic. I have been thinking all week as their excitement kept building why that is. The only thing I keep coming back to is Sonic feels like ours. He’s not owned by Disney, he is not owned by a giant studio. He’s not Mario, or from Xbox or Playstation… he’s SEGA, not a threat to anyone. He just lingers never overstaying his welcome but never really leaving our minds. These movies have been such a mix of adults and kids to the point and ongoing meme about older fans reacting to a certain death that was likely to be in this movie became a discussion on Reddit. Adult fans debating if their inside joke could confuse or negatively affect the troves of younglings likely to also be in the theatre. It was fascinating to watch it all unfold. And to everyone, old and young Sonic 3 delivered once again.

By now everyone knows about the OG Sonic design for these movies that fans destroyed and the studio to their credit listened but it is insane to look back at that moment and to now have one of the most consistent trilogies in a long time where each entry builds on the other, grows the universe, matures the characters and manages to be enjoyable to kids and adults. To be able to please the hardcore fans and the kids who have only seen a SEGA Genesis in a museum. These movies are really something special. While Marvel post-credit scenes have lost their luster over the years Sonic has picked up the mantle. With each film, they introduce the next in the large stable of villains and teammates and that theatre tonight was delirious. Kids, mine included, were losing their minds at the next crumb of what is to come in this series.

But let’s focus on this outing, where the next addition to the roster is the fan favorite Shadow, played by the legend himself, Keanu Reeves. He jumped head-first into taking on this role and he nailed it. To fans, if you asked them all they would want in an on-screen Shadow this is it. The complexity, the intensity, and the power. His origin is perfect and faithful to the games. It’s crazy to see movies that have found their groove in just trusting what has worked for 30+ years and just taking that and putting it on the screen. The recurring cast all get new levels of depth as well, Sonic continues to keep his goofy childlike wonder but is also maturing with each new adventure. He is learning the responsibility that comes with his abilities and in this film he learns the importance and value of his team and trusting in his friends. I know it is not a new dynamic but the relationship and feud between Shadow and Sonic reminds me so much of Goku and Vegeta. A lot of parallels and that is one of my favorite dynamics in all the fandoms I spend way to much time dwelling on. 

So take your kids, or your niece and nephew, or your older uncle, cause there is like an 80% chance that they love Sonic and will love this movie, and if nothing else it filled me with joy to see so many kids losing their ever-loving minds and being passionate about the movies.