Oh boy, this was a fun trip to the cinema!
Today I was accompanied by Teacups 2 & 5 to see Sonic the Hedgehog in the Cineworld Newcastle. This was my first experience of 4DX (well, not exactly, I have seen similar at Newcastle's Centre for Life when they used to have a 4D motion ride, although it was considerably shorter than a feature-length movie) and also my first visit to this cinema in Newcastle.
Based on the global blockbuster videogame franchise from Sega, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG tells the story of the world's speediest hedgehog as he embraces his new home on Earth. In this live-action family-friendly adventure comedy, Sonic and friend Tom team up to defend the planet from the evil genius Dr. Robotnik and thwart his plans to experiment on the little blue speed demon.
I have to admit that when I heard about this movie being released I was rather concerned. This is something that has been a long time coming, but the problem is that videogame movies are...well...rubbish for the most part. Look at D.O.A, Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and the movie based on video games Pixels....it doesn't exactly instill hope in the fans of SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog, Videogames, or movies in general, does it?
Then, there was the godawful trailer that was released that showed how awful the GCI Sonic was....but was that really case? There have been several theories that the trailer was deliberately bad so that one could be released later making them look good, so maybe the movie wasn't going to be released in November if that theory was correct then. However, on that first táílér right at the end, there was a blink and you miss it moment of Carrey looking like Eggman!
But...then there was an overhaul and Sonic looked cool again. Granted, he didn't look like the character from the game, but in all honesty, I never expected that to happen, not really.
But let's get to the movie!
This movie is obviously aimed at kids, but this isn't really a bad thing, to be honest. This is something that the family can enjoy. But let's get one thing straight from the get go....as much as I enjoyed this movie...it was sssssllllllloooooooowwwwwwwww!!! You know, when you think of Sonic the Hedgehog you expect fast-paced action, high energy stuff, zoom zoom zoom, gotta go fast! Well, you do get that, kinda, just not that often, unfortunately. A lot of the story is linked together with a "road trip" so Sonic doesn't run a lot of the way there...this is a major disappointment in my opinion as this could have added so much more to this. However, when you see Sonic move, he certainly does move!
Jim Carrey is outstanding as Dr. Robotnik/Eggman, and I have to say that I was not exactly convinced when he was announced for the role...when you consider that Robotnik is basically a ball with sticks for arms and legs that is not an apt description of the Canadian funnyman...but he pulls it off well, and you get an old school performance which just works perfectly.
It is an entertaining movie, it was fun, it made me smile, it had action, it had sad moments, you were rooting for Sonic...but he flossed...TWICE! That was annoying. Despite that though a great film. This movie is jam packed with easter eggs for Sonic fans too, so much so that it is actually worth watching more than once! Oh, and watch the end credits, there are 2 real cool scenes that will really appease the fans!
Was it worth watching in 4DX? Well, I don't know really, I think if it had been a 3D movie as well, then as a totaly package it could have been totally epic, but being thrown around in chase scenes was fun. As my first 4DX experience, I'm not entirely certain this was the best movie to pick, although it did kinda make it a bit more immersive.
So, all in all, the movie was great fun and I really enjoyed it. I'm going to be seeing it again this weekend with Teacups 1&3 as they really want to see it too although I'm not sure if I'll be seeing it in 4DX this time around.
Sonic the Hedgehog is rated PG and is in cinemas in IMAX, 4DX, and Superscreen now.