
Fortune News | Aug 01,2020
There has never been a truly successful movie adaptation of a video game. And yet, Hollywood studio executives have attempted to break the cycle for at least three decades. Perhaps they believe that video games and cinema are similar enough entertainment mediums to guarantee that the transition to film will not be too jarring.
It could also be that video game companies, in their endeavour to garner more players, believe even a poorly received film adaptation would be worth the hassle and the expenses for the sake of a bit of marketing. It might also be that studio executives find the chance to cash in on a recognisable fictional character too sumptuous an opportunity to pass up. It is hard to say.
It is also hard to say whether Sonic the Hedgehog was not that bad a movie because it was actually tolerably plotted and directed or that our expectations for video game movies have fallen so low. It is also very hard to say how much Jim Carrey’s energetic performance elevates an otherwise unoriginal and predictable movie. Most likely, it is the combination of all of these that makes the film bearable.
The video game is about a hedgehog (why a hedgehog, in particular, is not clear) that can run at supersonic speed, mostly from the evil machinations of Doctor Eggman, who also goes by the name Robotnik, a mad scientist that wants to conquer the world.
The film follows a similar plot but tries to add background as well as introduce a human character so that the rest of us would not feel like we are watching a cartoon movie.
The movie opens with Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) struggling to live on his home planet side by side anthropomorphic echidnas that want to steal his powers. He manages to escape using a ring that opens a portal to Earth and lives in hiding for about a decade in a small town in - where else? - the United States.
In what is a typical example of bad writing, Sonic, after 10 years of carefully hiding from the rest of the world, feels very lonely and runs around a baseball field so fast that the United States Department of Defense picks up on the massive amount of energy he emits. To figure out what caused the sudden power surge in the area, the government enlists the help of Doctor Robotnik (Carrey).
On the run from the mad doctor, Sonic runs into and befriends Tom (James Marsden), the local sheriff. In his battles with Robotnik, Sonic loses the rings. The sheriff and the supersonic hedgehog try to recover the rings before the mad scientist catches up to them. Along the way, Sonic realises what it means to have friends.
The film is a directorial debut for Jeff Fowler, a visual artist whose skills surely came in handy as the studio scrambled to address the outrage from fans who hated the initial designs of Sonic for its dissimilarity to the games. Considering the amount of work that had to be done all over again to accommodate fans’ demands and the weight of having to direct a movie intended to accommodate so many corporate interests, Fowler has not done a bad job.
Inevitably, the film does feel like a cash grab but it is funny and entertaining while it grabs cash. The likes of Angry Birds and Warcraft, recent video game addaptations, have done much worse.
The best thing about Sonic is nonetheless Carrey. A comedian at heart, he manages to play the most cartoonish villainous characters that could possibly exist. It is unfortunate that his career lost steam in the mid-2000s, but he remains one of the best and most unique comedic performers the world has ever known. It is to him that this movie owes its likeability.
PUBLISHED ON
Feb 22,2020 [ VOL
20 , NO
1034]
Fortune News | Aug 01,2020
View From Arada | Mar 01,2024
Radar | Jun 15,2025
Radar | Nov 30,2019
Radar | Sep 24,2022
Fortune News | May 02,2020
Fortune News | Apr 03,2023
Agenda | Jul 09,2019
Verbatim | Sep 14,2019
Fortune News | Jan 25,2020
My Opinion | 132105 Views | Aug 14,2021
My Opinion | 128507 Views | Aug 21,2021
My Opinion | 126435 Views | Sep 10,2021
My Opinion | 124046 Views | Aug 07,2021
Jul 12 , 2025
Political leaders and their policy advisors often promise great leaps forward, yet th...
Jul 5 , 2025
Six years ago, Ethiopia was the darling of international liberal commentators. A year...
Jun 28 , 2025
Meseret Damtie, the assertive auditor general, has never been shy about naming names...
Jun 21 , 2025
A well-worn adage says, “Budget is not destiny, but it is direction.” Examining t...
Jul 13 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW
The Addis Abeba City Revenue Bureau has introduced a new directive set to reshape how...
Jul 13 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER
Addis Abeba has approved a record 350 billion Br budget for the 2025/26 fiscal year,...
Jul 13 , 2025 . By RUTH BERHANU
The Addis Abeba Revenue Bureau has scrapped a value-added tax (VAT) on unprocessed ve...
Jul 13 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE
Federal lawmakers have finally brought closure to a protracted and contentious tax de...