Lately I've had the concept of "public perception" on my mind, particularly in media. The Marvel anti-hero Gwen Poole recently made a splash in popular culture with her appearance in Fortnite, exposing the world to this new character... at least if you didn't read the comics. As someone who's read and enjoyed the Unbelievable Gwenpool run since 2019, seeing this spike in popularity has impressed upon me how important the characterizations of these new runs are for their fans. I don't know how accurate Fortnite Gwen is to that silly but caring girl she is in her debut comic, but few will care because Fortnite is her definitive version for the vast majority. Marvel fans have felt this way throughout the era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the public perception trend will continue so long as new stories and characters are created and popularized; I'm experiencing it again with Marvel Rivals and the character of Magik.

This brings us to Sonic the Hedgehog, who more than maybe any other franchise has struggled with public perception. The inherent quirks of his character, his cast, and the stories he's in have been the topic of debate and derision for over twenty years now and have spanned his legacy in video games, comics, and now cinema. His experience in movies is all too fitting with that talked-to-death original design before, in a rare showcase of good faith from Hollywood, the movie was repaired to be passable. Four years have gone by, and we now have the debut of the infamous Shadow the Hedgehog in the face of public perception; a character whose edge has been the subject of conflict since 2005. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 as a movie is important for fans of the series because not only does it have to be a solid film, but it also needs to set the precedent for the modern audience of who Shadow is. In my mind it succeeds in this, although not as thoroughly as I would have liked.

A lot of this is out of the movie's control. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the third film of a trilogy, with two movies it is directly set after. It can't just be an adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2, but also a sequel to the 2022 film Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I think it struck that balance rather well, taking advantage of the movie continuity to do new things in this story: the human characters taking part in an infiltration mission, for instance, as well as the location of the Master Emerald. It is, however, detrimental to the story of Sonic Adventure 2, as these elements are inferior to the story beats of the original story.

Jim Carrey is the most explosive contribution to these movies, and here he's even more prominent. It's funny in hindsight that a famous Hollywood actor can't match Mike Pollock in terms of energy, but he certainly tries his hardest. Carrey's chaotic silliness is a great part of this movie, but as fun as it was I again found it detrimental to Sonic Adventure 2's serious story. In the original game Robotnik is ruthless, blowing off a piece of the moon as a warning and ejecting Sonic into space when he interferes, and it's handled in a straightforward manner. This is something the movies misunderstand about the franchise: the levity in Sonic comes naturally from the absurdity and banter, not from comedy. This change of tone is in line with Hollywood's sensibilities (see Marvel) but it hurts the story and characters. This is especially clear in the case of Gerald Robotnik, who aside from motivations is not the same character as we've seen in the games, with an overly goofy personality without any other defining traits. If you were hoping for intimidating villains out of the Robotniks, you'll be fairly disappointed.

The real surprise, however, was the treatment of Shadow's childhood friend Maria Robotnik, who was getting a lot of superficial attention for being "the child who gets shot". Sega and Paramount were aware of this, and while we don't get a fully game-accurate depiction of the character I actually like this "westernized" characterization. Maria is a fun-loving kid that brings out the good in Shadow in a very tangible way, and we get to see their relationship develop in extended flashback scenes that were more than welcome. She was always the humanity of Shadow, and it was very important that this be demonstrated for an audience that assumed she existed to be killed off. I can really get behind Maria in this movie; the roller skates she wears is also a really nice touch.

As for Shadow himself, he's alright. Keanu Reeves is not a good voice for the character; not that he couldn't be, but because Keanu can't voice-act to save his life. It works decently because Shadow is the brooding self we've grown familiar with through Kirk Thornton's time with the character, though he's noticeably less mean than he is in things like Sonic Boom. He's a broken character and the movie does a good job at putting a backdrop for his edge, which was also more toned-down than his game counterpart. I really don't have a lot to same about him, because while it is fun seeing him on screen and in action that's about all there is to him. It will be interesting seeing what happens to him in the future, as his characterization in the games after 2005 is pretty good and is the part of his arc that the general audiences dismisses.

As for everyone else, they range from decent to bad. I do not like the characterization of Sonic and Knuckles in these movies, they are far more toned down and flat compared to the game counterparts. Sonic's in-your-face and cocky personality is sanded away to be a lot more emotional, and his lack of confidence at times is so unlike the Sonic the Hedgehog we all know. Knuckles is reduced to a meathead, albeit with a couple good scenes in this movie but otherwise still several IQ points below his game counterpart. Tails is Tails this time around as opposed to the pretty flat depiction in the last film, and he serves as the glue holding the trio together. Despite their flaws, Sonic Team is fun in this movie and their moments together is where they shine. The human characters only deserve a footnote as their interaction with the plot is intentionally minimal, which is good since they aren't missed; all of the possible mileage has been played out of them already. I'd say the split of screentime was majority Robotniks, then Sonic Team, then Shadow, followed up by the various human characters.

If you've played Sonic Adventure 2, you have a solid grasp on what the plot and themes are here, though the third act adds an entertaining new dynamic and fight before its finale. You'll also have a lot of fun with this movie, because it is full of easter eggs and references: we get the "low-budget flights" line, the appearance of the Bio-Lizard in a kaiju movie Shadow and Maria watch, and we get several iconic songs from Crush 40. What I did enjoy about said references is how seamlessly they were incorporated into the narrative, avoiding being mere fanservice and being entertaining on their own. For example, the Bio-Lizard still serves the same purpose as it did in Sonic Adventure 2, where Shadow questions if he's more akin to it than anything else. I was very pleased with how it came together and I would be lying if I said I wasn't grinning in that finale.

If the first two movies were enjoyable for you, chances are you'll really like this one. If you're a hardcore fan, there's not much here you won't get from replaying Sonic Adventure 2. And for the complete newcomers, I give it a tepid recommend based on it being a loose adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog for the mainstream. I know they have Sonic 4 in the works and we already have an idea of what is next, though personally I hope they don't continue to produce these movies; I would much rather a 3DCG production. Facing their existence, though, they're decent flicks and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the best one yet.