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Episode 138: VS Sonic the Hedgehog 3
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We watched "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" on this episode, and before you ask, no, we haven't seen "Sonic 2."
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Transcript
Introduction to Zencastr and Movie Fighters
00:00:00
Speaker
This show is recorded using Zencaster. If you are a podcaster or you want to be a podcaster and you want to be able to record remotely, you can do so using Zencaster.
00:00:12
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00:01:03
Speaker
Ring the bell, Shadow? This is Movie Fighters, the show where Chris Simms and I, Matt Wilson, we watch movies and we beat them up.
00:01:17
Speaker
This time on Movie Fighters for the month of April, we are watching and appropriate movie for the month of Easter.
Skipping to Sonic 3: A Cinematic Exploration
00:01:27
Speaker
He is risen indeed, Matt.
00:01:29
Speaker
Because he is risen, and the he we're talking about is Sonic the Hedgehog. Yeah, you might be thinking to yourself, dear listener, hang on, did I miss an episode? I know Chris and Matt watched Sonic 1 when it came out, and now now you're telling me you're sitting down to watch Sonic 3.
00:01:47
Speaker
Did you guys watch Sonic 2? Was that a Patreon exclusive? Was that... Was that something ah was that a live show that didn't get recorded? No. First of all, we've never done a Movie Fighters live show.
00:01:59
Speaker
so that That would be weird unless we just did it like a regular movie podcast where we have watched the movie. i means weak We could do a Movie Fighters live show if invited to do so.
00:02:12
Speaker
I mean, yeah. like Look, if anybody wants to put us in their pezone... Yes. Put us in your Pazon. Put us in the Pazon. But to answer the question that is no doubt on your mind, dear listener.
The Necessity of Related Series: A Streaming Service Comparison
00:02:24
Speaker
um No, we you you did not miss anything. Matt said, what should we do for movie fighters? And I said, let's watch Sonic 3 without ever watching Sonic 2. Because I thought, for some reason, that would be more fun.
00:02:37
Speaker
Okay. Here's the other thing, though. We haven't just missed Sonic 2. Right. We have also missed the entire Knuckles TV series. is How necessary is the Knuckles Paramount Plus original streaming entertainment series?
00:02:57
Speaker
I guess we're going to find out. Because I feel like the answer is, it can't possibly be that relevant, given that it is on Paramount Plus. But, but, Chris...
00:03:10
Speaker
You couldn't go see the Marvels without having watched Ms. Marvel? You could! You would be very lost. I mean, she's a girl, she's got superpowers.
00:03:22
Speaker
you You're like, I don't know anything about her family. i don't I've never... like You had to have seen and the Disney Plus original series Ms. Marvel. Okay.
00:03:33
Speaker
I mean, yeah, but look. who What do you think has ah a bigger user base. Paramount Plus or or Disney Plus? Almost assuredly Disney Plus. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. and yeah i don't know how necessary anything Paramount Plus is going to be if you are not a fan of Star Trek or Evil.
Idris Elba as Knuckles: Celebrity Voice Casting
00:03:57
Speaker
That's all fair points. yeah Interesting note about Knuckles. So Knuckles was... I guess the antagonist of Sonic 2?
00:04:10
Speaker
the or the the Or the secondary antagonist after Dr. Robot? I'm going to guess, without seeing it at all, it was a classic Marvel Comics. They fight and then team up.
00:04:22
Speaker
Well, so that was what happened in Sonic 2. And Knuckles was voiced by Idris Elba. Yes. who also did the voice on the TV show, which it seems like he's better than that.
00:04:37
Speaker
Okay. I can't believe that you're putting me in this position, Matt, of being the of being the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise defender. But, like, is he?
00:04:51
Speaker
I'm not saying Idris Elba's bad at anything, but, like... There's a thing we know about Idris Elba, and that it is that he kind of likes to have fun.
00:05:02
Speaker
And and he he loves to work. he will He will take a role. He'll be in a The Suicide Squad. He'll be in a Hobbs and Shaw.
00:05:13
Speaker
like yeah he he' like either He likes to take kind of goofy roles in fun, like dumb movies, or he certainly likes the house they buy him.
00:05:28
Speaker
Or both. Or both, yeah.
Financial Success of Sonic Films and Jeff Fowler's Direction
00:05:30
Speaker
You know, Jeremy Irons ain't a bad actor, but he ain't better than Dungeons & Dragons. He's in it. Well, okay. Along those same lines, Sonic 3 features Shadow the Hedgehog.
00:05:43
Speaker
I can't imagine Sonic 3 and Sonic 2 being all that different. I can't either. They just swapped out Shadow for Knuckles. Yeah. But the voice of Shadow – Knuckles is also in this, right?
00:05:57
Speaker
Knuckles is also in this. Yeah. But he's but he's part of the crew now. he's He's part of the good guy crew. The fan, he did he did a He did a Scarlet Witch and joined the crew.
00:06:10
Speaker
But Shadow is voiced by Keanu Reeves. And it's very tempting to say Keanu Reeves is better than this. But Keanu also has proven that he will be in something either to but add another wing to his house or because he thinks it's fun.
00:06:30
Speaker
Yeah, he'll be in Cyberpunk 2077. The video game. Yeah. Which, let me tell you, it's probably not as like in-depth and time-consuming as doing a movie.
00:06:42
Speaker
But like there's a lot of game in that game. And he's in all of it. So it's not like a it's not like he you know went into the booth for three hours and knocked it out.
00:06:56
Speaker
like your He had to work for a few days, probably. Yeah, he had to put some time in. i he's He's throughout that game, but he's like only in cutscenes, right? like He's not in gameplay parts.
00:07:09
Speaker
Yeah, he's in gameplay parts, dude. He like talks to you all the time. Wild. you and like look Okay, to be fair, you and i neither of us has played Cyberpunk 2077. No. We have both watched a 10-hour review of Cyberpunk 2077, for sure.
00:07:25
Speaker
Yes. And he's he's in there during the, like, and he he reads the Bible verses in the crucifixion scene. Oh, that's right. Wow. That crucifixion scene is one of the wildest things I've ever seen.
00:07:38
Speaker
Pretty wild. Almost makes you want to play that game, doesn't it? Almost. I'm not going to, but yes, almost.
Sonic vs. Mario: Gaming Quality Debate
00:07:44
Speaker
oh So, we watched Sonic 1. Here's what I remember about Sonic 1.
00:07:51
Speaker
Sonic is from another world. He comes to Earth. He doesn't know anybody. He's lonely. He meets James Marsden, who is a cop?
00:08:03
Speaker
I think he's a cop. I remember feeling like that character was clearly supposed to be like 12 years old and maybe had a cop dad. And they were just like, let's make this one character.
00:08:16
Speaker
Yes.
00:08:19
Speaker
And there's a whole thing about Sonic getting his shoes. I remember that. There's a long chase sequence showing how wonderful the Toyota Tacoma handles.
00:08:32
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And it ends with a big fight with Dr. Robotnik. And Dr. Robotnik works for like the government. Yeah. Who is named Dr. Robotnik and not Eggman, right?
00:08:45
Speaker
Ivo Robotnik. Ivo Robotnik. His American name. You remember more about that movie than I do. Okay. so I remember like a lot of movies.
00:08:57
Speaker
I was thinking the other day, Matt, I've read all of Dragon Ball. yeah I've... played Dragon Ball Z Kakarot. I've watched most of the Dragon Ball Z anime. I've watched all of the Dragon Ball Super anime.
00:09:11
Speaker
I can't remember a fucking thing about Dragon Ball Evolution, and we watched that and talked about it extensively. don't remember anything.
00:09:22
Speaker
i don't either. I remember the bad haircut that Goku has. and i was like, i like like ran across something about it recently, and I was like, damn, James Marshall's in that?
00:09:37
Speaker
Wow! That's a terrible choice. Was that one of our Kari Hiroyuki Tagawa movies? It might have been. It might have been. I don't remember. might have been part of a CHD fest.
00:09:50
Speaker
Here's what's interesting. ah Oh, and Sonic 1 also ended with Tails showing up. Didn't remember that. There's like a post-credit scene where Tails arrives. Probably could have guessed it, didn't remember it.
00:10:00
Speaker
Yeah. That's all I really remember about the first movie. But here's a very interesting detail about all three Sonic movies. One of those movies has come out every two years.
00:10:11
Speaker
There was one in 2020, there was one in 2022, there was one in 2024. Which is extra amazing considering that COVID happened in that. But, but, remember Sonic was the last movie. Yeah.
00:10:24
Speaker
Sonic was the last movie in 2020. It's incredible. We were like, oh my god, Sonic's going to win an Oscar because it's the only movie that came out this year. Theatrically. But like it's incredible that Sonic 2 got put out by 2022. Because COVID was happening.
00:10:44
Speaker
It is, but I mean, I know it's not like a full CG movie. like Obviously, you know it's kind of you know it's so it's a Roger Rabbit style thing. But you know Ben Schwartz and Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba get to go in a booth. right it's you can you know Voice acting is a thing you can do while the pandemic is on. I have a little bit of experience with this, and you know people are still like masking up. in the
00:11:14
Speaker
So so yeah what you're saying is they put Jim Carrey in a hermetically sealed tube and shot him in additive backgrounds. Now, is Jim Carrey... I can't recall. i know it's one of these two things. Either Jim Carrey is an anti-vaxxer, or he was like dating a 20-year-old.
00:11:35
Speaker
Kind of both. Or both. It might have been both. so I don't know if Jim Carrey himself was an anti-vaxxer. I'm sure people will let me know. He was in a long-term relationship with Jenny McCarthy, who absolutely was. Yeah, who like but that i mean their relationship ended years and years ago, and she's definitely and into
Ben Schwartz, Podcast Durations, and Media Appearances
00:11:54
Speaker
Vexer.
00:11:54
Speaker
yeah I don't know what Jim Carrey has or hasn't said about vaccines, but um he he's in that ballpark, but I don't know for sure.
00:12:05
Speaker
But there's also the weird element of, after the first Sonic movie came out, Jim Carrey said he was retiring from acting. He has come back for both sequels.
00:12:18
Speaker
Yeah, well, I mean, like this is in acting. like this is This is embodying. yeah Right. this is the He's playing essentially a version of himself. Yeah, you know like like it's not like Jim goes to set. you know it's it's Jim might drive the car, but on that set, it's Ivo.
00:12:36
Speaker
So... he Yes, he came back for the sequel. ah That sequel came out in 2022 and was over two hours long. The first movie was 99 minutes.
00:12:48
Speaker
The second movie was 122. This third one splits the difference and is 110. hundred and ten yeah Here's another interesting bit of information about... Another reason i was very relieved to not watch Sonic 2.
00:13:05
Speaker
Yeah, the longest of the three, somehow.
00:13:09
Speaker
The Sonic movies, all three Sonic movies, are the artistic vision of one director.
00:13:19
Speaker
Jeff Fowler has directed all three of these movies. They are the only theatrical movies he has directed.
Sonic 3's Star-Studded Cast: Expectations and Critic Reviews
00:13:32
Speaker
Interesting. Isn't that that like nuts? I mean, it's a moneymaker. Sure. yeah like they these These are hits. like they're like They would not have made one every two years if they weren't hits.
00:13:49
Speaker
Sonic 3 made more money than Sonic 2. Yeah. Sonic 2 box office was $400 million, dollars which, you know, it was happening in COVID. It was happening in 2022. Sonic made nearly million.
00:14:08
Speaker
incredible Yeah. Here's the thing, Matt, and we've talked about this before, I'm sure, but again, anything that we do on this show leaves my mind as soon as it's over, and I revert to a blank state.
00:14:21
Speaker
I don't like Sonic. The games? The games. I am famously a Sonic the Hedgehog video game hater. I have said before that the best Sonic game is worse than the worst Mario game.
00:14:36
Speaker
That's not true, ah because Sonic Mania is better than some Mario games, but it's kind of the only good one. it's ah And it's a cheat.
00:14:48
Speaker
it was It was a ah fan-made game that then got officially released. Yeah, I mean, but that's not a... I don't think that's cheating.
00:15:00
Speaker
but It's good. It's a good game. It's good. I'm just saying it's not it wasn't officially made by the Sonic team. That's true. I didn't like that first movie. At all. Didn't enjoy it.
00:15:12
Speaker
ah don't like the character. I don't like the games. I want these movies to be good. And I want them to do well. And that's a million percent because...
00:15:27
Speaker
Of Ben Schwartz doing bits with Patrick Gill for Polygon every time one of these movies comes out. Absolutely. Those interviews on Polygon with Ben Schwartz and Patrick Gill are the best piece of Sonic media, I think, that exists.
00:15:43
Speaker
They're so good, and they do not break kayfabe.
00:15:49
Speaker
It's great. ah like i've you know Ben Schwartz, I think, is a very likable... likable celebrity. you know He's been on Dropout stuff.
00:16:00
Speaker
oh yeah He's been on... ah Routinely on Comedy Bang Bang. Yeah, and obviously you know he was on Parks and Rec as Jean-Ralphio, which is you know the breakout role for him.
00:16:12
Speaker
ah I think... I wouldn't listen to him on Comedy Bang Bang because um I value my minutes on this earth. but ah And man, it just takes... It's like four hours long.
00:16:26
Speaker
It's not that long. Everything they do is four hours long. And the joke just doesn't stop. And the joke will be like, I'm eating a hot dog. And it's like four hours. And that's like, okay.
00:16:43
Speaker
All right. I know you like those guys. It's so long. you know so You know how Doctor Strange told the Human Torch that heaven and hell were the same thing?
00:16:55
Speaker
Uh-huh. A room where all there is is Bloodborne and Comedy Bang Bang? You and i both in that room for eternity. Yeah.
00:17:06
Speaker
And I'm having a real bad time, except that I'm with my good friend Matt. Yeah. But yes, Ben Schwartz makes want... schwartz makes me what Makes me want these movies to be good.
00:17:20
Speaker
let's ah Let's dig into the cast of Sonic 3 specifically. ah The live-action cast includes Jim Carrey in a dual role.
00:17:32
Speaker
Oh, great. ah Not only is he Dr. Robotnik, he is also Professor Gerald Robotnik. Okay. James Marsden returns...
00:17:43
Speaker
As Sonic's adoptive dad, who is also the sheriff of Green Hills, Montana. but Right, it was Green Hills. Now that you've said that, I do remember being like, oh, that's from that's from the game.
00:17:55
Speaker
ah Tika Sumpter returns as his wife, who I completely forgot about. Sonic's wife? ah No, Tom's wife. Okay, because I know Sonic one time did kiss a human girl.
00:18:08
Speaker
That's true. Lee Majdub is back as Agent Stone, who is the kind of put-upon assistant of Dr. Robotnik in these movies. ah Kristen Ritter is in this movie as director Rockwell.
00:18:22
Speaker
Cannot wait to see how that goes down. ah Natasha Rothwell ah followed this up with her run on White Lotus. ah She plays ah Maddie's sister, Rachel.
00:18:39
Speaker
ah Shamar Moore plays a gun agent. From Birds of Prey? Shamar Moore from Birds of Prey, that's right. yeah You might not remember when ah Shamar Moore, I believe, it it was he was he the host of like the new Soul Train that was on back then?
00:18:59
Speaker
I don't remember. i just remember ah clip of him saying, like at the end of a show, and don't forget to check out the new Shamar Moore joint, Birds of Prey.
00:19:11
Speaker
Adam Pally returns as a deputy. ah I believe he is in all three movies. And then there's several actors whose names I don't know. And then Yorma Taccone from ah The Lonely Island has a cameo in this.
00:19:28
Speaker
um The voice cast is Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog, Keanu Reeves as Shadow, Idris Elba as Knuckles, and Colleen O'Shaughnessy as Miles Tails Prower, the actual voice of Tails from the video games.
00:19:44
Speaker
There is a great bit in one of those Polygon videos where Ben Schwartz calls Colleen O'Shaughnessy and asks her what the pun is of Tails' his name, and she's like, Miles Prower.
00:19:58
Speaker
Which he had not figured out. It may have been a bit. I don't know. but That had to be a bit. But again, the kayfabe.
00:20:08
Speaker
Cowboy Bill Watts would love those two. Yes. I can imagine someone not knowing that my that Tails' is real name was pun. Can you imagine someone not knowing that, and also they have been in three Sonic the Hedgehog movies?
00:20:23
Speaker
I guess not. Okay. We're going to watch Sonic 3, and we're going to see if we need to have known anything from the second one to understand it. i mean, shit, I've already got Paramount+. I might watch Knuckles.
00:20:36
Speaker
The television show? Yeah, why not, man? I'm talking about appreciating your time on this earth. Hey, i odds odds are pretty good I would enjoy it more than playing Dark Souls.
00:20:49
Speaker
Alright, we're going to watch Sonic 3. ah It is on Paramount+, plus as stated. ah so if you want to watch along with us, you can go to Paramount Plus and watch Sonic 3.
00:21:00
Speaker
ah We are going to take a little musical interlude During that time, we will be watching the movie, and then we're going to come back and we're going to talk about it. I am excited. i Matt, I'm going to make a bold prediction. I never do this.
00:21:15
Speaker
I never make bold predictions on this show. Let's hear it. What's that Shane Douglas promo where he's like, Joey, you know that I'm not a man who makes guarantees. That's pretty good Shane Douglas.
00:21:28
Speaker
Thank you. Matt, I think we're going to like it. ah I think we're going to have a good time. According to the overall consensus of critics' reviews, this is the best of the three movies. Hell yeah. I think we're going to like it.
00:21:43
Speaker
All right. Join us and watch with in watching it if you wish. Either way, we're going to come back after the music and talk about the movie.
00:22:07
Speaker
And we are back from watching Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Alright, look.
Shadow's Escape and Chaos in Tokyo: Movie Plot Begins
00:22:12
Speaker
I wasn't but right. I wasn't right. But I wasn't wrong either.
00:22:19
Speaker
It wasn't all bad. there is There is an easy way to cut this movie for me to enjoy it Okay, well let's get into it, and we'll talk about all of those ah things when we get to the end.
00:22:35
Speaker
um The movie begins with, we see Shadow, from the very beginning, he's being held in some kind of stasis at a facility run by the Guardian Units of Nations, a.k.a. Gunn.
00:22:56
Speaker
That's great! yeah I don't know who came up with Gunn. i don't I don't know if that's in the video games or if that like comes from fucking Ken Penders or something, Ian Flynn or whomever, but that's great.
00:23:09
Speaker
That's the dumbest shit in the world. It definitely originated in the games, in one of the Sonic Adventure games, I think.
00:23:21
Speaker
I don't know if it showed up in the comics first or anything, but... I know it's absolutely a thing from the games, but this is Yorva Takoni's cameo in the movie. He's one of the guards that's overseeing Shadow.
00:23:40
Speaker
And almost immediately, he's like, we're being hacked. And this Robotnik...
00:23:49
Speaker
symbol pops up on their screens and all of their machinery explodes. So a bunch of... And Shadow bursts out of his stasis tube. He wakes up and bursts out of his stasis tube.
00:24:04
Speaker
A bunch of like elite soldiers run in and try to attack Shadow. but He whips all their asses in a scene very reminiscent of the beginning of X2, X-Men United. Yeah, because Shadow can teleport.
00:24:20
Speaker
Yeah. I guess that's... i didn't I didn't know that was his superpower, but I guess that's his superpower. Which does make sense, because that's the only thing faster than being fast.
00:24:32
Speaker
He also has a gun, but he only briefly has that gun in this movie. the gu The gun's their FHO, Matt. FHO. It's, yeah. The gun is there for heads only. so That's for you and me to go.
00:24:48
Speaker
Shadow has gun. ah Hey, is Shadow going to have the gun? i asked immediately, is Shadow going to have the gun? And then he very briefly did. Yeah. Hey, can I, before we get past the prologue here, can I talk about something that happens at the very start of the movie?
00:25:03
Speaker
Yeah. We get the Paramount logo with ah rings instead of stars, which very cute. Then we get fucking... Marvel Films style Sega logo, right? Yeah. like ah what do What do you call It's not a logo. It's a um ah what like the little package. The little um signature. The signature the top the show. It's a signature card, yeah.
00:25:30
Speaker
Yeah. And it starts with a screen showing like a Sonic video game, and then it pulls out and you see ah all these other video games. And listen... Don't show me that you could be making literally Golden Axe, Space Channel 5, Jet Set Radio, Yakuza.
00:25:55
Speaker
Okay, there was a Yakuza TV show that I almost would guarantee. No, it sucks. I i tried. I tried. Yeah, yeah. But like, don't show me this shit unless you're going to have Ulala show up in this movie, you know?
00:26:10
Speaker
One of these screens is just the Dreamcast logo. What? Yeah, I would all but guarantee that that signature card was shown before the Like a Dragon Amazon Prime show. I don't think it was.
00:26:27
Speaker
Hmm, interesting. Yeah, i think they I think they saved this for for the films. But yeah, man, don't show me fucking Streets of Rage unless Streets of Rage is coming to a theater near me.
00:26:38
Speaker
And Golden Axe and fucking Altered Beast. Yeah. Give give me the Sega movie.
00:26:47
Speaker
Yeah. we've had We've had three of these Sonics. Where's Kiryu? Where's Kiryu and Ola? We've had three of these Sonics and they've been very popular. So we know you have money, Sega, to make a movie based on Tommy Lasorda Baseball.
00:27:06
Speaker
Also, doesn't Sega own Atlas? Is there a Persona screen in here? Because that shit would be fucking wild. Does Sega own Atlas? Damn. I think they might.
00:27:19
Speaker
Anyway, Shadow breaks out of this facility and we see him running across the ocean to go on whatever his mission is, which we're going to learn about later.
00:27:33
Speaker
Is it at the beginning? Is it at the very beginning that we get some of the flashbacks to Maria? um We get one pretty early on. It's just like Shadow City, like watching a sunset with a human girl.
00:27:45
Speaker
And it's, I couldn't tell how, like, it it you can't see that she's like 14 or whatever she is when we actually see her ah later in the movie.
00:27:55
Speaker
um And I was very worried that, look, I know that sometimes Sonic kisses a human girl, and none of us like that. None of us. Nobody likes that. I honest to God think none of us like that.
00:28:09
Speaker
I mean, there are people who say they like it, but i i I think they're lying. I feel like even if you want to kiss Sonic the Hedgehog, and and look, I get it, you know?
00:28:23
Speaker
I get it. If you do, i don't feel that way, but you know, God bless you Follow your bliss, chase your rainbow, you know? But I feel like even if you want to kiss Sonic the Hedgehog, you want to be and a hedgehog at the time. Like you want to be Matt the Hedgehog, just to pick a name, ah kind of random.
00:28:42
Speaker
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. You would want to be Matt the Echidna. Right. And then kiss Sonic the Hedgehog. i don't think anybody wants to be human and kiss Sonic. Yeah. Speaking of giving something to Sonic, that we see Sonic, and he's with Tom and Maddie.
00:29:05
Speaker
And I forgot that their last names are Wachowski or Wachowski. In the movie, they say Wachowski. The actual people's names are Wachowski. But they're named after, undoubtedly, they're named after the directors of The Matrix and Speed Racer.
00:29:24
Speaker
Kind of gotta be, right? i How in the world else would they have that name? i mean like I mean, it is a name that exists. Sure, but like... But it's also like the name of a famous person.
00:29:37
Speaker
Of two famous people. Yes. But that's what it's like. Whenever you see a character who has... When you when you find out Colossus' last name is Rasputin, you know...
00:29:51
Speaker
yeah There's a reason for that. It wasn't just plucked from the ether. It was plucked because fucking Len Wein only knew one Russian person, I think. the more appropriate name would have been Stalin. but he but like i In fact, I would bet that was first draft.
00:30:08
Speaker
Because he is a man of steel. But regardless. Did you like the picture I just sent you, Matt? No. um I don't know.
00:30:20
Speaker
Like, it's... This is... this where Was this on DeviantArt or something? I just googled Matt the Hedgehog. Well, this is Matthew the Hedgehog. And he's green, I guess?
00:30:33
Speaker
Yeah. Weird that that's what you're unsure of with this. but yeah No, i mean he likes video games, manga, swords, and gas bombs. I don't know what gas bombs are.
00:30:44
Speaker
i mean, they're gas bombs, I guess. um But I like three of those things. i would I knew I was going to send it to you when i when Swords was number three on the list.
00:30:55
Speaker
But he also dislikes rap music, which I like a lot. Yeah, I know. um American Industrial System. I can get i can agree with that. um Nostalgia Critic. Not a fan.
00:31:08
Speaker
um Loud Noises. i don't love loud noises. Chris the Hedgehog is cool. Chris the Hedgehog does dress like me at a convention. Yeah. And is, and is throwing up the horns.
00:31:21
Speaker
Yeah. Or I, I, that might be, I love you in sign language actually, but it's, you know, it can, it's, it's all, who can say. Yeah. Anyway, those two hedgehogs have a podcast for sure.
00:31:35
Speaker
It is probably about how much they like swords. Yeah. So Sonic is hanging out with Tom and, I've already forgotten his wife's name, Maddie.
00:31:48
Speaker
And, uh, They're like out camping, and Knuckles and Tails are there, Sonic's there. Knuckles and Tails are about to start a race.
00:32:00
Speaker
And Sonic walt walks over, and he's got like
00:32:06
Speaker
swim gear on, even though there's not got like floaty pool anywhere around. I mean, I guess maybe they there's a lake he could swim in. but i he's He's got like floaties. He's like, oh, are you guys about to race? Because I got to get in on this race.
00:32:20
Speaker
So he he spins around and he's out of his floaties and then they race. They start having a race. And at first, Tails and Knuckles are ahead.
00:32:33
Speaker
But Sonic bursts into second gear. He does the little roll thing to go faster and gets way out ahead. goes past the finish line, the goal sign. It spins around like it does in the games.
00:32:49
Speaker
And then he sees that Tails and Knuckles are already there, and he's like, you guys beat me? How did you beat me? But they're actually holograms, because this was all a ruse to distract Sonic while they set up a surprise party for him, because this is his anniversary of arriving on Earth.
00:33:13
Speaker
His birth day. So they have a little celebration of that with cake and stuff. There's also a joke about how their dog hates Sonic because he's taken all the attention away from him, the dog.
00:33:29
Speaker
And I hate that. Yeah, I don't like it. The dog is... Because the dog gets like subtitles. yeah but The dog's just like, woof.
00:33:41
Speaker
You know? And I don't like that the, to like, it's weird that the dog can't seem to decide if he likes Sonic or not. Well, the joke about the dog is that he's sad.
00:33:54
Speaker
Yeah. That's the joke that they settled on for the dog, is that he's sad because he doesn't get attention from his people anymore. Yeah.
00:34:07
Speaker
Which, I mean, you know, um don't love it. don't love it. Yeah. don't love it. It's not good. I mean, look, I have a dog who's very unreasonable um about things and pretends that she has a much worse life than she does. Uh-huh. To the point where I have occasionally been, like, interrupted while recording a podcast, and I am on mic saying to my dog, your life is so good.
00:34:38
Speaker
You used to live on the street.
00:34:43
Speaker
You're fat now. Like, come on. Oh, we're going to get to some characters who are fat now. What I'm saying is she gets a lot of treats and sleeps a lot. Like, it's great.
00:34:54
Speaker
So then when there's a scene where Sonic goes into the cave where he lived for a long time, which I must admit, I completely forgot that he lived on Earth for a long time before meeting Tom.
Humor and Criticism: Sonic's Earth Adventures
00:35:09
Speaker
Yeah, that was weird. like Because he says, like yeah, you lived here for years. And I did not – again, I don't remember anything about that movie. but like he didn't meet Tom on like his first day?
00:35:22
Speaker
i guess not. i I really don't remember any of that. um But nonetheless. That's wild. Tom gives a little speech to Sonic about how he's a good – creature, ah good being, because he didn't let his resentments and loneliness change him.
00:35:45
Speaker
Right. he's still He was still good in his heart.
00:35:51
Speaker
Meanwhile, Shadow is in Tokyo, causing havoc. Like, riding around on a motorcycle and causing havoc through Tokyo.
00:36:03
Speaker
One might even say he's causing chaos. Correct. And ah it's it's so bad that Gunn, the director of Gunn, who is played by Kristen Ritter, shows up at this camping trip and tells Sonic and Knuckles and Tails that they've got to get to to Tokyo as as soon as possible to stop this this chaos that's happening in Tokyo, which leads to a
00:36:35
Speaker
Pretty lengthy and pretty cool, pretty fun action sequence where, in particular, Sonic, but also Tails and Knuckles are chasing down Shadow in the middle of Tokyo.
00:36:48
Speaker
And this is where Shadow has the gun. Yeah, and this is this is when I said that I don't remember the first one. But this is certainly like gets to some action, and the action's good and fun and well-staged and moves really fast. It's it's what you want, right? like's it There's Akira slide. There's an Akira slide.
00:37:13
Speaker
Does Akira slide on on his motorcycle. you want to do Do you want to do the lean? Akira. Yeah.
00:37:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's pretty good. It's a pretty good sequence. Ultimately, Shadow gets away. ah But, you know, pretty decent action sequence to start off the movie.
00:37:36
Speaker
After that, they're like, well, we got to find somewhere to go. t Team Sonic, which is Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails, which Knuckles doesn't love that name.
00:37:48
Speaker
ah They're like, we got to find somewhere to go. So Tails takes them to... Knuckles' tracks, by the way. Knuckles is absolutely Drax. Yeah, that was an observation you made. Knuckles is yeah just Drax.
00:38:03
Speaker
From the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Yeah, but he doesn't understand idioms. He's dumb and he's strong. Yeah, he's he's very tough. He's very strong. He's good. But if you say something to him as an idiom, he doesn't understand it.
00:38:17
Speaker
So there's a whole joke later in the movie when they're in London – where Sonic says to him, you're break glass in case of emergency. and so And Knuckles is like, I'm going shatter that glass. I'm going beat the life out of that glass.
00:38:34
Speaker
Which is weird, because that's also not like
00:38:38
Speaker
like that's not how they should explain his role to him. like that's That is a complicated way to explain his role. That no one would actually do, just so we can get to this joke of him not knowing what glass he is supposed to be breaking.
00:38:53
Speaker
Yeah. Like, you you wouldn't say that to someone. You'd say, and Knuckles, you're back up in case things go bad. Right. I mean, look, I can understand saying, hey, you're a real break glass in case of emergency kind of person in this situation.
00:39:11
Speaker
And if they know what that means, then they'll be like, got it. But if you don't know what that means... Yeah. And I mean, like presumably, they've been hanging out with Knuckles for a while. Yeah.
00:39:24
Speaker
Like, ah he's in the fam. Like, they should know that any way. Sonic says a lot of weird bullshit, too, but that's fine. I actually like most of the weird bullshit Sonic says, so...
00:39:36
Speaker
So they go to – this is a thing from the Sonic games. What is it called, Chris, that they go to in Tokyo? Oh, they go to um a restaurant ah that's a theme restaurant, and it's Chow Garden. Yeah, it's Chow Which I do know because I did own a Sega Dreamcast, and so I did play Sonic Adventure, um which I didn't like.
00:39:55
Speaker
it's You know the Chows? In this world, they're just like weird – creatures that there are like mascots for a restaurant in Tokyo. Yeah, they're mascots. This is also the scene where ah someone calls Tails a Pokemon.
00:40:11
Speaker
Yeah. Because the reason they're here is like, oh, because this is a weird mascot cafe, everyone will just think that we're weird mascots. Even though we're clearly like anthropomorphic animal people Not in costumes.
00:40:25
Speaker
And andd we're customers. We're not working here. And we're customers. Yeah. If you saw, like, come on. You've seen Sonic. But some a kid walks up to Tails and goes, ah oh, are you a Pokemon?
00:40:38
Speaker
And ah Knuckles like, haha, you do look like a Pokemon. Pika Pika. And I'm like, I have questions. So Knuckles doesn't know what Bray Glassy Case of Emergency means, but he does know all about Pokemon.
00:40:53
Speaker
yeah Specifically, they say Tails looks like Detective Pikachu. Oh, that's right. She asked him, are you Detective Pikachu? Yeah. Which, hey, don't don't take shots. Don't fucking come with the king, buddy.
00:41:07
Speaker
Detective Pikachu's a good movie.
00:41:11
Speaker
So, they just turn to the side. there's this is This was one of the surreal moments in the movie for me.
00:41:23
Speaker
They're sitting at the table. There's this joke about Pikachu. And then they just turn, and there's this old man in uniform sitting there.
00:41:34
Speaker
They don't explain how he got there. They didn't acknowledge that they were he was there before. He's just there now. I describe this guy as dressing like a cartoon general.
00:41:46
Speaker
So apparently this is a character from the games. And this is what he looks like in the games. ah Great. Yeah, he has like the entire left side of his chest is medals.
00:41:59
Speaker
Yeah. And then he has like an additional like line of medals going like like the like the line on a Star Trek The Next Generation uniform like off onto his shoulder.
00:42:10
Speaker
um And he is he's a cartoon man. And it is not established that he's a fucking liar.
00:42:19
Speaker
But he is right. I mean, i jury's out, but... Like, 100%! He's, like, lying to them. Here's what he tells them.
00:42:30
Speaker
Okay? He explains who Shadow is. So, in the very first scene of the movie, we were told that Shadow has been in stasis for 50 years. Like, he hasn't moved in 50 years.
00:42:43
Speaker
Yeah, Shadow comes out and sees, like, a happy 2024, twenty twenty four like ah banner, and he's like, 50 years.
00:42:56
Speaker
Yes. Great Keanu. Thank you. Oh, and also that bit where he walks where he sees that and he's like walking in Tokyo and it's raining is 100% a John Wick reference.
00:43:09
Speaker
yeah that That's a joke for the adults. That's an actual joke for the adults. Yeah, for sure. So, this guy, Commander Walters, explains that Shadow crash landed or crashed into Earth in this big crater 50-some years ago.
00:43:29
Speaker
And he was found by gun, and they did experiments on him. There was a project leader, who is not named at this point, who did experiments on him because he had incredible amounts of chaos energy.
00:43:50
Speaker
And they thought that they could use it to like power the Earth. And so they studied him for a while, but it all led to a huge disaster accident that blew up the whole laboratory.
00:44:05
Speaker
And so after that, they put um Shadow in stasis, and that's where he's been since 1974. so... nineteen seventy four and so Now he's out, and they have to figure out a way to stop him because ah you know he's got all this power. right Then a bunch of Dr. Robotnik drones show up in this restaurant and blow it up, and debris lands on this guy, Commander Walters,
00:44:41
Speaker
And kills him, but before he dies, he hands over a key card to sonic to Team Sonic. Because he says, Sonic is the only being that he can trust with it.
00:44:55
Speaker
And so, now he has this key card. Sonic and, or let's just call him Team Sonic. They're like, Dr. Robotnik? He's dead.
00:45:07
Speaker
What happened to him? Or, like, how could this have happened? How could these drones be here? Dr. Robotnik's dead. So they find his old assistant, ah whatever his name is, Agent Stone.
00:45:22
Speaker
They find Agent Stone, and they're like, you did this. And Agent just Stone's like, no, I didn't. And he hits a little button, and it makes the car chirp-chirp noise.
00:45:35
Speaker
And this big mechanical crab comes out of the water. And he says, join me inside the crab. So they go in the crab, and Dr. Robotnik is in there.
00:45:47
Speaker
He's not dead. He's watching telenovelas on TV, which, those telenovelas are pretty funny. Yeah. It's Christo Fernandez and an actress side I don't know, um in a telenovela where Christo Fernandez is playing...
00:46:08
Speaker
Two twin brothers. This is when the movie starts to suck. Yeah, because Jim Carrey's here now. Yeah. So the joke of Dr. Robotnik at this point is that he's been depressed and just in his little crab, underwater crab, eating snacks and watching TV.
00:46:32
Speaker
So he's gotten fat. Mm-hmm. And the very first thing we see him do It's weird that you say and as though there's another part of that joke, but that's it. That's all of it. but yeah The very first thing we see him do is he takes a frozen burrito and puts it in a microwave that's in a little floating drone.
00:46:51
Speaker
And he heats that up. He takes it out. He puts it under the floating drone, which has like squirting sauces that come out of the bottom. And they all make fart noises. They make like shit noises, dude. It sucks. Yeah.
00:47:05
Speaker
It it he fucking sucks. He takes one bite of the burrito and throws it away. It's... It's... Ugh. Like, look.
00:47:18
Speaker
I know it's weird to have pet peeves about things characters do in movies because they're not real people doing real things.
00:47:29
Speaker
But I absolutely hate it when characters in movies don't eat food.
00:47:35
Speaker
Like, they go to all the trouble of making food and then take one bite and then it's... They they throw it away themselves. That bothers me so much.
00:47:46
Speaker
Yeah, man. um This whole sequence sucks. Yeah. And also, like, Robotnik is wearing ah shirt, like a t-shirt, that feels like it should be something, and it's not. It's nothing.
00:48:05
Speaker
like It's not like a reference or anything. It's just like a shirt with some stuff on it, but like it's nothing. Yeah, it's like a... Annoying. I don't even remember what it was. Yeah. it's It's not a reference, but it's like trying to show like one of his hobbies or something. i don't know.
00:48:26
Speaker
but I don't like it, and it sucks ass. So Stone brings Team Sonic into the room where Robotnik is.
Flashbacks and Family Ties: Shadow's History Revealed
00:48:36
Speaker
And so they ask him, you know, why do you send these drones after us? And he goes, I didn't.
00:48:42
Speaker
ah But I can find out who did. And so he gets on one of his screens. Oh, and there's trash everywhere. So he's like... kicking around trash everywhere and moving it away and so he can use this his computers to pinpoint where the Robotnik drones came from.
00:49:00
Speaker
And they find the location that they came from. And so they decide that for once they're are going to all team up and go find out what's going on, who sent these drones.
00:49:13
Speaker
So they go to the facility... where shadow that Where the accident happened, where Shadow went the first time, the gun facility that was destroyed in the accident that happened.
00:49:30
Speaker
And they go inside, it's all dusty and messed up. And somewhere around in here, there's a flashback where we see more of Shadow living in this place.
00:49:43
Speaker
And it's a little confusing because he's in like a back to tank there too, but he's not in stasis. He's awake and alive.
00:49:54
Speaker
He came to Earth and was like in a coma. And then the girl, mar Maria, Martha, Maria, Maria.
00:50:05
Speaker
How'd you know that name? Matt, how did you know that name? How did you know very name Martha? ah She wakes him up, and then when they, like, after everything goes bad, they put him back in there. Like, they, they either he goes comatose, or they, like, make him go comatose.
00:50:25
Speaker
Well, they send him to a whole different place. Because this place gets destroyed. another dimension! Yeah. They send him to a whole other facility. Which took me a while to figure out. Because the movie does not explain this.
00:50:38
Speaker
The movie doesn't explain a lot of things. And like, look. Say what you will about me and Matt. I don't think we're dumb. And I don't think we should have trouble with the plot of Sonic the Hedgehog movies.
00:50:51
Speaker
It also doesn't do a lot to explain who Maria is. Maria is from the games. Maria is from Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the the Hedgehog.
00:51:04
Speaker
Okay. She is Gerald Robotnik's
00:51:11
Speaker
granddaughter. So, okay. Gerald Robotnik is the unseen head of the division of gun that was studying Shadow.
00:51:21
Speaker
Okay. right He is Ivo Robotnik's grandfather. So he Maria is Ivo's sister.
00:51:32
Speaker
Cousin. Okay. But we don't know who any of their parents are, so it's extra confusing. Okay. All right. ah yeah It would be fair and easy to assume that Maria is Ivo's sister.
00:51:48
Speaker
But according to the wiki stuff I just read, she's his cousin. So Gerald had at least two children who then had children. And so those grandchildren are Maria and Ivo.
00:52:08
Speaker
Sure. Sure.
00:52:12
Speaker
Anyway, Maria and Shadow created like a bond while he was in this laboratory. And we see some of that building in this flashback. There's also a bit where it's set ah to a song by the Traveling Wilburys, which came out at least a decade after this is supposed to be taking place.
00:52:37
Speaker
I think, look, you know that, and you might be the only person who saw this movie who would note that. A bunch of parents did. Yeah, but I don't think they cared. Maybe not. Maybe not. Yeah, that song came out in 1988. Yeah.
00:52:51
Speaker
yeah This is supposed to be 1974. That from Jeepers She looks like she's from
00:53:01
Speaker
yeah it definitely has like a A 60s vibe in the lab and everything. and the bunker, yeah. Yeah.
00:53:12
Speaker
Whatever, man. Okay, sure whatever. so There's a lot of yeah, sure in this movie. Yeah, they go to the bunker in the present. Team Sonic and Robotnik in stone go to the this bunker in the present. It's all hollowed out and blown up.
00:53:29
Speaker
And there's this whole... decision about like who's going to pair off with who to go investigate all the different paths.
00:53:39
Speaker
It doesn't matter.
00:53:42
Speaker
Basically, what ends up happening is that Ivo meets his grandfather, Gerald, learns that Gerald is the one who released the drones, and is like, yes, I'm your grandfather. There's this dumb sequence where they...
00:54:00
Speaker
figure out that they're related to each other because they both know things. Like, they're asking each other, like, math questions. Yeah, they can both do math. And it's like, you you are my dad. Like, you know what the speed of light divided by the speed of sound is. And it's... I mean, that's... It's i think it's unusual to know that.
00:54:23
Speaker
I think. But those are... it's It's weird that you would be testing someone with what are objective facts. That's not usually how that goes.
00:54:39
Speaker
And, um you know, it could just be that they look exactly alike. Yeah. And they even make a joke where it's like, yeah we look so much alike. It's like we're being played by the same actor.
00:54:53
Speaker
Woof. It sucks, dude. So Gerald tells Ivo that he wants to go to London to destroy Gunn headquarters to get revenge Gunn because Gunn has done their family wrong.
00:55:12
Speaker
And Ivo's like, okay, let's do that, grandfather. Shadow is also there because Shadow's been working with Gerald this whole time. And he takes that key card that Sonic had before and they leave.
00:55:27
Speaker
And leave Sonic behind.
00:55:31
Speaker
Team Sonic uses a ring portal to get out of there. There's a whole bit with like a big like mid miniature black hole that they threaten them with. And they get away from that by using a ring portal. The rings in these movies are portals.
00:55:49
Speaker
Which I guess they are in the games too. Some of them are.
00:55:53
Speaker
Right? You can teleport through a ring in some of the games? Yeah, you get like the big rings that take you to like the bonus stage. and Yeah. um Anyway. the The rings are weird because... like
00:56:08
Speaker
Were there coins in the Mario movie? I think so. That anything? I don't really remember. Yeah. Because the rings are just coins.
00:56:20
Speaker
but The rings are just coins, yeah. but it's like But the rings always have some kind of significance. like I know like in the comics, they're like some of the comics, I remember from when like reading when I was a kid, so like the early Archie comics were like, oh, the rings are like, you know, they they give him energy, like Pac-Man's power pellets.
00:56:41
Speaker
Right. But i don't know if that I don't think that's ever been canon. I think in the Mario movie, the coins were just currency. Yeah. Yeah, I think they're just, yeah. Like, you bought stuff with them.
00:56:53
Speaker
Yeah. But I don't i don't remember. Talk about a movie I don't remember a thing about. Not a blessed thing. Donkey Kong's in it? I remember that there was like a ah Smash Brothers level.
00:57:06
Speaker
And that's kind of there's it. Yeah, there's the part where he fights Donkey Kong. It's kind of like a Smash Brothers thing. Yeah. Anyway. Yeah. They teleport away from the black hole, which destroys a mountain.
00:57:19
Speaker
And you bet me $20, or you tried to bet me $20. I did. I tried to get you to take the bet. That that scene was going to end with somebody saying, that sucked.
00:57:29
Speaker
Which did not happen. it It didn't, and I was surprised, and you would have made $20 off me. That's true. but Fortune favors the bold, Matt. The joke after that was...
00:57:43
Speaker
Arguably worse. Sonic just says, somebody better call Google Maps.
00:57:49
Speaker
That was pretty bad. was pretty rough. I got satellites, Sonic. Yeah. ah So they go back to Tom and Maddie, and they so they're like, hey... Oh, and there's this whole sequence here where Tom and Maddie are bored.
00:58:05
Speaker
So they're just baking a lot? Yeah, they've... This was... I can't decide if this was funny. Which means it wasn't. But like, they're sitting around and like, she's wearing a an apron that says Aller Muffin, which is Okay, that's good.
00:58:25
Speaker
Aller Muffin is good. That's really good. Yeah. And he's got like a crocheted sweater that says like Donut Lord and has a bunch of donuts on it.
00:58:36
Speaker
Because earlier in the movie, um Knuckles calls him Donut Lord, I guess, because he's a cop and cops like donuts. And Knuckles said ACAB. um Knuckles calls him a fucking pig and a fascist.
00:58:48
Speaker
And... ah Yeah, ah and he's got like a ventriloquist dummy and a bunch of stuff. And the joke is that without Sonic and Knuckles and Tails in their lives, they're bored and have like a bunch of free time.
00:59:04
Speaker
And that's kind of a good joke, but Sonic's been gone for like 12 hours. Also, Tom has a job. Tom is the sheriff of but of a county. Maybe he quits. Yeah.
00:59:16
Speaker
Maybe he quit. yeah In Sonic 2, he's like, I can no longer be part of this corrupt system. Knuckles is right. The best thing any cop can do is quit. Oh, yeah. He's also got a ventriloquist puppet that that Maddie hates.
00:59:29
Speaker
Yeah, which is a really good ventriloquist puppet of of ah James Marsden. Yeah. You can put that thing in.
00:59:40
Speaker
the Just shot for shot remake that first episode of Westworld. With that puppet instead.
00:59:49
Speaker
Westworld where everyone's a Muppet except one actor. And it's definitely Jeffrey Wright. Absolutely it's Jeffrey Wright. Absolutely it's the true boss dog. The original boss dog Jeffrey Wright.
01:00:03
Speaker
so I guess the puppet is a cop. so
01:00:08
Speaker
They go to London.
Space Battle and Chaos Emeralds: Sonic's Confrontation with Shadow
01:00:10
Speaker
They all go to London. what i'm saying is It's like half a joke. it's like yeah it's yeah It's like a lot of funny props, but the joke itself kind of doesn't – because there's like there's like piles of fresh-baked bread.
01:00:28
Speaker
There's like so much – there's bread on every surface in the living room. yeah They haven't been gone that long. it is honestly very unclear while they're why they're all going to London.
01:00:45
Speaker
The Robotniks want to destroy... Well, Gerald tells Ivo that he wants to destroy Gunn headquarters. They need to get the two keys.
01:00:55
Speaker
Right, right, right. There's a second key to whatever this weapon is that Gunn has. And it's at the Gunn headquarters. And so everybody's going to try to get that.
01:01:09
Speaker
It's so weird that Gunn headquarters isn't in America. I know. it's It's weird that Gunn is like an international organization.
01:01:21
Speaker
i feel like Gunn is weirdly like a parody of Unit from Doctor Who. It's kind of that, but I mean, it's also basically S.H.I.E.L.D. I mean, yeah, like it's, you know, it's whatever.
01:01:33
Speaker
but yeah but But it's also S.H.I.E.L.D. in that, I mean, guess I guess Unit is like this too, where like... Sometimes Unit is good, or S.H.I.E.L.D. is good, and sometimes it's bad.
01:01:46
Speaker
And sometimes it's both in the same story, which is what this movie does. yeah ah Matt, you actually asked me at one point, you were like, is are they good or bad? And I said, well, Matt, is the government good or bad?
01:02:01
Speaker
And it blew my mind. blew your mind. It fucked you up pretty bad, dude. Yeah, but like... The guy who gives Sonic that key, that commander, is a good guy, even though you think he's a liar.
01:02:16
Speaker
Yeah, no, i think he's I think he's a very morally dubious character, because he does not tell them the whole story. And I don't know if that's meant to be a morally dubious character, or if that bit of writing is bad.
01:02:32
Speaker
i I mean, I think that's just plot contingent. But it's, yeah, this movie is in many ways a Rorschach test.
01:02:44
Speaker
But Kristen Ritter is definitely bad. Right? Well, she is, except for she's just like, do like, I mean, you know, she's just following orders, but like, she really is like just doing her job. She's like, hey, don't give this two and a half foot tall anthropomorphic hedgehog the fucking nuclear codes.
01:03:04
Speaker
Which, i don't know, reasonable. I guess. So there's this sequence of infiltrating. Everybody's trying to infiltrate gun headquarters.
01:03:17
Speaker
The Robotniks are trying to infiltrate gun headquarters by going through a hallway full of lasers. They wear these reflective suits to go through the lasers. They reflect the so the suits reflect the lasers back. So it's like they're not there.
01:03:35
Speaker
And then what results from that is a dance sequence that sucks so bad that it made me want to turn the movie off. It sucks, man.
01:03:47
Speaker
It's one of the worst things I've ever seen. Yeah, this whole thing where there's like two Jim Carys, James' carry, um is bad. And ah like we see when Sonic and the gang, Team Sonic,
01:04:03
Speaker
Crash Team Racing are um talking about these lasers. like We see them like like a little... like Here's what would happen if Sonic tried to do this. And Sonic gets burnt to death and cubed like that one scene in the Resident Evil movie.
01:04:23
Speaker
um You don't see that. You see happen to his shoes, but Sonic is is vaporized, essentially. yeah um And then when... Los Dos Robotniks show up.
01:04:35
Speaker
ah The Juevos men. The Juevos hombres. Yeah. ah They put on these little leotard suits. Little morph suits. And god, it's so fucking funny because they're fat.
01:04:48
Speaker
Right. there's There's a thing where ah Gerald is talking about his bodacious bod. Can you even imagine? And that's funny because he's got a tummy.
01:05:00
Speaker
God, it's so funny that ah that anyone who was a little bit overweight could have confidence. That's so funny. Yeah. And we get to watch and laugh as they dance because that's so fucking funny, dude.
01:05:12
Speaker
And also... I had to point this out. Yeah, this is what I was building, too. So, the lasers... It's weird, because they're like Deadpool suits. It's almost like they're wearing... It's very similar to like the shit where Deadpool dances. Yeah.
01:05:28
Speaker
yeah But the the suits are like red and black, because that's the Robotnik colors. in their you know But like the suits protect them from the lasers. And it it doesn't... They're laser-proof suits, basically.
01:05:43
Speaker
But they don't cover their heads. Yeah.
01:05:47
Speaker
So they would still definitely get ah got by the lasers. Yeah, they're doing like ah the dirty dancing lift. And like like that's the gag. And so like they're definitely like spinning around and like doing cartwheels and shit in this. And it's
01:06:08
Speaker
it's it's It's so much worse than like, man, Batman would be fucked if someone shot him in the head. You know? Yeah. Like, good the good thing everybody goes for the chest, goes for a ah center mass shot on Batman, because that mouth is right there.
01:06:22
Speaker
Yeah. And what that mouth do, Batman.
01:06:27
Speaker
ah But this is like, this scene goes on so long, too. It's bad. it, it
01:06:37
Speaker
Oof. glad Glad to see the Chemical Brothers getting some money, though. Yeah, it's it's all set to galvanize by Chemical Brothers. Yeah. So, they they get to where they're going.
01:06:49
Speaker
Team Sonic gets to where they're going in a couple of different ways. Sonic like launches himself toward the building, and there's this like big force field that's closing around it, but Tails comes over and helps him get in just in the nick of time.
01:07:07
Speaker
We get a shot of Sonic um running a loop-de-loop on the London, the the Millennium, what is that, the Millennium Wheel? The Millennium Eye? Millennium Eye, yeah. Big Ferris Wheel, yeah. And that's fun, because that's like from the game.
01:07:19
Speaker
Yeah. And like he runs through Buckingham Palace and steals the crown jewels. And he like puts a cap puts them on ah one of the guards. Yeah, one of one of the beef eaters, yeah. Yeah. but's It's fun. It's a fun sequence.
01:07:34
Speaker
Yeah. Tom and Maddie get in by posing as Maddie's sister and brother-in-law. who are This is the the the brief appearances of Natasha Rothwell and Shamar Moore.
01:07:54
Speaker
Right. So are they government agents? I think Shamar Moore is. That's got to be in Sonic 2. Well, Natasha Rothwell was in Sonic 1. I remember the annoying sister character from Sonic 1. Great. Don't recall that one bit.
01:08:10
Speaker
But I don't... and Yeah, all the Shavar Moore stuff must have been in Sonic 2. Yeah, man. You got me call me on that one. But ah yeah, they infiltrate by disguising themselves as those people and ah like talking their way in.
01:08:31
Speaker
And at one point, she also impersonates the new commander, who is ah Kristen Ritter. and This is where I said, um because we had had a conversation earlier, and I'm sure we'll talk about this in a little bit, kind of hard to tell if Keanu is actually great in this movie.
01:08:54
Speaker
like Yeah. Like, look, we ah we all know Keanu. Keanu been around for a minute. We know and love Keanu. The line between Keanu being great and Keanu kind of phoning it in is sometimes hard to tell.
01:09:12
Speaker
But I said, if Keanu's phoning it in Kristen Ritter's texting.
01:09:21
Speaker
Like, she and Idris Elba feel like they knocked their shit out in a day at most.
01:09:30
Speaker
here's Here's something from Wikipedia about that. The director... This is a quote from the director. He said that once they first met, he realized Reeves, quote, very clearly had gone and done his homework and that he desired to create a fan-faithful rendition of the character.
01:09:51
Speaker
I mean, that... I will say, i feel like that comes through. Yeah. Like... shadow is actually like Shadow has an arc and is kind of an interesting character, and like the performance is not bad.
01:10:07
Speaker
It's just kind of hard to tell in some scenes. Well, it's because Shadow is a stoic character, right? so like It's hard to know if Keanu is like really channeling something to deliver those lines, or just kind of flatly delivering some lines.
01:10:25
Speaker
But ah anyway... Essentially, everybody gets into this room where this other key card is. And immediately, Robotniks, the floor underneath them turns red, and they fall to the ground.
01:10:42
Speaker
Sonic walks in, and the floor beneath him turns green, and he starts floating in the air. And Sonic goes, my beautiful feet, why aren't they working? Which, you'd know what you were doing with that.
01:10:56
Speaker
Yeah, i i don't like that that I don't like that that line is in there, and that some of the audience maybe had an awakening, and some of the audience had already awakened and liked it.
01:11:09
Speaker
Yeah. There was a portion of the audience that like, that's what I like. Anyway, Kristen Ritter walks in and she goes, oh, this room has, but what is it, differentiated gravity?
01:11:22
Speaker
yeah kind of Some kind of gravity gimmick. get where Some kind of gravity gimmick!
01:11:29
Speaker
yeah it's it like it's It's weirdly the fucking oh like the gravity chamber from Dragon Ball Z. Some shit floats in some shit. They've got a little Settlers of Catan board on the floor of all these hexagons, and some of them make you heavy and some of them make you light.
01:11:51
Speaker
So... In the midst of all of this, like some chaos breaks out here. a bunch of gun agents come running in. And Kristen Ritter gets caught in her own trap.
01:12:07
Speaker
I don't know how that happens. Well, it's it's because the Robotniks are there. and I mean, because a bunch of shit's going on. because they Kristen Ritter's worried about Team Sonic when she should be worried about Robotniks.
01:12:24
Speaker
Yeah, she gets caught in her own trap, and she's like incapacitated. It seems like the Robotniks are going to get the key card, um because they managed to crawl their way out of the um enhanced gravity, which is disgusting.
01:12:41
Speaker
and ah But they don't get it. Tom gets it, and he just disguises himself as the commander guy who died earlier. And he tries to give it to Sonic.
01:12:55
Speaker
Yeah. But Shadow thinks that it's really that guy. because lyn fucking punches his soul out of his body.
01:13:06
Speaker
Yeah, we didn't really explain how they can disguise themselves as other people. They've got like a little fucking thing on their collar. Yeah, they've got they've got an image inducer from Marvel Comics. Yeah.
01:13:17
Speaker
So... Yeah, Shadow punches his soul out of his body like that time that Luigi ah got hit by death.
01:13:26
Speaker
Man. We need another year of Luigi. Because that shit didn't work out for my boy.
01:13:35
Speaker
Yeah. yeah And Tom is like gravely injured, and Sonic... This makes Sonic... Furious. Raging with vengeance.
01:13:48
Speaker
And... they First they see off Tom to the hospital. And then Sonic is like... As you pointed out, Matt, ah was just infiltrating a government agency.
01:14:01
Speaker
Yeah. um Like, you know, seems to like they just send him off to hospital and then he goes home. Yep. um Yeah.
01:14:13
Speaker
Sure. Sure. right Fine. Yeah, okay. so But this makes Sonic like, I'm going to kill those fucking Robotniks.
01:14:25
Speaker
And so he's like, I'm going to Tails and Knuckles. I got to go do this on my own. I'm going to go get the Chaos Emerald and make myself go Super Sonic.
01:14:38
Speaker
Yeah, because they had talked about that earlier, and they were like, no, I can't go supersonic. Because even though I would be able to stop them, that's too dangerous. And I swore I would never do it again. Yeah.
01:14:51
Speaker
But now he's going to do it. So he goes and finds the Chaos Emerald, which is being guarded at the sheriff's station in Green Hills by Adam Pally, the sheriff's deputy.
01:15:03
Speaker
And he's like playing hockey with it. And Sonic very easily takes it from him. Meanwhile, the Robotniks are launching this weapon that they needed the two key cards for, which is called the Eclipse Cannon.
Eclipse Cannon Threat: Racing to Save Earth
01:15:20
Speaker
This is a weapon that Gunn developed that will destroy Earth.
01:15:27
Speaker
um Bad thing to develop. Yeah. I don't know what practical use it has. Yeah, it's weird because you know I know that there are weapons exist that that could you know destroy all life on Earth. um But like the the ideal point of those is to – you would have to use all of them, right? like Or you would have to use a lot of them. yeah you know like In theory, you could use one and it would just destroy a chunk of the Earth.
01:16:00
Speaker
And be a horrible thing. um This one is just like a good like a ah space gun aimed at Earth that will kill everyone on Earth with no other application.
01:16:15
Speaker
The only explanation that I can come up with for it existing is that it was a pinpointed weapon that would only destroy certain discrete locations.
01:16:29
Speaker
But because they use shadow to run around and power it, it becomes like multiple factors times more powerful. Okay.
01:16:41
Speaker
I mean, I guess that kind of makes sense. That is, again, something that I feel could be explained yeah yeah a little more clearly than it is, which is not at all.
01:16:55
Speaker
Yeah. So they get shadow to run around it. And like power it up. And Gerald explains to Ivo, this is what I've been waiting for the whole time.
01:17:07
Speaker
This is what I've been trying to do. I want to destroy Earth. This is going to destroy everything in a radius of 25,000 miles. Including us.
01:17:19
Speaker
Because nobody deserves to live because Maria died. Yeah. And Shadow was also on board with that because Maria died. Yes. And as we see, there was another flashback where we see Gerald and Shadow and Maria trying to escape from this laboratory. And there are gun agents trying to stop them and they accidentally shoot a container of like some volatile liquid and it explodes.
01:17:52
Speaker
And that caused the huge accident. Here's my question about that though. Why are they trying to escape? I mean, and probably because it's like an evil government organization.
01:18:05
Speaker
But Gerald ran it.
01:18:08
Speaker
Did he, Matt? Gerald ran this laboratory. Or were those decisions made in smoke-filled back rooms? It just seems like there should have and could have been a scene that explained why they wanted to escape.
01:18:23
Speaker
ah This is the difficulty with this movie. There seems like there should have been a lot more scenes to explain what was happening, but you heard how you and I reacted earlier. When we found out the second one is over two hours long.
01:18:35
Speaker
That is true. But like, even just a line of dialogue. mean, maybe do less, but definitely don't add more scenes. Look, even if there was just a line of dialogue that was like, they wanted to run Shadow too hard, and it was going to kill him.
01:18:54
Speaker
Right? Mm-hmm. That would have been enough. That would have been enough to give me, oh, this is why they want to leave. This is why Maria talked Gerald into trying to escape.
01:19:04
Speaker
Right? Right. Because Maria loves Shadow. They have this bond. They're like, you know, it's like a pet pet owner kind of situation, kind of. like like It's like those bumper stickers that see, they're like, hey, who rescued who?
01:19:23
Speaker
yeah Yeah, exactly like that. But like just something that said like that that Shadow's life was going to be threatened somehow by the experiments, and Gerald didn't want to do it, and the only way that they could get out of that it was by escaping. right But like we don't get that.
01:19:41
Speaker
We don't get that at all. Sure don't. Do not but get it. Did not appear in the film. But because of that explosion, Maria died. And so this is why Shadow and Gerald both want to destroy Earth and everyone on it.
01:19:54
Speaker
Yeah, and also die. It's why they want to die. um So if you were like, hey, does Sonic the Hedgehog have a scene where one Jim Carrey tries to talk another Jim Carrey into um committing suicide?
01:20:15
Speaker
And like, like a genocide scale murder suicide, because he has no reason to be alive and literally says, you have no reason to be alive.
01:20:27
Speaker
Like there's nothing on earth for you. You like, no one matters to you down there. Um, did you think that was going to happen in Sonic three, that there would be, that there would be ah murder suicide conversation?
01:20:45
Speaker
I didn't. I was unaware that that was going to happen. ah ten minute countdown starts for Earth to be annihilated.
01:20:58
Speaker
And then all of a sudden this golden shooting object starts coming toward the eclipse cannon. And I think Ivo's like, is gun shooting missiles at us?
01:21:14
Speaker
And then the other one says, no, it's going too fast to be a missile. And Sonic... I'm like, yeah, well, if you're saying the word fast, one of you dumbasses should know what this is.
01:21:28
Speaker
Well, oh, we haven't even mentioned this. Throughout the movie, Ivo has had one of Sonic's spines. he'd take He's like if you want like, when they first meet up and you think they're going to team up, he's like, if you want me to help you, you know what you've got to give me.
01:21:44
Speaker
And Sonic's like, fine. And he like plucks one of his spines and gives it to Robotnik.
01:21:53
Speaker
And Robotnik has been like sniffing it, or like poking himself with it? He's been like sticking his tongue out and putting his tongue on it. like I described it as him um like i described it it unflatteringly as him like blowing it, but that's not what he's doing.
01:22:09
Speaker
That was an exaggeration for comedic effect. It's like he's tweaking on it. It is like he's tweaking on it, yes. It's like ah he's addicted to it and it's a drug. Yeah, which... When that happened, I was like, oh, is he going to clone him and that's how we're going to get like silver or or something?
01:22:26
Speaker
And no. No. that's That's not what it is, actually. What it is is, I guess Ivo Robotnik gets high on Sonic's hair.
01:22:41
Speaker
And so he's always tasting Sonic's hair. And that's, like, you're laughing, but that's, Matt, that's what's happening in the movie. That's literally the events of the movie. like I could not say any what was happening any more clearly than that.
01:22:57
Speaker
That's not me applying any... That's what it is. So he pulls out this spine of Sonic's.
01:23:08
Speaker
And it turns golden. And this is how he figures out that this is Sonic coming. Which led you to ask, like, if Sonic's spines are still psychically connected to him somehow.
01:23:22
Speaker
Yeah, is it like, ah are they quantumly entangled? Like, does it maintain some weird connection to the whole? With they love you Anyway, Sonic comes bursting through the glass window of this thing.
01:23:37
Speaker
a big metal door comes down to stop the vacuum of space. And then he and shadow start fighting and they like fight out into space.
01:23:50
Speaker
And I guess these hedgehogs, these alien creatures, air is not, they don't need it. The vacuum of space, they can perfectly survive in it.
01:24:03
Speaker
I mean, Matt, ah at this point, you're like, ah Think about how fast Sonic can run and like what the air situation would be like even with that. You've got it you've got to think it's like the Flash.
01:24:15
Speaker
That's true. Where there's ah the speed force creates a bubble, a pocket around him. like Also, he's a fucking alien hedgehog cartoon.
01:24:27
Speaker
So anyway, they fight down to Earth, land on Earth, and... Shadow punches Sonic and knocks the Chaos Emeralds out of him.
01:24:39
Speaker
It's pretty dope. During this sequence, I guess during the next sequence, but go go on. Then they both like jump for the Chaos Emeralds.
01:24:49
Speaker
You mean these Chaos Emeralds?
Visual Comparisons: Sonic Meets Dragon Ball
01:24:52
Speaker
Yeah. And now they're both Super Saiyan, essentially. Yes. And you observed that they look exactly the same. and They are slightly different, but boy, do they look very similar. I even had like a moment where I was like, oh, is is Silver the Hedgehog just like Super Saiyan Shadow? Because he kind of just turns... like If there is a difference, it's the difference between yellow and silver in light that makes that hard to see.
01:25:24
Speaker
So I was like, oh, but no, Silver's a different guy. Silver's definitely a different guy, right? Yeah, Silver's a different guy. So... What evolves from this, what happens from this, is the best part of the movie, which is a Dragon Ball fight.
01:25:39
Speaker
Yeah. You said, ah oh, now it's just a Dragon Ball fight. And I was like, yeah. And that fucking rules. yeah Because it is a really good fight. like It's good. like that They punch each other and rip the ground underneath them and lava comes spewing out.
01:25:54
Speaker
Yeah, like they like at one point, um one of them... like kicks off a mountain like that he's on, and the whole mountain slides back, and like that creates a rift where lava erupts, and it's like, that's fucking cool, dude! That actually kind of whips.
01:26:16
Speaker
And that's what maybe what this movie should have been? Because I don't really like seeing Sonic interact with human beings at all.
01:26:27
Speaker
um But I do like him having a fucking full Goku and Frieza on Namek fight.
Motivations and References: Sonic Reflects During Battle
01:26:36
Speaker
But during the fight, Sonic remembers back to earlier in the movie where James Marsden told him that he had a good heart.
01:26:44
Speaker
And he realizes now that he's become motivated by revenge and he can't be that. So instead of continuing to fight, he talks to Shadow and talks about how his own...
01:26:58
Speaker
parental figure, Longclaw, um, he, he lost her and that loving the people around you is more important than revenge.
01:27:09
Speaker
Yeah. And did i remember that pretty sure Longclaw was, uh, uh, Jon Snow sword.
01:27:17
Speaker
Uh, so he manages to talk shadow into having a change of heart and no longer being only motivated, motivated by revenge. Uh, Meanwhile, on the Eclipse Cannon, Ivo does not want to die.
01:27:35
Speaker
like He does not like that he's been tricked into this situation by Gerald. And so he's trying to stop the firing sequences. Tails and Knuckles show up, and... Ivo and Gerald have a big fight, and...
01:27:53
Speaker
And like they make a bunch of dumb jokes, including what I realized. At one point, ah Gerald makeses like has like a nano glove that gives him a big fist, like in Battle Chasers.
01:28:05
Speaker
And he's like, Ivo's like, oh, cool hand. I haven't seen anything that cool since I watched Green Lantern 2011 when I was sick or whatever.
01:28:16
Speaker
And two things. a Don't But you're in Sonic 3. Okay? You cannot be coming at Green Lantern. Like, Green Lantern is a famous flop.
01:28:30
Speaker
But, like, come on, man. Yeah, like, I think this movie is better than Green Lantern. who Who wrote that joke? Justin Baldoni? um But here's the... Wow, Matt, that's topical. That took me a second. That's topical.
01:28:45
Speaker
But all on that tip, Matt... That's the second and maybe third Ryan Reynolds swipe in this. Because the kid says, are you Detective Pikachu?
01:29:00
Speaker
Yeah. Who was also Ryan Reynolds. And then there's the kind of Deadpool looking suits they wear in the laser sequence. Did Justin Baldoni write this movie?
01:29:13
Speaker
or Or are the screenwriters buddies with him? They're taking weird shots at Ryan Reynolds for no reason. Yeah, i boy.
01:29:25
Speaker
Boy. that's I didn't even pick up on that. That's wild. if there were if there was If there were any women in this movie, that's the only thing keeping them from making it two guys a joke.
01:29:38
Speaker
That's right. Damn. Because they would have had to find a girl. It ends with us.
01:29:49
Speaker
So... Jesus Christ. So, yeah, Sonic and... our Tails and Knuckles show up, and... remember how I talked about how a character in this film tries to get children's video game villain Dr. Robotnik to ah commit a murder-suicide?
01:30:08
Speaker
On the world? um That doesn't happen, because that would be a bad ending. Instead, the we get the good ending, which is that Dr. Robotnik commits a murder.
01:30:23
Speaker
With Sonic and Knuckles, or Tails and Knuckles. Yeah. um They fully kill Gerald. Yeah. Comma, and then he commits suicide.
01:30:36
Speaker
Although he... He's almost definitely not dead, right? but ah So, okay, so what happens is Ivo Robotnik is about to fall into the vacuum of space.
01:30:51
Speaker
While he's falling, Tails and Knuckles fly in and catch him. And then they kick Gerald into the energy beam, the chaos energy beam that Shadow created.
01:31:05
Speaker
And he just fucking disintegrates. He is vaporized. Absolutely. Straight the fuck up. Disintegrates. You see it happen on screen.
01:31:17
Speaker
Yeah. He is turned to ashes. Yeah.
01:31:23
Speaker
And then they make a joke about it, and Tails is like, oh, right! Yeah, he's like, Tails could not be happier. Tails would be freak. Tails is little bloodthirsty bastard, man.
01:31:36
Speaker
So then Ivo realizes that he can't stop the firing sequence.
Robotnik's Sycophriend: Humor in Farewell
01:31:43
Speaker
the the it it It can't be turned off. Because a bunch of the equipment has been destroyed.
01:31:49
Speaker
So instead, he like... records a message and sends it to the world. And Agent Stone is watching this, and he basically tells Agent Stone that, like, he can't just say, like, hey, Agent Stone, I know I, like, bossed you around in order to be around, but actually I think of you as my my best friend.
01:32:10
Speaker
He can't say it actually sincerely. He's like... Agent Stone, you thought you were a sycophant, but you're actually a sycophriend. and that was I thought that was a good joke. That was the one joke that Jim Carrey has in the entire fucking movie that I said, that's a good joke.
01:32:27
Speaker
Sycophriend is a good joke. i'm not saying it's I'm not saying that that is not a an okay turn of phrase, but like this is the one moment where Ivo Robotnik could be sincere and drop the act.
01:32:40
Speaker
Yeah, but I mean, I asked you a question... watching this bit, half-jokingly, but really only half-jokingly, which was, is this queerbaiting?
01:32:53
Speaker
Because it's a love confession. Oh, yeah. i mean But it can't be serious. The joke of the movies up to this point has been that Agent Stone is in love with... I mean, it's Smithers and Mr. Burns.
01:33:07
Speaker
Yeah, but but they can't be even that explicit about it. yeah I'm excited for Sega's first gay character to finally show up in one of these movies. So, the beam fires.
01:33:22
Speaker
Sonic and knuckle are a sonic in Shadow fly up and block it with an energy field.
01:33:31
Speaker
Robotnik and Tails and Knuckles are trying to turn the beam away from Earth.
01:33:40
Speaker
And so they're turning it, turning it, turning it. Sonic and knuckles or sonic e Shadow finally have to stop because it's too much for even them. And the beam just misses Earth, but does cut cut off like a huge chunk of the moon.
01:33:58
Speaker
And then Robotnik, Ivo, is like, I'm going to stay here while it self-destructs. You all go. so na ah knuckles and tails fly out to try to save sonic who's like falling to earth burning up on re-entry and we don't really see what happens to shadow they they they do a fucking orbital halo jump yeah they they take out their one last ring portal
01:34:31
Speaker
And they go back to um Green Hills. And then the... um I guess this is when Ivo makes his little speech about Stone being his friend.
01:34:42
Speaker
And then the whole thing explodes with Ivo inside. Tom recovers from his injuries. They all go back on another camping trip.
Metal Sonics and Moon Catastrophe: New Challenges
01:34:52
Speaker
Yeah, it's weird because if we did not see that one scene where they have a house, I would have just assumed they live in the woods.
01:35:04
Speaker
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails decide to have another race. And they start their race. And Sonic runs too far.
01:35:16
Speaker
And runs to New York State Park. You know, that park we all know about? In New York State.
01:35:27
Speaker
And he's ambushed by an army of Metal Sonics. so that's but This, Matt, that's some real nitpicking, I gotta say.
01:35:37
Speaker
And then Amy Rose shows up and saves him. Yeah. um a a Well, a mysterious ah cloaked and hooded figure shows up ah and throws a hammer that, like Mjolnir, smashing through Ultrons, because that's kind of clearly what this is a reference to, ah smashes through a bunch of Metal Sonics.
01:35:57
Speaker
And then ah and you didn't know who it was. And I was like, oh, hell yeah. And I knew who it was because she she's about the size of an average human mother. oh god
01:36:12
Speaker
didn't Didn't think I was going to pull one out at the end, did you? But yeah, it's Amy Rose, which means that um in the fourth movie, there will be a girl. And then there's a post-credits scene where ah so Shadow is revealed to be alive.
01:36:29
Speaker
Yeah, fourth movie um I hope I hope they fix the moon. That would be pretty fucked. if Yeah, the moon's been cut in half.
01:36:39
Speaker
You see it in this sequence with Amy Rose. And um that would kill everyone. That would kill the planet Earth. So I hope we deal with that.
01:36:51
Speaker
Alright, Chris, it's time for our high points of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. What do you got?
Action Critiques: Highlights and Low Points of the Movie
01:36:57
Speaker
Matt, I don't know how to phrase this without it sounding like I'm doing a low point.
01:37:05
Speaker
But honestly, if you literally cut out every scene of Jim Carrey in this movie... I think it would be pretty fun. yeah i think I would like it a lot.
01:37:20
Speaker
Because the action is... like The action actually looks great. ah The sequence where they're chasing Shadow through Tokyo, the sequence where the big Dragon Ball fight at the end, even you know like kind of the fun, goofy stuff of Sonic running through London and like doing the Abbey Road oh thing. That all looks really good and is really fun and interesting and engaging.
01:37:44
Speaker
um And then every time, there's so much of this movie that's just Jim Carrey acting opposite Jim Carrey, and that's bad.
01:37:56
Speaker
It's all very bad. But everything else, I think, kind of, you know, is fine. Yeah, this movie has, like, good action sequences.
01:38:08
Speaker
I think the action generally is very well staged. Mm-hmm. The special effects, like it's, you know, all of that stuff is animated, but the animation is good.
01:38:22
Speaker
Essentially, and I said this as we were watching this, if this had just been an animated movie, I probably would have liked it. Yeah, I think if if it had been done like the Mario movie, I think it would be better than the Mario movie and yeah like easily.
01:38:36
Speaker
Yeah. um yeah I think all the voice actors do like ah an actual really good job. like Kind of re-examining Keanu. I think Keanu does a really solid job with Shadow, but Christina Shaughnessy as Tails has a really hard job, which is Tails only speaks on an exposition.
01:39:01
Speaker
That's all he does. Tails is pretty well relegated to not much of a role here. Yeah, Colleen O'Shaughnessy. Sorry, I think I got her name wrong. I apologize to the voice of Tails, Colleen O'Shaughnessy.
01:39:12
Speaker
um But Knuckles is really fun. Knuckles is fun. idrisel like We were talking about Idris Elba and how Idris Elba is the kind of actor who seems like he likes to have a nice, fun time.
01:39:23
Speaker
And he sounds like he's having fun with it for the most part. Yeah. a lot of Sonic's dialogue is kind of like bad jokes and for lack of a better word, cringe, but like also it's kind of, it's established in character that Sonic is like kind of a dork.
01:39:42
Speaker
Like, uh, like Sonic is kind of like... He's almost like an Ash from Army of Darkness character. Where like, yeah, he is a cool guy and he does do cool stuff, but he's also kind of a blowhard and a dork, you know?
01:39:56
Speaker
i mean, I think Ben Schwartz is the reason these movies work at all. A hundred percent. I think his charisma...
01:40:08
Speaker
his his charisma really comes through in the voice acting. there's There's a specific moment that I really thought was very funny, which um after Sonic and Shadow have their big, big fight, and they do like a Predator handshake, and then they both power up.
01:40:24
Speaker
ah sonic you know There's like a close-up on Sonic, and he goes, gotta go fast. And Shadow says, don't tell me you have a catchphrase. And it's that thing that both of us hate, where it's like,
01:40:39
Speaker
Like, yeah, Sonic does have a catchphrase, and that's what it is. And you should not say it's lame. because Yeah, don't don't shit on the thing. Yeah, it's not dumb for Green Arrow to be called Green Arrow. Like, what are you talking about?
01:40:52
Speaker
Like, don't do that. but people People are watching this because they like the source material, so don't shit on it. Yeah, and so but like, Shadow says that, and then Sonic turns to look at him, which means he's fucking spiking the camera.
01:41:07
Speaker
barrel down the lens and goes, yeah, I do. And everyone loves it. And that was really funny. yeah That fucking got me, dude.
01:41:21
Speaker
ah So yeah, like I think you know every everyone except for ah Jim Carrey is good in the cast. Kristen Ritter's phoning it in, but that's fine. I'm glad she's getting work. it's It's nice to see her do well.
01:41:34
Speaker
All right, Chris, it's ah it's time to get into low points, and the lowest of low points is the Jim Carrey performance in this movie. It sucks. There was a sequence we didn't even talk about where Gerald and Ivo Robotnik are – you don't know that they're in VR when they're doing it.
01:41:54
Speaker
You later see that they're in VR. Yeah. But yeah, cause at one point I've always like, Hey, I grew up an orphan and didn't have any family. Where the fuck were you? And Gerald's like, Oh, I was in, i don't know, fucking super cryo prison or whatever for 50 years. Sorry.
01:42:12
Speaker
um Even though he looks like 100 years old, so I don't know if he was meant to be frozen or what. ah And he's like, oh, but now that I'm back... And he he looks exactly the same as he did in 1974. Yeah, he looks the same in the flashbacks.
01:42:27
Speaker
yeah And he's like, yeah, so ah now that you do have your grandfather, and he says some dumb word for grandfather, we'll get to that in a second, he's like, what would your perfect day be? And we get this like extended sequence of them like trick-or-treating and... like fucking up a Christmas tree and like going to the fair and shit.
01:42:50
Speaker
It sucks. It's annoying. Yeah. So that sequence, I had this like itching feeling of this through the whole movie, but it really dawned on me during that sequence that the Jim Carrey parts remind me of a particular thing.
01:43:06
Speaker
The way he acts in them and the way he's like green screened into a fake background all the time. And I often think this about other shots of people where the background behind them is kind of like a green screen CGI shot, right?
01:43:24
Speaker
But this in particular made me think of it. It just reminds me of the Icelandic children's series that aired on the U.S. and Nick Jr., Lazy Town. This million dollars feature film.
01:43:44
Speaker
reminded me of an Icelandic children's series from 15 years ago. Yeah.
01:43:52
Speaker
Like, the movie the animated parts of this movie look good. A lot of the live-action parts of this movie look like dog shit. Yes.
01:44:03
Speaker
Correct. A thousand percent correct, Matt. And I think that partially comes from Jeff Fowler being... An animation director who came from video games.
01:44:16
Speaker
um But yeah, that is what it is. I mean, I'm willing to lay 100% of that blame on Jim Carrey. i mean it's Because it's all him, right? like The other live-action actors, it doesn't look as bad when the other live-action actors are on screen. That's true.
01:44:33
Speaker
One of the things that like made me mad at the end of this movie is that Jim Carrey's top build. yeah And you were like, oh, well, he's the biggest star. And I'm like, yeah, but he ain't Sonic the Hedgehog.
01:44:47
Speaker
Like, what the fuck? Ben Schwartz should be top build. He's Sonic the Hedgehog. And like yeah, he's just the voice. You know, whatever. Jim Carrey is certainly the most famous live-action actor in this.
01:45:03
Speaker
But fucking come on, man. like He's also the worst part. By far. By a lot, yeah. And if you literally cut all of his the scenes where it's only him out of this movie, it would be a better movie. It would be like a half hour shorter and a lot better.
01:45:22
Speaker
And like we talked about like the the one-liners from Sonic being kind of cringe at times. The stuff from Robotnik is much worse.
01:45:33
Speaker
There's an ongoing recurring gag where he says Grandpa, but he says a different word that starts with Pa.
01:45:44
Speaker
Or or he'll yeah he'll say Grand something else. And it's and it it's not It's like barely a joke.
01:45:56
Speaker
It's like, he calls him like grand pasadoble. That's nothing. He says, he calls him grand genome at one point. That was at least like, you can imagine this like mad scientist guy saying that fucking grand pasadoble is fucking nothing.
01:46:15
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I don't know, man. It's, it's, it sucks. Yeah. It's... All of those lines, I mean, I think it's a combination of, like, scripting for him, and also definitely Jim Carrey ad-libbing and improvising on set.
01:46:42
Speaker
Yeah. The fight between those two, where he, like, gives himself mantis arms or something, is absolute shit. but it Like, it's terrible.
01:46:55
Speaker
There's a bit where, during that fight, where Ivo's, like, ah activate defense. And, like, a little fence pops up in front of him. Like, a picket fence.
01:47:08
Speaker
he And, like, that could be funny. Maybe? Maybe. it's I mean, it's it's a joke. Because he goes, ah, damn, autocorrect.
01:47:20
Speaker
And that's kind of funny that you would say, you know, defense sounds like the fence. That's the joke. yeah It's kind of funny. But it the way it plays and the way he plays it out, it it ain't funny.
01:47:35
Speaker
And again, it feels like LazyTown. It's... it's It is astonishing how many times I was reminded of the Icelandic children's series Lazy Town.
01:47:46
Speaker
I wish there was anything in this movie that was like 1% as good as that song about how to bake cake. Because there's absolutely not. Not in his parts anyway.
01:47:57
Speaker
ah yeah um Also, just so it's not just Jim Carrey, the needle drops are bad. yeah There's a lot of like you know first thought, best thought in those.
01:48:08
Speaker
Not in a good way. There's no rhyme or reason to the song choices, I don't feel like, really. It's just, yeah.
01:48:18
Speaker
Alright, Chris, what are our final thoughts about Sonic the Hedgehog 3?
Mixed Feelings: Fun Action vs. Carrey's Performance Critique
01:48:21
Speaker
I said but I thought we were going to like it. And then when we came back, I said I was not correct. But I also wasn't wrong.
01:48:32
Speaker
And I think that's, like, I did have a lot of fun with all the Sonic parts. like Everything in this movie that's a Sonic the Hedgehog movie was fun.
01:48:46
Speaker
yeah twenty and and i've And I honestly, like as much as I didn't enjoy that first one, like when I heard, hey, Keanu's going to play Shadow the Hedgehog, I was like, fuck yeah, man. i kind of want to see that.
01:48:58
Speaker
I kind of want to see Amy Rose in this movie. Because I guess there are two women in this movie. So it could have potentially passed the Bechdel test.
01:49:11
Speaker
It doesn't. It absolutely doesn't. No.
01:49:18
Speaker
But yeah.
01:49:21
Speaker
This movie is a C. Or maybe a C+. plus But it's not that because it's a straight line average.
01:49:33
Speaker
It is all peaks and valleys. Yeah. Yeah. You know? like Yeah. Like that, I would, I would, honest to God, I don't know if I would recommend watching this movie, but I'd absolutely recommend fucking go on YouTube and watch the Sonic and and Shadow Dragon Ball fight.
01:49:52
Speaker
That kind of fucking whips. Yeah, that's good. That's that's better than anything i remember from the first Sonic movie. yeah Like, like, When we were just getting started watching this movie, I wanted to be like, at least this movie's not wasting my time.
01:50:11
Speaker
And then the sequence where Jim Carrey and Jim Carrey go into VR and relive a childhood happened, and I was like, oh no, it is wasting my time. but yeah no that dance sequence is abominable.
01:50:27
Speaker
But everything that's not those stupid, awful comedy sequences, I feel like, did like economically tell the story. I mean, there's stuff that was left out of the story that definitely should have been in there to make the story ah but have any kind of emotional resonance.
01:50:49
Speaker
Yeah, if you cut out 90% of the Robotnik stuff and replaced it with things like saying... Dr. Robotnik, I thought you were dead. Or, like, yeah, and that's why we had to escape.
01:51:04
Speaker
yeah Or, ah we actually own a house and don't just live in the woods with Sonic. Which kind of would make sense. He is a woodland creature. So it it would make sense for us to just live in the woods with him, I guess.
01:51:21
Speaker
Don't make the movie longer. Just take out the parts I don't like. Just cut out the bullshit. Bullshit, man. No more bullshit. That's what I say.
01:51:32
Speaker
I say no more BS. Sonic the Hedgehog.
01:51:38
Speaker
Thanks for listening, everybody. That is our episode about Sonic the Hedgehog 3. We're probably never going to watch Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I can't imagine watching 2 this point.
01:51:49
Speaker
If you would like to get in touch with us... Hey, I will say, though, I'm probably going watch 4. ah You can email us at moviefighterscast at gmail.com. We're also on Tumblr at moviefighterscast.tumblr.com.
01:52:02
Speaker
If you want to support this show and all the other shows k Chris and I make, go to patreon.com slash warrocketajax and kick in as little as $1 a month to make sure that we keep doing all of the shows that we do ah here at Klytus Media.
01:52:18
Speaker
If you want to get in touch with me, find me and my stuff, go to mattdwilson.net. It's where you can find links to my comics, my books, my other podcasts, and my social medias. Chris, where can people find you? Everybody can find me by going to the-isb.com. That is my website. It has links to all the things that I do.
01:52:35
Speaker
all right, Chris, we're going to come back in and with another episode in May. Or, I'm sorry, June. There will be a snack situation in May. Here's the big question, I think, for June, Chris.
01:52:48
Speaker
Are we going to watch Kraven?
01:52:51
Speaker
I mean, Matt, June is traditionally your birthday pick. Yeah. Do you want to watch Kraven? For your birthday? i mean, not really. Yeah, I didn't think so.
01:53:02
Speaker
But i think it'll be a good episode if we do. I mean, um look, we're going to watch Kraven. We watch fucking Morbius and Madam Web. And if there's one thing you and I will do, it's complete the set.
01:53:16
Speaker
Fuck it. We're watching Kraven in June. Oh, god damn. Okay. ah So come back for that. Until then. Thanks for listening, everybody. Yeah, everybody, thanks for listening. ah Thanks for ah for enjoying the show.
01:53:29
Speaker
And thanks for Sonic-ing with us. And hey, if you're sitting there like, oh, actually, Sonic 2 is a million times better, then, don't know, let us know. I would be up for it if it is, but don't lie to me.
01:53:44
Speaker
Until then. Until we're back with fucking Kraven the Hunter. Keep on fightin'.