Though fans initially feared it would turn into a disaster, 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog wound up as a pretty decent hit. This led to 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Since the sequel did even better than the original, it came as no surprise that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 found its way to multiplexes in late 2024. And given that the third movie earned more than its predecessors, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 looks planned for spring 2027.

A powerful alien hedgehog named Shadow (voiced by Keanu Reeves) got placed in suspended animation way back in 1974. 50 years later, someone releases him, and Shadow goes on a mission of vengeance.

Guardian Units of Nations (GUN) Director Rockwell (Krysten Ritter) recruits the trio of super-powered alien critters Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz, Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba) and yellow-orange fox Miles "Tails" Prower, (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey) to combat this threat. This sends them on a daring mission, one that also forces them into a cautious partnership with their longtime for Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey).

As mentioned at the start, many viewed the 2020 Sonic with more than a dollop of wariness, and I fell into that category. However, I didn’t feel that way due to my love of the Sonic videogames, as I never played them.

Instead, the long history of iffy to poor movie versions of videogames left me pessimistic. Add to that trailers that didn’t seem particularly interesting and I figured the 2020 Sonic would just offer witless nonsense.

To my surprise, Sonic worked pretty well. While not a classic, it seemed warmer and wittier than I imagined.

On the other hand, Sonic 2 regressed to the mean. It delivered exactly the kind of lackluster “cinematic product” I expected from the first movie.

So where would Sonic 3 fall? Would it return to the reasonable cleverness and fun of the 2020 film or would it bring another uninspired piece of multiplex fodder?

Unfortunately, Sonic 3 wound up in the latter domain. Like its immediate predecessor, it churns out attempted laughs and thrills but it rarely connects.

At least in part, the 2020 movie worked because it offered a fairly simple tale. Of course, it came with shenanigans related to Dr. Robotnik’s evil ways, but it mostly concentrated on Sonic’s quest to find a family and his place in the world.

Though it superficially pursued some of those sorts of themes, Sonic 2 largely existed as a mix of comedy and action without real narrative purpose. It all felt contrived and muddled.

This continues with Sonic 3. Despite vague nods toward its emotional themes, the movie lacks coherence and just tosses random battles and jokes at the viewer without much else at its heart.

With an expanding cast of characters, Sonic 3 panders to the audience as it spends the vast majority of its time with its various furry aliens. In theory, that could work, but in reality, it doesn’t.

Though the humans of the 2020 movie should’ve seemed like ballast, they actually helped ground the tale. In this case, I mean Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), the adoptive parents of Sonic and his pals.

They played a crucial role in Sonic but got largely lost in the shuffle with Sonic 2. That trend continues here, so the warmth of the first movie disintegrates even further.

Not that Sonic 3 lacks shots of humans, as it elevates Carrey’s screentime to a greater degree. Indeed, we get Carrey in dual roles, as he also plays Ivo’s grandfather Gerald.

This role appears to exist primarily to allow Carrey to act against himself and also so he can play a goofy old man. I suspect Sonic 3 would function just fine without Gerald.

Actually, a more ambitious franchise would jettison Robotniks entirely. C’mon – we’re three films into the series and yet we get the same villain each time?

Yes, one could argue the Knuckles was the primary threat in Sonic 2 and Shadow fills that role in Sonic 3, but both offer misunderstood/misguided roles and not true baddies. Robotnik exists as the true nasty of the first two flicks and he continues that part here, even if Sonic 3 tries to soften him some via his cooperation with Team Sonic.

I get that Carrey remains a fairly big name, but I must assume that a successful franchise could recruit a different movie star to take on the human foe for one of these flicks. While Sonic 3 tries to spice up Ivo via his “hero turn” and gives us the twist of the evil grandpa, I still think the franchise needs to move to a non-Robotnik human villain.

The main issue with Sonic 3 stems from its lack of real purpose. It brings us lots of action and theoretical intrigue but it all feels like spinning of wheels.

It doesn’t help that Sonic 3 tacks on an unnecessary backstory for Shadow. Do we really need extended sequences to tell us what made Shadow stuck on ice for 50 years and so mad?

No. Just say the military captured him, put him in suspended animation due to fear of his powers and now he’s mad he got trapped for five decades.

Instead, we get a messy series of flashbacks to show Shadow’s 1970s bonding with Ivo’s cousin Maria (Alyla Browne). None of this seems necessary and it comes across like cheap stabs at emotion that don’t work.

Not that much else about Sonic 3 connects, though. Random and without real hear, the film sputters.

Footnote: added material appears partway through and at the conclusion of the end credits. The first clip teases a new character one assumes we’ll get to know in Sonic 4 whereas the final snippet contributes another hint at the next film, albeit a more vague one.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. From a true 4K source, the Dolby Vision image looked great.

At all times, sharpness appeared positive. I thought the image seemed accurate and well-defined from start to finish, with virtually no signs of softness on display.

I noticed no signs of shimmering or jaggies, and the movie lacked any edge haloes. Source flaws also remained absent.

Like most other modern action flicks, Sonic 3 favored stylized colors, and as usual, those colors tended toward blue/teal and amber/orange. Actually, the palette broadened thanks to all the various alien animals, and HDR brought extra power to the hues.

While matters stayed heavily stylized, at least a wider variety of tones emerged. Within these choices, the hues looked positive.

Blacks were always deep and tight, and I saw good contrast as well. Shadows seemed clear and appropriately opaque. HDR added impact to whites and contrast. The 4K UHD became a strong reproduction of the film.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, I felt nearly as pleased with the impressive Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Sonic 3. A movie packed with mayhem and action, the mix used all the channels in a lively, involving manner.

Vehicles, weapon-fire, super-powered critters and similar elements popped up from all around the room and delivered a smooth, engrossing soundscape. This meant nearly constant material all the speakers.

The back domain delivered a high level of information and created a great sense of place in that domain. All of this melded together in a vivid, satisfying manner.

Audio quality was also strong. Music seemed full and bold, while speech was consistently natural and crisp.

Effects became the most prominent component, of course, and packed a solid punch, with positive clarity and range. This wound up as a dynamic mix.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical Atmos audio.

The native 4K Dolby Vision image brought improvements in terms of blacks, colors and delineation. Though the Blu-ray looked great, the UHD made it even better.

We get a slew of extras here, and we start with an audio commentary from director Jeff Fowler an voice actor Ben Schwartz. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, connections to the games, sets and locations, editing and cut scenes, makeup and costumes, various effects and related areas.

Schwartz and Fowler partnered for tracks alongside the first two movies and this one follows the trend set in those two. This means a breezy and enjoyable discussion.

Do we find tons of movie insights? No, but the end result comes with enough meat to make it worth a listen.

Eight Deleted Scenes span a total of five minutes, 13 seconds. As one can deduce from that running time, none of these last very long.

This means most offer minor comedic beats. We do see how Dr. Robotnik recovered from the dire injuries he suffered in the last film, though.

We also find more from Ivo and his grandpa, mainly a cut thread in which the younger Robotnik pitches to his online followers. Some of the footage amuses.

A Gag Reel occupies three minutes, five seconds and presents mostly the usual goofs and giggles. Jim Carrey’s nuttiness adds a few laughs, though.

Sonic Family Fun goes for five minutes, 38 seconds. It brings notes from Fowler, Schwartz, producer Toby Ascher, and actors Tika Sumpter, James Marsden, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and Idris Elba.

The clip looks at the “blended” Wachowski family of the film. Expect a lot of fluff and no real insights.

With Enter Shadow, we find a five-minute, 57-second reel. It offers info from Fowler, Ascher, Elba, Schwartz, producer Neal H. Moritz, executive producer Tommy Gormley and actors Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey.

“Enter” tells us about the Shadow character and Reeves’ casting/performance. A smattering of useful notes emerge – mainly when Reeves discusses how he picked a voice – but praise for the actor dominates.

Robotnik Family Reunion lasts eight minutes, 42 seconds. This one involves Carrey, Fowler, Marsden, Ascher, Elba, Schwartz, Moritz, Sumpter, and actors Lee Majdoub and James Wolk.

Unsurprisingly, this one looks at the movie’s baddies and Carrey’s work. Unsurprisingly, it largely gives us plaudits for Carrey, though I do like the glimpses of the actor with his doubles as well as the makeup process.

After this we head to For the Love of Sonic. It spans four minutes, 13 seconds and delivers remarks from Fowler, Schwartz, Carrey, Sumpter, Marsden, and Moritz.

“Love” examines Fowler’s work on the franchise. We get endless discussion of Fowler’s greatness and no real substance.

The Fox, The Echidna and The Hedgehog takes up five minutes, 29 seconds. With it, we locate statements from Moritz, O’Shaughnessey, Schwartz, Elba, Ascher, and Fowler.

Here we hear about the three primary voice actors. Some fun glimpses of the recording sessions emerge but otherwise we find lots of happy talk.

Next comes Live-Acton Lunacy. This four-minute, 41-second reel features Sumpter, Ascher, Fowler, Marsden, Gormley, screenwriter John Whittington and actor Krysten Ritter.

“Lunacy” shows how the live-action performers worked with puppets to represent Sonic and the other aliens on the set. We get a fairly good view of the topic.

From the Cryo-tank to London runs six minutes, 19 seconds. It gives us info from Fowler, Gormley, Madjoub, Marsden, and production designer Luke Freeborn.

The reel discusses sets and locations. Like “Lunacy”, it becomes a tight and informative piece.

With that we go to Team Sonic vs. Shadow. A two-minute, 41-second piece, it features Fowler, Ascher, and Moritz.

“Team” views the battle between Sonic and pals against Shadow. It comes across as promo hyperbole.

Finally, A Very Sonic Christmas spans two minutes, nine seconds and delivers an animated tale in which Sonic introduces Tails and Knuckles to Christmas. It offers amusement, and as a bonus, all the movie actors reprise their roles.

A second disc offers a Blu-ray copy of Sonic 3. It comes with the same extras as the 4K UHD.

Though I liked the first movie in the series, the second left me cold and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 doesn’t rebound. Basically a frantic collection of action/comedy scenes in search of a plot, the film seems random and oddly dull. The 4K UHD comes with excellent picture and audio and a mix of bonus materials that leans fluffy, unfortunately. Maybe Sonic 4 will return luster to the franchise but Sonic 3 lacks spark and creativity.