Few characters from the video game culture are as revered as Sonic. The first Sonic game was created by Sega in 1991, and immediately began to compete with Mario in sales and popularity. The Sega Genesis era Sonic games were masterpieces of gaming, and sealed Sonic as a video game icon forever. The scrappy blue hedgehog, the blue blur, has become a mainstay of pop culture since his inception.
Let’s go ahead and get the elephant out of the room. The last minute re-design of the Sonic character after the trailer’s massive backlash was a game changer. Pun not intended. Everything about the Sonic design was baffling. It’s hard to gauge if humanity would have survived the one-two punch of enduring Sonic and Cats, but the re-design of Sonic honestly salvaged what is a decent movie.
The original design of Sonic is one of the greatest design misfires in cinema, so dodging the bullet and re-designing it was the right call. Shutting down the studio that re-designed Sonic after completing the job…questionable call. The verdict is still up in the air as to why the studio was shut down, but the disregard for VFX artists in the film industry would be nothing new, unfortunately. Here’s a crazy idea: Pay special effects artists what they deserve. Especially in the modern era, where digital effects are relied on more than ever before.
Sonic The Hedgehog is a perfectly adequate movie. By video game movie standards, it’s top tier. But by normal movie standards, it’s fine. The film follows the antics of Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his new cop friend Tom (James Marsden) as they race to find a way to get Sonic to his home world and avoid the clutches of the evil genius, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey).
Powered with incredible speed, Sonic The Hedgehog embraces his new home on Earth. That is, until Sonic sparks the attention of super-uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now it’s super-villain vs. super-sonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic’s unique power for world domination.
Those saying it's a bad movie simply because it's bad as a slasher should be reminded that the likes of Jordan and Alexandra often don’t get their tales told, let alone in such major releases helmed by veteran actors like Bacon.
Here's what Disney got wrong with "Aladdin" and how it can avoid those pitfalls with "Hercules."
Many have interpreted Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon as a dream sequence, but what if the repetitive scenes we are given are not dreams but, a time loop.
Asha, the main character, is a biracial woman who discovers the power of magic wishing dust.
Paris is Burning elevated drag and ballroom into the public consciousness and permanently impacted LGBT culture. However, the performers featured in the documentary didn't reap the rewards of their visibility.
Critical Incident is worthy of a weekend binge, keeping you guessing right up until the end.
