Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic is a fine enough movie. I felt that most of the comedy landed, the member-berries were used the correct amount, they did a good job of establishing the voice of Sonic that they were going for, and Jim Carrey, although a bit neutered, did his Jim Carrey thing. And while I may question the decision to take the movie in the direction they did, the premise of having Sonic be a regular inhabitant of the human world, without the humans knowing it, was somewhat unique. It allowed for the theme of isolation to be introduced and gave our protagonist some motivation throughout the movie.
The visuals were great. The scenes were clean but not sterile. The CGI was not distracting and James Marsden’s interaction with the CGI elements was, for the most part, pretty good. The pacing was good and the movie benefitted from the 90-minute runtime. The soundtrack was fine. I particularly enjoyed the re-imagined Sega theme in the beginning. Nothing about the movie really leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
As far as the negatives go, my list is shorter but far more significant. As I’ve already alluded to, the decision to bring Sonic into our world as a premise of the movie was a bit unsatisfying. We catch a glimpse of Sonic’s world at the very beginning and I thought “Awesome! I can’t wait to see more!” Spoiler alert: we don’t. Instead, they pull a 180 and go the Roger Rabbit route; Humans interacting with stand-ins. It sort of worked out, and I can see where the alternative of bringing humans into a CGI Sonic world may have been more challenging but, still, I liked the idea of spending the movie in the Green Hill Zone.
2nd would be their half-hearted attempts at sincerity. Interactions between Tom and his wife were hollow and the attempts to establish anything beyond a relationship of surface-level banter between Tom and Sonic fell flat as well.
Lastly is just the sterile feeling of the entire film. The movie feels like it could’ve been made by robots. No real chances are taken. While the comedy has a relatively high hit-rate(maybe 50%), all other forms of dialogue between the characters comes off a lazy and uninspired. Jim Carrey seems to be delivering a “Carrey-Lite” performance throughout the film. Beyond the fact that his outfit was far too grounded in reality (I get it. It’s Robotnik before he got his look. Still…come on) I never got the full-throttle, over-the-top, cartoon Carrey I was expecting. And if ever the opportunity were there for the guy that brought us The Grinch, The Mask, and Ace Ventura to go back to the well and cut loose, this movie would’ve been it.
The movie takes no chances and feels like it was created by a committee that used pie charts and focus groups to achieve its ultimate goal of ‘ruffling no feathers’(Yes, I’m aware of the controversy surrounding the fan reaction to the initial sonic look. That’s not what I’m talking about). And while it’s not the gravest of sins, it still comes off as criminally mediocre. Let me explain.
And now, a brief journey into my insanity:
I’m a big fan of the ‘Bring Back Bullying’ movement. Weren’t aware there was one? Well, now you are. The reasons for my support are numerous, but I would like to focus on one in particular; creativity. There have always been the type of people that claim not to care about what anyone thinks about them, and somewhere along the line this sentiment became diagnosed as merely a defense mechanism for those that do not ‘fit in’. And while, yes, it is often used as a shield, among children and adults alike, to deflect from their feelings of insecurity, occasionally it is true. Or should be. There ARE people that don’t invest a lot into what other’s think of them. This is where “cool” was supposed to have lived.
The phenomena known as ‘bullying’, in my opinion, has so much more to do with the perception of being bullied than it does with any of the words or actions of the bully themselves. All of the stock phrases or tactics referenced today about bullying were present amongst me and my peer group while growing up. And I don’t think I’m alone in that. However, the barbs at each other or the attempts at ostracization by the group were almost always met with either return fire of their own, or an understanding that the opinions of adolescents is hardly worth the loss of any sleep. And I’m not sure when or why (I am, but that’s another diatribe) this idea of minimizing the issue became poo pooed away.
I understand the sentiment behind those that say “to a kid, his friend group is his life, though!” That’s true. But it shouldn’t be. And it is up to the adults in their lives to convey that message to them. Because I believe it is that time spent in conflict that a person is able to realize a different perception of their lives. The type of growth that occurs when you’re forced to entertain yourself because you’re fighting with your buddies or the empathy that you gain from being left out are only 2 of the benefits to bullying that I think effect our “creative types” today.
Where would we be if, in the movie Sandlot, all of the kids were Benny’s? None of the kids ever gave Smalls a hard time and he wasn’t faced with the real possibility of social obscurity? Rather than alleviating the pressure to conform, the opposite actually happens. The pressure to conform becomes king. The level of acceptance may broaden, but the social punishment for those who don’t fall inside the boundaries grows exponentially; at least the perceptions do. So we end up stuck with a bunch of followers. And followers, by nature, aren’t very creative. Because to be creative is to expose oneself to criticism. And if you haven’t experienced any amount of manageable criticism in your youth, than you’re avoidance for it as an adult can tend to grow to an unhealthy level.
And this is where we arrive to the current-day Hollywood and my thoughts on the movie that is Sonic the Hedgehog. In general, I like the movie. It’s got plenty of nostalgia-berries (although perhaps not as many as you’d think). In a creative landscape that is bankrupt of ideas, lazy, and drenched in cynicism, this movie turns down the cynicism to a 4, tries to tell a somewhat original story, and, most importantly, turns the effort up to about a 3.
Not all movies require an in-depth analysis of their message or a critique of their story-telling methods. They are light-hearted movies that should be taken at face value, not thought about too hard, and simply enjoyed. Sometimes it’s ok that the creators didn’t “take any chances” or “cover every detail.” At least that’s the impression that we have today. But where did that come from?
As far as I can tell, somewhere between Jaws and Die Hard the idea of a “popcorn flick” emerged. While I don’t disagree, at all, with the idea that there are movies that can be enjoyed without thinking too much about them, where I tend to get hung up is in when the creators aim for that status. Achieving the status of ‘popcorn flick,’ in my opinion, is not something to necessarily feel ashamed about but, at the same time, should not be the intended destination.
Where is the harm in aiming for the middle, you might ask? Not all of them can be first round draft picks and your job is, after all, to make money. So why not dispense with the details, lower the level of thinking, and keep the money machine printing? What’s wrong with that? And my answer; nothing. There is nothing wrong with playing it safe, opting for job security, planning ahead, and supporting those that depend on you. And if you re-read that last sentence you’d notice that it does a better job of describing an accountant than an artist. Art is supposed to be daring. It’s supposed evoke a reaction. It’s not supposed to care what anyone thinks about it. Those are the things about it that make it entertaining. If it turns out to be a failure, it should do so in a fiery heap.
Video game IPs like Sonic the Hedgehog are afforded a certain amount of freedom that is not present with those derived from novels or comic books. Video game creators rarely spend a great deal of time on the backstories for their characters, at least in early video games. So, movie makers are handed iconic characters with little to no backstory and, thanks to the current state of cinema, low levels of expectation. One would assume that such an environment would provide for an elevated level of creativity and risk-taking. But alas, the pressure to conform dominates our society. In, at least, two ways that make for sub-par movies.
The first is the most obvious. As mentioned above, the elimination of bullying does not eliminate, but intensifies, the consequences of straying from the herd. The broadening of what is considered acceptable(a lie) means anything that falls outside of that must be met with more than simple rejection. It must be ‘Super-rejection’. It can’t just be made fun of. It must be detrimental to the very fabric of society. And social media reminds us of this every day.
So fear plays a role in the process. But the second, and I wonder if not the most detrimental, is the impact on competency. What if those we look to for creativity today simply aren’t capable of it? Where previous generations produced adults that had learned the lessons of independence brought on from difficult upbringings and, yes, bullying, what if the heightened pressure to conform has succeeded in stifling our creative spirit? It’s no secret that the millennials are looked to as a manifestation of this “over-mothered” society we decry(myself included). This generation is approaching 40. These are the people creating our entertainment. And it doesn’t appear to be very entertaining.
When art quits being artistic, we are left in a place where we see a movie like Sonic The Hedgehog, and we feel good about it. By all accounts, people were pleased with the movie. But is that because it was a movie that tried hard, but landed in the ‘Popcorn Flick’ category, or was it a movie that set out to be that from the start? A movie that said “to hell with creativity” and kept the money machine printing? Was it a movie whose poor attempts at sincerity fell flat as a result of a creator trying and failing, or because almost no time was spent on such details in the first place? I tend to lean toward the latter.
So, in short(ha!), this is one reason I support the “Bring Back Bullying” movement. We need bullying for our movies! As far as Sonic The Hedgehog? I rate it [Watchable]
AgingMillenial 