Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024): The Review

Overview

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 rockets the franchise into high gear with its most ambitious and emotionally charged entry yet. Building on the momentum of its predecessors, this threequel delivers everything fans could hope for, heartfelt character moments, jaw-dropping action, deep-cut lore, and the long-awaited arrival of Shadow the Hedgehog, who brings a darker, more mature edge to the series. Balancing humor, spectacle, and a surprisingly poignant narrative, Sonic 3 is not just a fantastic video game adaptation, it’s a genuinely great film, period.

Score: 9 out of 10

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The Positives

✅ Shadow’s Debut is Legendary: Brooding, complex, and cool as ever, his presence adds real dramatic weight to the story.

✅ Stronger Emotional Core: Themes of identity, loss, and purpose elevate the film beyond standard family fare.

✅ Massive Action Set-Pieces: From high-speed battles to explosive finales, the visual effects and choreography are top-notch.

✅ Character Growth Across the Board: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, even Robotnik, get meaningful development and memorable moments.

✅ Fantastic Fan Service: Chaos Control, deep lore references, and music cues straight from the games will thrill longtime fans.

✅ Tone Balancing is Spot-On: The film weaves between serious and silly with confidence, never losing sight of its heart.

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The Negatives

⚠️ Pacing Gets Crowded: With so many characters and plot threads, the story occasionally feels rushed or overstuffed.

⚠️ Some Jokes Still Miss: Not every gag hits, and a few lines fall into typical “family movie” territory.

⚠️ Robotnik’s Role Feels Reduced: While still fun, he takes a bit of a backseat to Shadow’s more serious arc.