Through all of its shortcomings and pitfalls, “Sonic the Hedgehog” did manage to achieve one thing: it brought me back to my childhood when I dreamed of having superpowers. Throughout the course of the movie, I would have done anything to have Sonic’s supersonic speed so I could get out of the theater as fast as possible. 

On the surface, the movie does not sound so bad. The audience follows the life of Sonic (Ben Schwartz), an extraterrestrial blue hedgehog blessed with the power of supersonic speed. After a tribe of echidnas attacks him, seeking to steal his power, his guardian Longclaw the Owl (Donna Jay Fulks) gives him a bag of rings that act as a portal between worlds and uses one to send him to Earth. Then, Sonic settles in the small town of Green Hills, Montana, where he lives in isolation. 

To deal with the pain of being alone at all times, he watches the life of Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), the local sheriff, and his veterinarian wife, Maddie (Tika Sumpter), from afar, pretending to fit into their family. Then, one day, when he gets so frustrated with being alone, he accidentally runs so fast that he creates an electromagnetic pulse that knocks out the power of the entire Pacific Northwest. This prompts the evil roboticist and genius scientist Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to come chasing after him and Tom, who is convinced by Sonic to help him. 

Although it seems like a solid action-comedy film the entire family can enjoy, this sentiment could not be further from the truth. In the end, the movie ultimately follows the precedent of the ‘based-on-a-video-game’ category, which contains a laundry list of such atrocities as “Need for Speed” (2014) or “Assassin’s Creed” (2016). 

While “Sonic the Hedgehog” did manage to create a couple of comedic moments, its inevitable downfall stems from an inability to develop characters in any kind of enjoyable or logical way.

For one thing, I get that Sonic is supposed to be this awkward character that asks stupid questions and does stupid things. But my gosh, did they really have to make him that annoying?

As someone who was trying to like him during the entire movie, I just could not stop myself from having the urge to throw a slipper at his face on the screen. 

Although at times, I found myself empathizing with the blue hedgehog, such feelings were quickly overshadowed by an obnoxious line or joke from Sonic that really did not fit in with what was happening.

Furthermore, no background story was ever provided for Dr. Robotnik, the main villain of the movie. He is given no motive, other than the fact that he is a genius who believes everyone else is beneath him. The audience is just forced to believe that he is inherently evil and is given no reason as to why he is so power-hungry or how he even relates to the story. 

All of these downsides culminate throughout the movie, making it fall well short of any and all expectations. However, I can truly say that it will definitely inspire the next generation of young children to be like Sonic… and run out of the theater Sonic-fast.