Sonic the Hedgehog already had a decent amount of drama surrounding it. When the trailers first dropped, it famously featured a horrific abomination of a character design. Luckily for us, director Jeff Fowler actually took the time to go back and have Sonic redesigned into something more faithful to the video game character. As he stated in a recent press conference for the film, “You gotta respect the fans.”

But, the big question is whether or not that would lead to a good movie. I’ll admit, even though I’ve enjoyed the redesign of the character, the movie itself didn’t look great. The jokes were a bit obvious, the story just a tad predictable and pedestrian…but who’s to say that means the movie will be bad?

Well, the movie is hitting theaters this weekend, and with that, we know the reviews will be pouring in. Surprise, surprise! As of this writing, the first 61 reviews have come in, and the film is currently seated at a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes. Of course, there’s still plenty of room for the rating to tumble, but it’s a surprisingly strong start.

Forbes celebrates the fact that this movie doesn’t try to take itself too seriously. It also leans into its smaller scale, not even trying to elevate things to a modern scope one would expect in a modern film.

“Sonic the Hedgehog succeeds partially due to its small-scale ambitions and its refusal to even try to be “cool,” “epic” or anything other than a comparatively grounded kid flick…Sonic the Hedgehog is aimed squarely at kids, but it remains entertaining for adults and feels unusually level-headed and in the moment…The climax gives you your money’s worth without descending into fx-driven chaos, while the focus remains on character even during the final action sequences.”

They aren’t the only ones who enjoyed the movie. AP celebrated the decision to take the time to redesign the character. 

“The little blue alien who can sprint quicker than the speed of light has ironically benefited from slowing it down, taking a pit stop to retool and emerge this month as a total crowd-pleaser. Respectful of the rich history of the brand and yet welcoming to newcomers, ” Sonic the Hedgehog ” is a feel-good buddy movie for both adults and their own little aliens. “Nailed it!” screams Sonic at one point and that might be a fitting summary for the film.”

But don’t expect all the reviews to be positive. Heck, even a lot of the positive ones are sort of middling-positive, including the one from Total Film, which points to the movie’s low expectations.

“Sonic won’t be troubling any best-of-the-year (or, indeed, of the week) lists, but it does exceed the abyssal low expectations it started out with…Predictably, the script rarely rises above functional. But while recent game adaptation Detective Pikachu had one eye on the middle-aged audience who played these ’90s classics the first time round, Sonic is aimed squarely at a younger viewers, emulating the blindingly fast and brightly coloured nature of its eponymous ’hog. Ignoring the pandering anal-probing gags and Vin Diesel references, the primary appeal for older viewers is nostalgia; it’s fitting for a character whose heyday was 30 years ago that the entire film should feel like such a throwback. This comes to the fore most clearly in Jim Carrey, whose performance is like the missing link between Ace Ventura and The Mask.”

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And, of course, there are plenty of negative reviews. In the case of the /Film review, the critic actually points to some of the similar observations of the previous review — that it skews younger. In fact, they think the movie can’t really tell who its audience is.

“Sonic the Hedgehog can’t figure out if its audience is the parents of those children — those of us who grew up with the first iteration of Sonic — or kids themselves. The result is what may be one of the last acts of a desperate movie studio, so intent on mining intellectual property for all it’s worth and unable to realize they’ve hit the bottom of the barrel.”

Empire Online thinks there was a lot going for the film. They think the redesign is a huge step up, that the cast is well-suited to their roles, but “the finished product is, by and large, forgettable.”

They continue, “An on-form Jim Carrey can’t stop Sonic’s live-action debut from feeling like a missed opportunity. If the teased sequels do materialise, here’s hoping the storytelling levels up.”

So, what do you think? Is this better than what you expected responses to be or pretty much on point? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: Various (linked above)