Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 22, 2020

Nintendo and Mario may have ultimately triumphed over Sega and Sonic when the two were once marketplace rivals, but these days both are cultural icons and they play nicely together. But one area where Sonic has absolutely trounced the Italian Plumber is on the big screen. The terrible live action Mario movie may as well be flushed down a pipe but 2020's big screen Sonic the Hedgehog film is a joy: not a classic, not even a particularly creative film, but a joy. A solid cast, wonderful visual effects, and of course plenty of speed see the movie exist above expectations, blending essential source material and necessary cinematic contrivances to positive effect.

In the sleepy out-of-the-way town of Green Hills, Montana, nothing of interest ever happens. And that’s bad news for Sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) who wants to make a difference in law enforcement. So it is with great joy that he and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter) receive word that he’s been offered a transfer to work in San Francisco. Meanwhile, Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz) has made the town his home. Because he’s different -- blue, super fast, a talking hedgehog -- he has no choice but to live in the background, watching movies and taking in baseball games from afar. When a frustrated Sonic, alone and late at night, runs so fast around the base paths that he wipes out the power grid through the entire region, he inadvertently draws the attention of the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), the self-proclaimed “smartest person in the world” who is never wrong and desires to discover Sonic’s secrets to great power, no matter the cost to himself or to the Blue Blur. Sonic desperately decides to ditch Earth for a new world to call home, but his plans are interrupted when Tom accidentally tranquilizes him. Sonic loses his bag of magical teleportation coins through portal into San Francisco and must team up with Tom, now a fugitive on the run, to retrieve his bag and escape Robotnik’s clutches.

In the original Sega Genesis Sonic games, players are essentially challenged to run across 2-D courses at blazing speed, collecting rings and making various jumps along the way. A few boss battles dot end of stage areas, but the challenge is mostly in collecting as many rings in the shortest amount of time possible. The movie adaptation cleverly begins by replacing the Paramount stars with Sonic's rings, a nice little treat in a movie that knows its character and works in plenty of winks and nods to the franchise while also folding in plenty of real-world bits and pieces that humorously reinforce or dramatically define the character's essentials (and one only wonders if the "Mushroom Planet" isn't an ode to Mario's "Mushroom Kingdom"). It never feels overdone, forced, or in any way pandering. The story is crude, yes, but it works because it's focused, folding in its credentials, laughs, and action rather than wrenching in vacuous nonsense that would otherwise bloat the experience.

Indeed, the story is routine, teetering on generic, but Sonic the Hedgehog proves that, at least in a movie like this, spirit can overcome the uninspired. Watch this against other, similarly layered films like Woody Woodpecker and discover how far soul and a sense of actual direction can take a film, particularly in how it shapes its characters. Sonic features wonderful interplay between the title character and Marsden's Tom. The wry humor actually works within context. It's never overblown and always feels organically born from the relationships rather than the situation. Marsden and Schwartz as the voice of Sonic develop a necessary rapport along the way, allowing character, not crude content, to drive the picture. On the other side is Jim Carrey's inspired work as the villainous Robotnik whose method is madness, whose villainy is vibrant, whose motives are minimal and free of clutter. He wants Sonic's secret sauce, basically, and Carrey builds the character through the prism of self-centered genius. Carrey channels a hybrid of humor and villainy, blending them to scene-stealing effect.

The special effects are excellent, always complimenting the film rather than overwhelming it. It never looks or feels like a cartoon (or a video game for that matter) and that Sonic is not presented as a creature of earthly origins it's entirely believable to see him looking not entirely flesh-and-blood realistic in this world. The character looks terrific, though early reveal trailers did set the Internet ablaze with criticism for what was perceived as a reckless redesign that did look pretty awful and cost Paramount quite a bit of money and time to fix.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Sonic the Hedgehog's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD is certainly an improvement over the Blu-ray, but it's more of an uptick rather than a picture revitalization or re-imagination. Per IMDB the film was shot at a resolution of 3.4K but finished at 4K. It's sharper compared to the Blu-ray but not dramatically so. Clarity is improved enough to notice but it's hard to argue that it's improved enough to make a major transformative difference, at least at normal home projection screen sizes. Certainly the picture boasts sharper textures overall. Little manmade details around Green Hills and many natural locales seen throughout the film do utilize the boosted resolution to squeeze out more intricate, intimate clarity; just don't expect a fully reworked construct. The same can be said of human characters, where "very sharp" on Blu-ray becomes "razor sharp" on UHD. The little things do add up, just not to a substantial sum at the end. Still, even the digitally constructed Sonic enjoys a little visual fine-tuning as well; the quills and hairs take on appreciably sharper definition, the eyes more clarity, the model looking more robust overall.

The Dolby Vision color grading likewise tweaks the experience for the better. In general, it's the basic story: tones are deeper, more nuanced, more alive, black levels inkier, and whites brighter. Daytime scenes enjoy more natural, lifelike lighting, refined tonal output and intensity, a feel for improved color accuracy seen in natural greens, military fatigues, odds and ends around town, clothes, and of course Sonic blue. The light show at film's end is a treat for the boosted luminance and essential intensity, with the lightning blues and hellish reds playing very nicely against the fortified black level depth background. Blacks are a highlight throughout. Take a look at an exterior shot of the Pentagon at the 17:01 mark. The UHD exhibits breathtaking black depth and shadow detail, with the countless dots of illumination all over the screen finding a new gear of brilliance. The Blu-ray looks very good here, but there's a strong enough increase in the spectrum to make a difference. On the opposite end, whites are far more pure here than they are on the Blu-ray, ditto flesh tones. The UHD looks very good. It manages noise better and there are no other artifacts of note in play. It's not one that stands ahead of the pack but everything works as it should.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sonic the Hedgehog's Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers a well-rounded listening experience. The track has a lot of fun with Sonic's speed, offering countless zips and zooms encircling the stage as the character maneuvers around, more pronounced, obviously, in those scenes seen and heard from a human perspective where the speed and movement are amplified (and they are understandably far less so in the various super slow motion shots that show the world from Sonic's perspective, when everything around him is essentially in freeze frame). One example of that comes during a barroom brawl midway through the film. The din in "real time" is pleasantly robust but the sound settles as Sonic makes his way around the room with everyone and everything else stuck in a moment in time. Robotnick's big rig rumbles into Tom's driveway in chapter six to superb effect with potent movement and low end detail. Several other examples of low end might are heard throughout, and it's always well balanced and true. Surrounds are used extensively but the overheads don't offer much in terms of lively, obvious discrete elements. Still, the additional support structure is most welcome. Environmental supports play in harmony in terms of detail, volume, and positioning. Dialogue is well prioritized and lifelike as it flows from the center channel speaker.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sonic the Hedgehog's UHD disc contains no extras but the bundled Blu-ray includes a commentary track, deleted scenes, bloopers, a music video, and featurettes. The set includes a glossy color comic book titled The Adventures of Sonic & Donut Lord. A digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director Jeff Fowler and the Voice of Sonic Ben Schwartz offer an amiable track that covers a fairly wide berth of content, including the realization of game elements, story details, filmmaking specifics, actors and characters, visuals, anecdotes, and of course voice work. It's a good, well rounded, and nicely delivered commentary that fans will enjoy.
• Around the World in 80 Seconds (1080p, 1:48): By way of simple animated drawings, Sonic shares some stories of his journeys around the world.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 13:23 total runtime): Following Introduction by Director Jeff Fowler are Original Opening, Super Observant Carl, Baby Sonic, Tom and Sonic Have a Chat, and Rachel and Wade Plan a Date.
• Bloopers (1080p, 2:13): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Music Video (1080p, 3:43): "Speed Me Up."
• For the Love of Sonic (1080p, 4:00): Cast and crew remember playing the game in years gone by, the importance of honoring the original source material, Easter Eggs, and Jim Carrey's character and performance.
• Building Robotnik with Jim Carrey (1080p, 4:02): In praise of Carrey's character and performance.
• The Blue Blur: Origins of Sonic (1080p, 6:21): Cast and crew look back on the character's history in video games and popular culture.
• Sonic on Set (1080p, 3:27): Ben Schwartz and James Marsden have fun in makeup and during motion capture work.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sonic the Hedgehog sped into theaters mere weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the moviegoing business for the last couple of months, and it earned a pretty healthy sum. The film ends by leaving open the possibility for a sequel, but this might be a case of being best to leave well enough alone. The film is hardly groundbreaking, but it is grounded, at least as grounded as a film of this style can be. It's fun and festive, well cast, and looks good. The story knocks down no barriers but there's enough spirit to overcome the trite essentials. Paramount's UHD delivers high quality video and audio presentations in addition to a fine selection of bonus content. Recommended.