Sonic the Hedgehog
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: February 14, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
18
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
The Associated PressMark KennedyFeb 13, 2020
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. Read full review
75
The PlaylistAsher LubertoFeb 17, 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog might nail the outrageous energy and outlandish hyperactivity of the video game, but it’s the effective and poignant force of friendship that truly powers this video game adaptation to level’d up triumph. Read full review
75
TheWrapYolanda MachadoFeb 13, 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog might not become a kid-movie classic, but it makes for a great little getaway to enjoy with the whole family. That, in itself, earns a golden ring. Read full review
75
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiFeb 13, 2020
If the title makes you wince, know the movie is a lot better than it deserves to be. You’ll actually care about what happens to the prickly blue dude, even if you never cared about getting to zone seven. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubFeb 12, 2020
Best of all, the laughs often arrive in small moments, not in the obvious ones. Read full review
75
Washington PostKristen Page-KirbyFeb 12, 2020
In the end, “Sonic” is quippy without being mean, and sweet without being sappy, making this a trip that’s well worth taking. Read full review
75
ObserverOliver JonesFeb 12, 2020
In what is something of a movie miracle or at the very least an unexpected surprise, this adaptation of the much-loved Sega video game franchise launched nearly 30 years ago as a direct assault on Nintendo’s leaping plumber Mario, largely presses the all the right buttons—and even does so in the right order. Read full review
73
PolygonMatt PatchesFeb 13, 2020
With the energy of a Saturday morning cartoon that comes and goes, Fowler’s movie entertains and sneaks in a message about feeling sad, alone, and unmoored. It’s not for longtime Sonic fans, but it’s guaranteed to be someone’s nostalgic favorite in the year 2038. Read full review
70
Film ThreatAlan NgFeb 26, 2020
Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik does what he does best. His portrayal is over-the-top funny and clearly, Carrey is in his element. It reminds me a lot of Fire Marshall Bill. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshFeb 13, 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog is legitimately funny, heartwarming and entertaining. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoFeb 13, 2020
It’s an enjoyable movie-night combination of lightning quips, genuine friendship and observational humor paced with Sonic’s “gotta go fast” attitude. Score one for video game fans! Read full review
70
IGNAkeem LawansonFeb 12, 2020
Sonic’s first foray into live-action is a fast-paced joyride that’ll ring in entertainment for both fans and children. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleFeb 17, 2020
Almost everything about Sonic the Hedgehog comes together as a surprising success. Marsden may not be a household name, but he gives the kind of performance that would make Brendan Fraser proud. Read full review
65
The VergeDami LeeFeb 13, 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog could have gone from a good to a great movie not by bringing Sonic into the human world, but by bringing audiences into his. Maybe we should just be thankful that the movie was watchable at all. Sonic’s success hinges on the character being likable, and the redesigned Sonic is easy to love. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Aparita BhandariFeb 13, 2020
The movie was partially shot in beautiful British Columbia. And Carrey brings a madcap mashup of his previous avatars to this turn as Dr. Robotnik. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenFeb 13, 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog is bright. It’s cheery. It’s here and then it’s gone in a relatively compact 100 minutes, leaving little beyond a slightly sweet aftertaste to mark its passage. Read full review
60
Total FilmJordan FarleyFeb 13, 2020
A relic of the ’90s in more ways than one, Sonic offers frenetic fun for younger viewers, and in Jim Carrey’s preposterous Robotnik an enjoyable shot of nostalgia for adults. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriFeb 12, 2020
Carrey is the film’s most prized weapon, letting us wallow in the ridiculousness of this whole enterprise without ever holding himself above it. Quite the contrary, he overcommits in the best possible way. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeFeb 12, 2020
While Fowler keeps the story moving efficiently, Marsden's easy geniality prevents the simple narrative from feeling rote. Carrey gets a moment or two to cut loose. Read full review
60
Screen RantMolly FreemanFeb 12, 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog is a fairly middling family-friendly adventure movie, but a comparably good video game adaptation the belies a great deal of potential for a stronger, even more ambitious sequel. Read full review
55
Paste MagazineOktay Ege Kozak Feb 20, 2020
The movie’s real joy, if there is any, lies with Carrey fully embracing his ’90s rubberface days. Director Jeff Fowler makes the right decision by letting Carrey’s signature madness loose on such a vanilla scoop of family entertainment. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 14, 2020
It’s a 99-minute commercial designed to drive sales of merchandise. Okay, it’s not as bad as "Super Mario Brothers," but that’s damning with faint praise. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonFeb 12, 2020
Despite some sweetness and playful absurdity, this big-screen outing feels mostly like derivative, fussed-over product. Read full review
50
USA TodayBrian TruittFeb 12, 2020
The film is fine, familiar fare for gamers and children: Sonic sprints, Carrey mugs, but the creative juices run out quickly. Read full review
42
The Film StageJake Kring-SchreifelsFeb 12, 2020
Thankfully you can still bank on Carrey and his obscurities (there’s a delightful scene where he dances inside his laboratory) to paper over some of the cruelty and staleness. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichFeb 12, 2020
And you thought fixing Sonic’s teeth would make this movie any less of a nightmare. Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Simran HansFeb 17, 2020
Marsden is charming enough, summoning surprising chemistry with Schwartz, and so it’s not total torture spending an hour and a half with the pair. Yet for better or worse, it doesn’t linger. Read full review
40
The AtlanticDavid SimsFeb 13, 2020
If the rest of Sonic the Hedgehog were pitched at Carrey’s energy level, it could at least be distracting. But for such a short movie (it runs 99 minutes with extensive credits), and especially for one about a super-speedy fellow, it never builds momentum. Read full review
40
CNNBrian LowryFeb 13, 2020
The best thing that "Sonic" has going for it, by leaps and bounds, is the infusion of manic energy that it receives from an unleashed Jim Carrey as the villain, Dr. Robotnik, basically a mad scientist out to capture or kill the little alien. Everything else, though, is a rather tedious slog. Read full review
40
Time OutMichael GingoldFeb 13, 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog is another demonstration of the things that tend to go wrong when a movie is spun out from source material with little plot and skimpy characterisation. Read full review
40
EmpireAmon WarmannFeb 12, 2020
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. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinFeb 12, 2020
Children encountering the faux-ET format for the first time may enjoy it well enough, but signs of life, extra or otherwise, are low to nil. Read full review
40
The GuardianSteve RoseFeb 12, 2020
Like its fast-moving, attention-deficient hero, this just feels like a rush job. Read full review
40
VarietyOwen GleibermanFeb 12, 2020
We all know that your average Hollywood comedy tends to include some on-set improvisation, but in this case the contrast between the leaden pseudo-brashness of the rest of the movie and the ping! of Carrey’s dialogue is so marked that it almost feels like he made up his entire character on the spot. (I’m not declaring that he actually did. I’m just sayin’.) Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJaime N. ChristleyFeb 12, 2020
Throughout, any and all subtext is buried under the weight of Jim Carrey’s mugging. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 12, 2020
The end product isn’t remotely as bad as one might fear. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Feb 12, 2020
A nattering chore of a “family” comedy that feels written by committee and directed by indifferent machine. Read full review
30
SlashfilmJosh SpiegelFeb 13, 2020
I submit that Sonic the Hedgehog is exhausting. Here is a film that refuses to stop making quips, somehow pulling off the unique feat of never making any of those quips funny. Read full review
30
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergFeb 12, 2020
Other than product placement, the movie’s primary goal seems to be delivering 1990s nostalgia. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsFeb 13, 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog is the worst kind of bad movie: it's too inoffensive to be hated and too wretched to be enjoyable. Read full review
20
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeFeb 12, 2020
It’s not quite as bad as the awful trailer threatened. Just dull, bland and pointless. Read full review
0
ConsequenceScout TafoyaFeb 14, 2020
This wasn’t a movie, it was a boardroom meeting with some poor hapless dreamer strapped to the “directed by” credit like a keelhauled sailor punished for his idealism. Read full review
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