Sonic the Hedgehog
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: February 14, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 43 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
19
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Little White LiesAnton BitelApr 5, 2022
It’s crazy and colourful enough while it lasts, but the fleeting diversions on offer from Sonic’s first big-screen outing pass too quickly to leave much of a footprint in the memory. 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
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