Sonic Live Action Movie Thread (Read OP for topic rules) "Trailer 2 on Page 482)

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I know I said somewhere that this movie might break even at the box...

I did not think it would potentially be #1 at it and even do better than Birds of Prey.

This is...actually a pleasant surprise for the franchise.

[pppp]

Just got back from the theater.......Alright alright that was actually pretty entertaining and surprisingly heartfelt. There I said it. I still would have preferred a CG animated film by Marza but to be fair this is the most soulful Sonic-related thing(Sonic Mania aside) we've had in years. I hope it does well enough, I'm interested in the teased sequel at the end.

Sonic is literally going through depression caused by solitude at the end, I did not expect that to be the theme of this movie of all things

[PC the Hedgehog]

I really wonder how this movie is going to affect the franchise's future.

If they had stuck with the horrible original design, I think it's highly likely word of mouth would have brought the film down tremendously. I doubt it would have affected game sales, but I'm wondering if the positive reception the film is getting will have a significant impact on kids who will become interested in checking out the games.

I think Sega is going to be looking at game sales for the next year or so very, very closely.

[SonicXtremeMania]

1 hour ago, Detective Kaito said:

How unfortunate, I really wanted this movie to flop critically.

President Koopa (Super Mario Bros. 1993 film): MONKEY!

[MasterChaosZX]

Were people really expecting 80%+?

RT usually is not kind to to most comedies or kids films.. only Disney manages those high scores.

65% is pretty good.

[pppp]

The RT score is exactly as it should be, it's a good movie, not great, just good.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

17 hours ago, Tarnish said:

These days if cricits give a movie a bad score, the audience is gonna eat it up, and vice versa. Rarely do the critics and audience agree anymore.

Let's see.

Judging by both the positive critical and audience reception so far, that claim didn't take long to get turned on its head.

[Sega DogTagz]

Saw it, made me laugh, enjoyed it. Would pay to see a sequel.

 

Plenty of nitpicks I could get into - but I'll probably let that rattle around for a bit before I go too far off the deep end. I go into PG movies expecting very little, but this movie was entertaining.

[Zulon Eredas]

Think I'll see it Sunday. We've got a holiday on Monday, so I don't have to worry about work.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Apparently there’s a living tribe of Echidnas after Sonic’s power instead of the Emeralds.

I haven’t seen the whole movie, but that was just a glimpse of what I managed to see.

[Scritch the Cat]

I’m going after work tomorrow.  Tonight would have been an option, but I prefer to go to these children’s movies on weekends because I actually like to have as many children as possible in the theater.  I don’t get a lot of insight into what children these days like, so that’s interesting to see.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

10 minutes ago, Conquering Storm’s Servant said:

 

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Apparently there’s a living tribe of Echidnas after Sonic’s power instead of the Emeralds.

I haven’t seen the whole movie, but that was just a glimpse of what I managed to see.

 

 

Spoiler

That's uh...

That's gonna be interesting, when they eventually get around to trying to incorporate Knuckles into the lore. Granted, if we were to assume the Knuckles Tribe got wiped out during Sonic's decade away from Earth, it would place Sonic and Knuckles around the same age.

I do have to say though, it's a change that does show they did some research into the Sonic lore. Sonic Adventure's entire plot was the Knuckles tribe abusing the Chaos Emeralds' power, and enduring Chaos' wrath as a result, so having them try to take Sonic's speed for their own goals makes sense, especially since it would give Sonic a reason to naturally distrust Knuckles later.

 

[Polkadi~☆]

A few thoughts about the movie, starting with non-spoilerific things:

- Eh, s'ok

- Sonic and Eggman are great. Everyone else is boring as hell.

- Sonic gives everyone names before he knows them, like Donut Lord. He never once gets Robotnik's name, so Sonic calls him Eggman.

- The Green Hill Zone melody is in there, once. It's cute.

- We see glimpses of Sonic's feet and it feels uncomfortable do they even kNOW WHAT THEY'VE DONE

- Not a lot was there for action scenes, but it's alright.

- Predictable, boring and safe story. I guess to make a video game adaptation, you just don't.

- Sonic doesn't feel like Sonic.

Spoiler

- oh look the echidna clan. would've been cooler if they were in the movie more

- oh look tails. would've been cooler if he was in the movie more

- WHAT. THE. FUCK WAS SONIC'S THOR-LOOKING ELECTRIC POWERS?! WHAT?!

 

[Almar]

Well, we can maybe expect Two-Worlds to be more openly acknowledged now. It's still a retcon and at odds with creator intent but meh.

[PC the Hedgehog]

Loved it! There's no denying it's a brand new Sonic lore--which could certainly be jarring for some people--but considering I've been a fan through no less than seven different incarnations of the character, this one is just another one to add to the pile.

If I had to use one adjective to describe the film, it would be charming. Sonic is snarky and full of attitude. Tom, his wife, and the other side characters are sassy and have some great one-liners (and most importantly, don't take up too much screen time or "hog" Sonic's spotlight, unlike a certain rich boy from another version of Sonic), and Jim Carrey...oh boy, where to begin with Jim Carrey? As expected, the man absolutely steals every scene he's in with his zany antics. At the same time, he displays an underlying menace that makes him a definite credible threat. I certainly wouldn't want to get on his bad side. He's not the "Eggman" we've known and loved from the games, for sure, but he still has that "Eggman" feel, y'know? A great blend of zany and menacing. Loved him. EVERY character in this movie made me laugh at least once, often more.

Yeah, the plot was pretty basic and by the books, but when it comes down to it, a basic plot can work if it has charming, well-rounded characters, and I feel this movie pulled it off admirably.

All right, now to go into Sonic geek mode:

Spoiler

-Maybe I'm just not very observant, but I didn't really pick up on many game references. The occasional sound effect like the twinkle from the start of Sonic 2, the obvious "Green Hills" and "Hill Top" bits, and "gotta go fast", but not much else apart from the opening and ending credits. I guess Garry Chalk (who played Grounder in AoStH and Robotnik in Sonic Underground) being one of the military guys could be one, but I doubt that was intentional. Anyone more observant than me pick up more?

-Sonic's origin was...weird. Sonic was friends with some weird realistic-looking owl woman? The echidna tribe was after Sonic's power? When Sonic gets emotional, his quills generate an electrical charge with unlimited energy? Those were some weird creative decisions. I mean, they work, but they're weird.

-Speaking of the mysterious echidna tribe, clearly they're setting up some stuff for a potential sequel. Knuckles being either part or the descendant of a tribe intent on stealing Sonic's weird power would make for a really cool, fresh dynamic between the characters.

-Sonic's personality takes some getting used to. We don't typically see Sonic mopey or lacking in confidence, and we certainly don't see him feeling lonely. Granted, this version of Sonic is supposed to be BEFORE the games take place, so this is pretty unexplored territory for the character. He still has the same snark and sass I've always loved about him.

-I loved the explanation for Robotnik shifting into his "Eggman" design. He's stranded on another world, lost what few marbles he had left, shaved his head, and let his mustache grow out. If we get a sequel, it's going to be really fun to see what direction they take the character.

-And of course, we have Tails' surprise appearance--and hey, he's voiced by Colleen, like the games! Surprised they didn't go with a celebrity voice, but I adore Colleen's Tails voice, so I'm okay with it.

All in all, the film had it's flaws, but it was also super fun, even for almost 30-year Sonic fans like me. I really hope a sequel gets greenlit, because there is SO much potential for this to be an enjoyable big screen alternate take on Sonic and crew. Thumbs up.

[Whatever the WhoCares]

Saw it, here’s some thoughts:

- Sonic is a lot more naïve and full of bewilderment at the world around him than we’ve seen him in any game. A huge contrast to the jaded, seen-it-all Sonic of recent games.

- As much as the movie’s universe deviates from the games’, it surprised me how much the creative team seemed to know about it. There weren’t many references to them (at least that I caught), but a couple of them are very specific.   

- The San Francisco chase sequence you probably saw in the trailer does not have any references to City Escape. Kind of hard to believe but yeah they missed an obvious opportunity. 

- I’m not really sure what I think of this deal with how Sonic’s super-speed has been interpreted. It’s not just that he can run super fast, it’s like he flicks an internal switch and his entire biology runs at hyper speed. Time around him comes to a near-standstill.
 

- Many of the gags just didn’t work for me at all.

 

There’s a part where Robotnik tries to intimidate the cop by saying he could kill him, or worse. The cop has this Jim-from-The-Office moment where he raises his eyebrow and goes, “Worse than death?” as if it’s commonly accepted there’s nothing worse than death. The phrase “a fate worse than death” is pretty common. Not sure what the writers were thinking with that joke.

None of the jokes are truly groan-worthy, though. 

- Sonic kinda just starts calling Robotnik “Eggman.” I get that it’s because his drones look like flying eggs, but I feel like Sonic should’ve called them eggs first.

- Eggman is easily the best aspect of the movie. Not all his jokes land, but the whole package is so much fun to watch. By the end of the film, he’s actually pretty intimidating. 
 

- One thing that really bugged me was the product placement. Zillow, Olive Garden (twice), Amazon, and a couple movie franchises are directly referenced in the dialogue. The Zillow one is particularly terrible, as it’s not even attached to a gag.

[ShadowSJG]

Does Sonic go back to his home at the end?

[Tarnish]

4 hours ago, Nina Cortex Jovahexeon said:

Let's see.

Judging by both the positive critical and audience reception so far, that claim didn't take long to get turned on its head.

Having a 30% difference between the two tells me critics were a lot less impressed with it overal than the audience, but okay.

And Rotten Tomatoes is not exactly the most trustworthy site to begin with, so I wouldn't take that as the definite thing to judge a movie by.

[SSF1991]

Too lazy to re-type my thoughts, but here is my spoiler-free review.

 

I'm sorry for doubting this movie. Fucking hell.

 

[StaticMania]

2 hours ago, Whatever the WhoCares said:

Sonic is a lot more naïve and full of bewilderment at the world around him than we’ve seen him in any game. A huge contrast to the jaded, seen-it-all Sonic of recent games.

This is a weird thing to single out for comparing him to "game Sonic"...

Sonic's usually not too taken aback by some strange places...where as movie Sonic is Isekai.

[King Scoopa Koopa]

5 hours ago, Conquering Storm’s Servant said:

 

  Hide contents

Apparently there’s a living tribe of Echidnas after Sonic’s power instead of the Emeralds.

I haven’t seen the whole movie, but that was just a glimpse of what I managed to see.

 

 

I took a very different read on this.
 

Spoiler

 

Remember the tapestry in Hidden Palace Zone? The one that some say was misinterpreted by the echidna?

I think they see Sonic as a threat to be eliminated.

 

 

5 hours ago, Polkadi~☆ said:

- Sonic gives everyone names before he knows them, like Donut Lord. He never once gets Robotnik's name, so Sonic calls him Eggman

 

I did not pick up on this. That's great!

4 hours ago, PC the Hedgehog said:

Spoiler

-Sonic's origin was...weird. Sonic was friends with some weird realistic-looking owl woman?

 

This was an astonishingly deep cut. Check out the book "Stay Sonic."

[Sonario]

OK, apparently this movie might come to my country sometime later this month or in March, so I'm just gonna avoid spoilers till then.

One thing I can say though, is that I am immensely satisfied that so many people who doubted this movie are now loving it and even the critics for the most part are accepting this movie and the GA are just eating it up. I hope this paves way for some serious success in the Box Office to send the message that LISTENING TO FANS IS A GOOD THING THAT LEADS TO SUCCESS.

Probably gonna stay outta here till then. See ya!

[DabigRG]

11 hours ago, Conquering Storm’s Servant said:

I know I said somewhere that this movie might break even at the box...

I did not think it would potentially be #1 at it and even do better than Birds of Prey.

This is...actually a pleasant surprise for the franchise.

Wow, really?

That's... unexpected.

I mean, I guess I'm happy for it, but man.

[Almar]

Well the movie is what I expected: Not really good. It's not atrocious, but it's really nothing worthy. 

Carrey was fine enough I guess accepting that his Eggman was really more about Jim getting to chew the scenery than anything otherwise. Didn't care much about Tom and he turned out how I expected him to be ("random White dude who gets to be Sonic's most important friend"). And the movie's Sonic is just Ezra Miller crossed with Deadpool dipped in Current Sonic, so if you don't care much for how he's handled in the games then I don't see how the movie fixes him.

With that posted, I find it curious that apparently the standard for somewhere like IGN saying the movie's "capturing the spirit of the franchise and being true to the source material" is that occasionally Sonic curls into a ball or picks up rings regardless of tonal differences or characterizations or including Two-Worlds. I suspect what it comes down to is these review outlets don't care about video games much and just might be soft on the movie. Let alone Sonic, which if they know about it they fall into the "ugh everything in Sonic outside of 1-2 games or his memes or SatAM is horribad" (even IGN, no especially IGN). So they're just rating it as a fine "family film" where Jim Carrey and Sonic do zany things. Remember Ace Ventura guys? Remember that movie? Remember those memes?

9 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

  Hide contents

That's uh...

That's gonna be interesting, when they eventually get around to trying to incorporate Knuckles into the lore. Granted, if we were to assume the Knuckles Tribe got wiped out during Sonic's decade away from Earth, it would place Sonic and Knuckles around the same age.

I do have to say though, it's a change that does show they did some research into the Sonic lore. Sonic Adventure's entire plot was the Knuckles tribe abusing the Chaos Emeralds' power, and enduring Chaos' wrath as a result, so having them try to take Sonic's speed for their own goals makes sense, especially since it would give Sonic a reason to naturally distrust Knuckles later.

 

Spoiler

Eh, I wouldn't be surprised if they avoid the "Knuckles is the last Echidna who's a guardian" for him taking Tikal's role as the one Echidna who takes a stand against his culture's warmongering. He can start off hostile to Sonic sure, but soon enough see that what they're doing is badwrong so he turns on Pachamac or whoever and becomes one of Sonic's sidekicks.

Keep in mind that the movie is obviously a microcosm of what Sonic Team apparently wants the franchise to be (and more cynically, a test to see if they grow a new fanbase who'll accept more games like Lost World or Forces). Hence Sonic being an alien, Tails being absent outside of a cameo in the post-credits. Knuckles being a guardian and last of his kind has been getting played down more and more until we reach Sonic Forces where he's suddenly in charge of an army. They (Sonic Team) want Knuckles to be Sonic's "muscle sidekick."

 

17 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Wow, really?

That's... unexpected.

I mean, I guess I'm happy for it, but man.

You might it sound it like DC's superhero films haven't been performing worse and worse from Batman vs. Superman up accounting for production costs. Especially Suicide Squad. Only Joker has been a smash hit, and it's radically different from other cape films anyway.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

On 2/14/2020 at 1:09 AM, Tarnish said:

And Rotten Tomatoes is not exactly the most trustworthy site to begin with, so I wouldn't take that as the definite thing to judge a movie by.

So then, you really don't have anything to prove your claim, considering how your initial comment was based off of someone mentioning the RT scores.

Also, I get the feeling that if the RT scores were bad , you'd be singing a far different tune.

On 2/14/2020 at 1:09 AM, Tarnish said:

Having a 30% difference between the two tells me critics were a lot less impressed with it overal than the audience, but okay.

And? Your original claim was that if critics gave it downright negative reviews that fans would eat it up.

Yet, given that there's both a positive schism in both critical and audience reception ----because people tend to forget that Rotten Tomatoes is used to calculate the percentage of how many people actually had positive reviews to say and isn't some score average--- it completely flies in the face of your ideal.

I mean, at that point, you're grasping at straws.

On 2/14/2020 at 6:49 AM, Almar said:

You might it sound it like DC's superhero films haven't been performing worse and worse from Batman vs. Superman up accounting for production costs. Especially Suicide Squad. Only Joker has been a smash hit, and it's radically different from other cape films anyway.

Wow. Someone hasn't been keeping up with the DCEU after Suicide Squad.

Especially if you consider Wonder Woman, Shazam's performance, and especially the billion dollar box office winner that was Aquaman as "performing" worse.

For crying in the bucket, Aquaman is their biggest money maker yet.