Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Needs To Do Better After This New 75% Rotten Tomatoes Surprise

Although Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is highly anticipated after the critical and commercial success of the previous two films in the franchise, the movie is now under increasing pressure after the reaction to a separate TV series. Although expectations were somewhat dampened ahead of the first film in 2020, especially following a well-publicized row over Sonic’s appearance, the movies have gone from strength to strength, securing a dedicated following. While this would ordinarily put Sonic 3 in a strong position, the expectations of that following means that there are now potentially serious consequences for failure.

Just as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 raised the stakes from the previous film, introducing a range of new characters and furthering the series’ lore, Sonic 3 looks set to continue the trend. Alongside returnees like Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik and Idris Elba’s Knuckles, Sonic 3 will introduce a major new player in the form of Keanu Reeves’ Shadow – although what role he’ll play in the story is currently uncertain. While this is very exciting for long-term fans, the performance of a recent TV series suggests that it won’t all be plain sailing for Sonic 3.

Knuckles’ Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Is Much Lower Than Sonic 1 & 2

Although both Sonic movies had a mixed reception among critics, both were extremely well-received by fans. Not only were they financial success stories (making $320m and $405m respectively), but the two films scored highly among viewers according to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. At the time of writing, Sonic the Hedgehog sits at 93% positive audience reviews, while the sequel registers an even more impressive 96%. Despite this reception, however, the franchise’s TV spin-off Knuckles has had a comparatively unimpressive performance.

Although the Idris Elba-led series – reprising his role from the main movies – has been generally well-received by critics (with Knuckles scoring 73% positive professional reviews), its audience score sits at a similar 75%. Ordinarily, this might be considered a relatively strong performance – especially given video game adaptations’ mixed records. However, it’s notable that this score is significantly lower than the genuinely outstanding rating of the original Sonic movies, suggesting that enthusiasm for Knuckles is nowhere near as pronounced.

Why Knuckles Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Is So Much Worse

Although Knuckles goes against the trend established by the Sonic films of having a Rotten Tomatoes audience score significantly higher than its critics’ rating, there are good reasons why enthusiasm might not be as high for the spin-off. Perhaps most obviously, Knuckles‘ Sonic spin-off status means that it necessarily doesn’t include many of the same elements that make the movies so successful. Not only is Sonic a very peripheral figure, only appearing in a guest role, but other major players like Tails and Dr. Robotnik are either restricted to cameos or are entirely absent – save for flashbacks. Naturally, this limits the story’s appeal.

Another complicating factor is how the TV format restricts the impact of stories in the Sonic universe. Like the lighting-fast blue hedgehog himself, the films succeed because of the speed of their storytelling, with kinetic action sequences helping to fill the gap whenever the narrative is in danger of falling flat. Unfortunately, as a TV show, Knuckles naturally feels more episodic, so lulls in the action are more pronounced. Given how successful the previous format has been for Sonic, it’s unsurprising that changes have proved slightly less popular.

Why Sonic 3 Can Do Better Than Knuckles

Although the drop in positive audience reaction may seem slightly alarming, there’s every reason to suggest that Sonic 3 can reverse the slide. For one thing, the fact that it’s a movie and part of the main franchise means that many of the things audiences love about the first two films will be restored, presumably bringing a popularity boost with them. Beyond this, however, there are factors unique to Sonic 3 itself that mean it could be the biggest film in the franchise yet.

Not only will the movie finally deliver on one of the key missing elements from the games by featuring Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik in his authentic video game form, but it will also introduce one of the Sonic series most beloved supporting characters, Shadow. Set to be voiced by Keanu Reeves, Shadow is a dark reflection of Sonic who has variously been portrayed as a hero and an antagonist – raising several interesting possibilities for his Sonic 3 story. Combined with the fact that he will be voiced by a superstar like Reeves, and Shadow’s presence could ensure Sonic the Hedgehog 3 reaches new heights for the franchise.