‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ Reviews Give it the Best Rotten Tomatoes of the Franchise

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has finally sped onto Rotten Tomatoes, and it looks like the blue hedgehog isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The third entry in the video game film franchise sees Sonic (Ben Schwartz) going up against fan-favorite Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves) as well as both his arch-enemy Ivo Robotnik and his grandfather Gerald Robotnik (both played by Jim Carrey). Sonic the Hedgehog 3 debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with an impressive 86% fresh rating based on 49 reviews, making it the highest-rated entry in the franchise.

MovieWeb’s own Julian Roman gave the film 3.5/5, saying, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3 continues to defy video game franchise expectations by being better in every way than the previous blockbuster installments, which were also pretty darn entertaining”. This sentiment was echoed by IGN‘s A.A. Dowd, who said in his 6/10 review, “Against all odds, the Sonic the Hedgehog movies appear to be getting better as they go.”

Slashfilm‘s BJ Colangelo said, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is bigger, bolder, and better than ever.” Siddhant Adlakha, who notably did not like the first two entries in the franchise even gave the film a positive review for Inverse saying:

“There’s no getting around how limp and lifeless those first two Sonic movies are. What a relief, then, that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 not only works like a charm but overcomes nearly every flaw of its predecessors and often tackles them head-on.”

Despite Sonic the Hedgehog 3 largely getting a positive response, some reviews leaned more negative. Christian Zilko of IndieWire gave the film a D rating, saying, “It might be enough to entertain young children or diehard SEGA loyalists, but the rest of us are left to lament that the running time isn’t as fast as its blue protagonist.” Bob Chipman, better known as MovieBob, gave the movie a 5/10, saying, “Not as good as the second one if you were looking for something like a metric for these.”

‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ is Ready to Roll This Christmas

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 easily races past the 64% rating of 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog and 69% of 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Knuckles, the spin-off series on Paramount+ that debuted earlier this year, had seemingly set the record for best-reviewed entry in the franchise with 74%, but Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has now claimed the title. Sonic the Hedgehog is one of those rare franchises where each entry seems to perform better than the last among critics.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Cast & Character Guide: Who Is Returning?

Following the new release of the film’s trailer, fans await the return of their favorite faces and voices of the iconic Sonic franchise.

This positive word of mouth from critics suggests that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 could well have just received a power-up heading into its battle with Disney’s newest offering this weekend. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is already looking to take the top spot at the weekend box office from Mufasa: The Lion King, and it will likely carry over as the big family event movie over the holiday season. Based on box office projections, and a bright outlook from these reviews, we can probably expect that this won’t be “Game Over” for the Sega franchise.