‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3: SteelBook Edition’ 4K ultra HD movie review

The fastest creature in video game realms returned for the third time in another blockbuster, live-action movie crackling with chaos, comedy and color, and now ready to appreciate in home entertainment centers in Sonic the Hedgehog 3: SteelBook Edition (Paramount Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 97 minutes, $25.99)

Back to orchestrate the darkest of his trilogy of action comedies, director Jeff Fowler picks up the heartbreaking origins of brooding, powerful and misunderstood Shadow the Hedgehog (voiced by Keanu Reeves) after it escapes from a maximum security prison off of Tokyo after 50 years of suspended animation.

Guardian Units of Nations (GUN) Director Rockwell (Krysten Ritter) calls upon Team Sonic — Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba), Tails the Fox (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and the iconic hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) — to capture the dark blue and red furred powerhouse but initially they lose badly to his superior strength, speed and chaos powers.

Sonic is entrusted with a launch key to a powerful weapon from a dying GUN commander after the battle, and the team briefly partners with sworn enemy Dr. Ivo Robotnik, aka the Eggman (Jim Carrey), to discover the perpetrators until the villain meets a member of his family.

Specifically, Eggman meets his grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik (also Mr. Carrey), who helped Shadow escape and now the trio combine forces to steal the launch keys to a space station wielding a deadly eclipse cannon and exact revenge on GUN, no matter the collateral damage and loss of life on the planet.

Sonic steals the last Master Emerald from his friends to tap into its enormous power and hopefully stop the villains’ plans and save the day, but he will need some help from his good buddies.

Fans of the video game, especially the younger demographic, will be thrilled with the explosive and speedy action, while even adults will appreciate the plot that delves into the loss of a loved one, teamwork, family, redemption and learning to forgive.

As far as the cast, icons Mr. Reeves and Mr. Carrey could have simply phoned it in to collect a big paycheck, but both deliver an opposite and enjoyable style of performances.

Viewers will feel Shadow’s pain and anger from the simmering Mr. Reeves, as well as getting some big belly laughs from the legendary comedic actor chewing through scenery in his dual role as the Robotniks.

In fact, Mr. Carrey’s manic energy level and improvisational moments (I have to believe he came up with the line ” Hate watched Green Lantern in 2011”) alone make the latest ode to Sonic the Hedgehog well worth appreciating.

4K in action: More than likely built from the theatrical release’s 4K digital intermediate, the presentation not only shines upon the fairly lifelike digital animation of the lead anthropomorphic characters, but also the cacophony of electrified colors bursting from the screen every time a speedster goes into action.

For example, let’s start with the fiery red streaks in Shadow’s awakened eyes leading to his exploding from a glass enclosure, so crisp and detailed that viewers can pause the screen and count the shards, then hit play to see the hedgehog eventually skate across water with lightning red trails behind him.

Next, focus on the colorful and textured fur patterns of the hedgehogs, the sheen on eyeballs, Sonic spinning into a glowing, blue nearly translucent orb and the metallic sheen from water dripping off of Dr. Ivo Robotnik’s mechanical crab vehicle.

Scenes to visually savor include Shadow and his human female friend Maria lying in a field of white flowers near nightfall and surrounded by blue-tinted mountains as well as a golden glowing Sonic and silvery glowing Shadow fighting in comet-style streaks around the planet among lava rivers and even leveling the Parthenon.

Best extras: Paramount matches the over-the-top action with an abundance of digital goodies, starting with an optional commentary track featuring the director and Mr. Schwartz.

Both are very happy to talk about the film, complementing and questioning each other, and dive into scene-specific discussions.

They also diverge on topics such as casting Mr. Reeves, honing the comedic moments, pointing out Easter Eggs, working with animators, call backs to the earlier films, filming at Pinewood Studios and Mr. Carrey getting his real, extra-long hair shaved on screen.

Next, eight featurettes (averaging six minutes each) cover the production (focusing on the family story); bringing Shadow to life with Mr. Reeves; Mr. Carrey as the Robotniks (including hilarious make-up sessions); an appreciation of Mr. Fowler; Team Sonic and the actors voicing them; actors performing with maquettes and puppet stand-ins; set design; and the conflict between Team Sonic and Shadow.

Finally, viewers get a welcomed gag reel (with plenty of Mr. Carrey) and a short of Team Sonic helping Santa save Christmas presented in a vintage, Rankin and Bass, stop-motion animated style.

As far as packaging, the simply designed steel case will certainly appeal to fans of the movie-designed characters led by a front cover of Sonic in full form with blue lightning bolts shooting in front of a white background behind him, making the design almost look three-dimensional.

The back cover mirrors the blue lightning bolt design with Knuckles and Tails flying out of a golden ring.

The interior spread has a more illustrated style with the headshots of Team Sonic on the left side with a blue-and-white background and the villains (the Robotniks and Shadow) on the right with an orangish-red and yellow background.