The trailer for Jim Carrey’s latest film Sonic The Hedgehog is getting roasted and panned by media reviewers and on social media upon its world premiere on Tuesday.
According to the much-panned trailer, the film features a CGI Sonic being pursued by the U.S. Army because his super speed knocked out the U.S. energy grid. Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik is called in as a consultant to help the Army capture the super-fast hedgehog. What this plot has to do with the actual video game is anybody’s guess.
The first look at the movie featuring the video game icon is being mocked for having “too much Jim Carrey,” and slammed for the CGI design of the eponymous character. Some even found the human teeth put in Sonic’s mouth quite disturbing.
“The existence of a live-action Sonic movie is weird; its apparent function as a showcase for Jim Carrey is even weirder,” Vox wrote in its review of the Paramount Pictures trailer.
Calling Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnick character “very loud and very hammy,” Vox goes on to lament that the movie “doesn’t look like a Sonic movie at all; instead, the first trailer seems to promise a Jim Carrey comedy. And from the looks of things so far, not a very funny one.”
For its part, The Verge was confused over the choice of rapper Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” for the background music in the trailer.
“Equally bizarre is the trailer’s choice of soundtrack, Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise,’ which is, of course, the first song everyone associates with Sonic,” The Verge said snidely.
Like Vox, The Verge thought Jim Carrey’s work in the trailer was a bit off the mark.
Noting that the trailer did not have enough Sonic but too much Carrey, The Verge adds, “Instead, it spends most of its time on Carrey’s unhinged take on Robotnick.”
SciFi site io9 drily noted that “you can’t unsee” the Sonic trailer and grumbled that we are getting the movie “whether we like it, or not.”
Shack News thought the trailer was “kind of bad.”
“If you’re thinking about seeing the movie, we can’t stop you. But we would absolutely suggest considering Detective Pikachu instead,” Shack added.
The Week also thought Sonic’s teeth were off putting.
“The filmmakers are going for a realistic look with this live-action and CGI hybrid film, which means Sonic not only has weirdly human-looking calves but now also disturbingly realistic human teeth,” The Week wrote. “Try getting that shot of Sonic with his mouth wide open out of your head anytime soon.”
The Week also found the choice of the tune “Gangsta’s Paradise” a strange pick for background music.
Many social media users could not get their minds around the use of the Coolio hit.
Then there are those astonished over Sonic’s grotesque human-like teeth:
As the Express reported, many potential film fans jumped to social media to pan the trailer:
One movie watcher wrote, “Many Things end this year. Avengers, Game of Thrones, Star Wars… and the Sonic Franchise.”
Another cried, “It’s somehow worse than I can imagine.”
One social media user even wrote, “This might be one of the worst trailers I’ve ever seen. Paramount Pictures you have ruined a great video game character.”
Sonic the Hedgehog will hit theaters on November 8. Unlike Avengers: Endgame, it is not likely to reach one billion dollars four days later.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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