It's been a year since Sonic first came to earth and life for the blue hedgehog couldn't be better as he lives out his days peacefully out in Green Hills with his newfound family. However, one day, G.U.N. calls on Team Sonic to help them detain a mysterious black hedgehog named Shadow that was spotted in Tokyo. While this hedgehog displays powers that our colorful cast has never seen before, Shadow might have a lot more in common with Sonic than anyone else might've ever thought. Sonic 3 was one of the most anticipated movies of the year for me. Not only were the previous films solid in their own right, but I was also curious to see how they would handle the second most, if not the most, popular character in the entire franchise, Shadow the Hedgehog. This year was already stacked to the brim with Sonic content, but does the film close out the year on a strong note? I would have to say the answer to that question is a resounding yes! It truly is remarkable that it feels as if these films keep getting better with each installment. The first Sonic movie had to do a lot in establishing a new version of the blue blur whole also setting up a foundation for a potential franchise. Sonic 2 upped the stakes and the fan service while also introducing new colorful characters into the main cast. Now that Team Sonic is established, how can we up the stakes even more? At first, I was worried that the answer would be to throw everything at the audience at the speed of a freight train. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the first ten minutes of this film left no breathing room as it set up the narrative direction without a single moment's pause. In some ways, it was almost comical how fast everything was going. However, thankfully, once we leave the scene of our first major action set piece, the pacing slows down to something much more manageable, which is great considering that this film juggles far more moving parts and tries to go for a stronger thematic hook compared to the previous films. The theme of family has been a constant throughout this movie franchise since day one, but now we're really pushing just how dark we can get with that theme. I know it's a joke in the fandom that Shadow is an inherently edgy character, but there is some real edge to this film with his inclusion. The franchise's lore is simplified for the sake of being consistent with previous films and making things easier to digest, but longtime Sonic fans will be very familiar with the arc that Shadow goes through in this film. Unlike Sonic, whose family keeps him grounded, the concept of family is what drives Shadow to a potentially dangerous place, and Keanu Reeves really sells the pain in this hedgehog's voice. When I reached the end of the film, I was shocked at the dark implications of where Shadow was mentally. He's great as a standalone character with a tragic backstory, but he also functions as a fantastic mirror to Sonic himself, which is how things should be. I can confidently say this is probably the best Sonic has been written across all three films because it feels like we're working with a character that has actually gone through an arc from the previous films. He understands and appreciates what he has and tries to do the right thing. He still cracks silly jokes and acts a little impulsively, but it never gets to levels of incompetence where I want to slam my head against my desk. If anything, making sure that Sonic is at this more mature point in his character development is important for how the film tests him. This is less about him learning why family is important, and more about how that idea of family can be used against him.