Knuckles (Steelbook) [Blu-Ray]

Cast: Idris Elba, Adam Pally

Release Date: September 10, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

KNUCKLES takes place between the films SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 and follows Knuckles (Idris Elba) on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade (Adam Pally) as his protege and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior. Featuring appearances by Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails and Tika Sumpter (Maddie), the ensemble cast also includes Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones), Rory McCann (Game of Thrones), Cary Elwes (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), and Paul Scheer (Black Monday). This collection includes every episode along with an exclusive gag reel, and more!

‘Knuckles’ picks up following the events of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ and rejoins the Echidna who is now living with Sonic, Tails and their human family but continues to struggle in adapting to a drastically different type of lifestyle. After receiving a message from beyond, Knuckles enlists Deputy Wade to be his warrior in training and the pair head out on a road trip to Reno where Wade hopes to compete in a bowling competition. Unfortunately it won’t be the simplest of journeys as they must fight their way through baddies with high tech weaponry who hope to claim Knuckles’ power for their own. Now Wade will have to test his aptitude for bravery and heroics if he hopes to become a true warrior, while still trying to reach Reno in time.

The series features a notable cast that includes Idris Elba reprising his voice role of Knuckles, along with Adam Pally as Wade, while also featuring Stockard Channing, Edi Patterson, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Cary Elwes, Rory McCann, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Scheer and more, along with guest appearances from a handful of the movies’ stars including Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails and Tika Sumpter as Maddie who all contribute nicely in their own right to the fun and excitement throughout.

‘Knuckles’ serves up another fun, action-packed and hilarious adventure in the ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ movie universe that takes place in between the second film and the upcoming third installment while primarily focusing on Knuckles and Wade who work splendidly together and make for a wonderful odd couple, almost giving the series some serious buddy-cop vibes throughout which aligns with the format quite nicely. It’s a great expansion of the characters of Knuckles and Wade who are both solid characters that offer a lot of heart and hilarity to the world and it’s wonderful to see them both given an opportunity to be at the forefront and truly shine. In addition to the humor, excitement and outright fun, ‘Knuckles’ also has a lot of heart that it exudes along the way and some decent enough new villains for our pair to take on. It may not be quite on the level of the movies themselves, but it makes for a delightful detour and one that any fans of the franchise will surely want to make a point of checking out.

All six episodes of the ‘Knuckles’ mini-series arrive home on Blu-ray from Paramount Home Entertainment in this new Blu-ray release that features very nice high definition video presentations for each episode which are wonderfully paired with hard hitting Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtracks that throw the viewer directly into the action-packed fun. The release also features a few brief, yet enjoyable extras and the Steelbook release (which was the version that Paramount sent over for review) features some nice artwork on the front, rear and interior with a nice solid and glossy Steelbook case that fans should appreciate. The release is also available to own on standard Blu-ray as well as DVD and 4K Ultra HD (the 4K release is a Manufactured on Demand release) for those who may not want the Blu-ray Steelbook edition. While the extras are somewhat lite, the stellar video and audio presentations alone should make this Blu-ray release worth picking up for anyone that would like to physically own the series. If you’re already considering a purchase, then this one is definitely recommended.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Knuckles’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the show’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio on all 6 episodes of the mini-series. The video presentations look fantastic as a whole and provide clean, sharp and nicely detailed presentations on every episode that are rich with color and never suffer from any unexpected troubles to be uncovered along the way. Detail is great across the board, with everything from character faces and attire to the interior and exterior scenery as well as action sequences and everything else looking sharp and clean throughout, while black levels are satisfyingly deep and capable. Overall, these are great high definition video presentations that deliver nicely at every turn and should have fans and newcomers very pleased.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack on all 6 episodes. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentations. These multichannel soundtracks are a blast and provide clean, crisp and at times notably aggressive audio presentations for every episode. They consistently take advantage of all seven available channels in order to send a flurry of music, action and vehicle effects, along with crowd noise, bits of dialogue and plenty more zipping throughout the various speakers quite regularly, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, these are fantastic Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtracks that repeatedly impress and should have fans and first time viewers thrilled.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Knuckles’ features a few brief extras in the way of a ‘Gag Reel’ (running approximately 7 minutes in length), along with some Behind the Scenes Featurettes and other fun videos including a ‘Cast Featurette’ (running approximately 2 minutes), ‘Working with Knuckles’ (approximately 1 minute), ‘This or That?’ (1 minute) and ‘Knuckles Impressions’ (1 minute).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7/10

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‘Knuckles’ Arrives Home on Blu-ray, Blu-ray Steelbook, DVD & 4K Ultra HD September 10, 2024 from Sega & Paramount Home Entertainment

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You can Purchase ‘Knuckles’ on Blu-ray Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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