Knuckles [4K Ultra HD]

Cast: Idris Elba, Adam Pally

Release Date: September 10, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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!

Please note: This review contains reused segments from my ‘Knuckles: Blu-ray Steelbook’ Review which you can read in its entirety HERE!

‘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.

‘Knuckles’ smashes its way onto 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment in a single disc UHD release that serves up all 6 episodes of the limited series with spectacular Ultra High Definition presentations with Dolby Vision that look quite stellar. The great UHD video presentations are only further boosted by hard hitting Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtracks that immerse you in the action-packed fun, and a handful of brief, yet entertaining extras are included on top of it all. Fans of the series that would love to own it on 4K UHD should be thrilled with what the release has to offer. The only apparent difference between the UHD and Blu-ray editions is the improved video presentations so it will be up to the individual as to their format preference, but rest assured that both are solid, the UHD video offering is just a notch above the Blu thanks to the improved resolution and the Dolby Vision HDR addition.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Knuckles’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 in the show’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio on all 6 episodes of the mini-series. The video presentations look marvelous across the board and serve up sharp, immaculately detailed and beautifully colored presentations on every episode that never falter or disappoint. Detail is spectacular from start to finish on every episode, with character specifics, background content and locations all looking even better than on the Blu-ray, with each hair on Knuckles noticeably fluttering and moving throughout, while the Dolby Vision HDR contributes some richer and more vibrant colors visible on everything from clothing, the lights of Reno and plenty more, while black levels and shadowing are deep, rich and rewarding. Overall, these are tremendous Ultra High Definition presentations that dazzle throughout and only improve upon the Blu-ray’s already outstanding presentations.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD 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. The audio review below is identical to the Blu-ray review’s write-up as the soundtracks appear to be identical.

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 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Knuckles’ features a few brief extras all of which were also included on the separately released Blu-ray. They include 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 separately released Blu-Ray edition and resized. They do not represent the 4K UHD presentation and 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 the 4K UHD and Blu-Ray releases are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Knuckles’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray Steelbook & DVD from Sega & Paramount Home Entertainment

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You can Purchase ‘Knuckles’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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