Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (Sonic Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Jeff Fowler

Cast: Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden

Release Date: April 15, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails are back for their most epic adventure yet. The team reunites to face a new formidable foe, Shadow, a mysterious hedgehog with powers unlike anything they’ve ever seen. Team Sonic must secure an unexpected alliance if they hope to stop Shadow and save the planet. Keanu Reeves joins the all-star cast as Shadow the Hedgehog.

The fun and adventure continues with ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ which sees the heroic trio of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails along with their human and canine family members forced to confront their most dangerous challenge yet; Shadow the Hedgehog, who breaks out of his 50 year prison and sets out for vengeance against those who wronged him. As the Sonic team is called in to assist once Shadow begins to wreak havoc they quickly realize that they’re dealing with a force beyond anything they could imagine, and worse, more powerful than each of them. After being saved from some mysterious Robotnik tech following their first clash with Shadow, they must hesitantly join forces with Eggman himself in the hope of finding a way to stop the new threat; or at least until Robotnik is reunited with his long lost grandfather and promptly changes sides sending everything into utter chaos.

Directed yet again by Jeff Fowler (Sonic the Hedgehog 1-2), from a screenplay written by Pat Casey & Josh Miller (Violent Night) and John Whittington (The LEGO Batman Movie) from a story by Casey & Miller, Fowler does a tremendous job back at the helm for ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ guiding along the heartfelt fun and excitement with style and care throughout. The new film’s cast includes Jim Carrey (The Mask), Ben Schwartz (TV’s Parks and Recreation), James Marsden (TV’s Paradise), Tika Sumpter (The Underdoggs), Idris Elba (Thor: Love and Thunder), Colleen O’Shaughnessey (TV’s Blade Runner: Black Lotus), Krysten Ritter (TV’s Jessica Jones), Lee Majdoub (TV’s The 100), Natasha Rothwell (TV’s The White Lotus), Shemar Moore (TV’s S.W.A.T.) and Keanu Reeves (DC League of Super-Pets), along with more and the majority each offeri solid and fitting performances in their roles and voice roles.

‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ is another wildly enjoyable, visually stunning and heartfelt adventure with your favorite Hedgehog and his newfound family as the gang is forced to take on a threat the likes of which they’ve never encountered before, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, two Robotniks on top of it. The latest entry in the franchise does a terrific job of continuing to deliver precisely what fans want and this time around we’re granted a chance to see fan favorite character Shadow come to life which is a treat in its own right. At the same time it does a rewarding job of managing to maintain the kind-hearted nature and loving tone of the saga as the family continues to stick together and always willing to lend a helping hand; never letting those they love deal with something on their own. There’s also some deeper exploration of Robotnik’s past as he is confronted with his long-lost grandfather who sends things on a more dangerous course for Sonic and his family as the older Robotnik proves to be a threat perhaps more dangerous than the one they were already familiar with.

As is always the case, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’doesn’t slow things down when it comes to the fast paced action either, delivering some incredibly tense, fun and visually impressive action and chase sequences that are almost guaranteed to slap a smile on your face. As always I will avoid getting into any real spoilers, but it should be no surprise that just as with the previous two films, the latest movie also gives a glimpse of what might be to come next time around. It’s almost starting to feel like these films have no intention of stopping anytime soon and honestly; I’m entirely okay with that.

Overall, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ serves up an incredibly fun, action-packed and visually impressive new entry in the beloved series that takes viewers on another massively enjoyable ride filled with humor, heart and excitement at nearly every turn, while once again expanding on the universe and introducing a fan favorite character in Shadow this time around. ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ is highly recommended for any fans of the previous films (and the Knuckles mini-series) who should find plenty to love about this new entry which once again provides a rewarding movie for fans of all ages and proves that this series certainly isn’t losing its way. At the absolute least it should be worth the price of a rental and your time, while any diehard fans of the franchise that haven’t yet had the pleasure of the third film shouldn’t have any regrets in dropping the money on a blind purchase.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks fantastic as a whole and offers a sharp, clean and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that’s absent of any unexpected issues or troubles to be located along the way. Detail is spectacular across the board and everything from the intricacies of Sonic and his friends to the human characters and surroundings look outstanding, while the Dolby Vision HDR enhances many of the bright, colorful aspects and black levels are rich,  deep and problem free throughout. Overall, this is a wonderful Ultra High Definition presentation that never loses its way and should easily excite fans as well as first time viewers.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is a splendid treat in its own and it delivers a clean, crisp and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It consistently takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, action and vehicle effects, plus characters themselves along with plenty more zipping throughout the various speakers at every fitting opportunity, while always ensuring that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible at every turn. Overall, this is a magnificent Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that sounds spectacular and repeatedly complements the fun and excitement throughout.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ features a solid helping of enjoyable bonus content that fans should appreciate. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Jeff Fowler and the Voice of Sonic Ben Schwartz’, in addition to some ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 5 minutes in length altogether), a ‘Gag Reel’ (running approximately 3 minutes) and the new brief short ‘A Very Sonic Christmas’ (approximately 2 minutes). We are also treated to numerous Behind the Scenes Featurettes that feature interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more; they include ‘Sonic Family Fun’ (approximately 5 minutes), ‘Enter Shadow’ (6 minutes), ‘Robotnik Family Reunion: Ivo and Gerald’ (9 minutes), ‘For the Love of Sonic: Directing a Trilogy’ (4 minutes), ‘The Fox, the Echidna, and the Hedgehog’ (5 minutes), ‘Live-action Lunacy: Acting Opposite Puppets’ (5 minutes), plus ‘From the Cryo-Tank to London: The World of Sonic’ (6 minutes) and ‘Team Sonic vs. Shadow’ (3 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself 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 & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Combo Pack, Limited Edition 4K UHD Steelbooks & DVD on April 15, 2025 & is Now Available on Digital from SEGA & Paramount Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’ on 4K UHD Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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