The Idris Elba casting of Knuckles in this series and the second movie was the best decision casting-wise the SEGA franchise could’ve made. Ben Schwartz is great as Sonic the Hedgehog but I would argue Elba as the red warrior Echidna sounds like a different persona to me compared to other roles he’s played in the past.
There are some surprising cameos in this show, like Kid Cudi, who also is in the second movie’s ending theme.
The main plot of Knuckles is him training Wade Whipple, a cop from the previous installments, about what it means to be a warrior.
Although there are positives to this spin-off, I have some major critiques of it as well. So spoiler warning for this action-adventure comedy that debuted last Friday, April 26th.
This six-episode series is now streaming on Paramount+ and is the stepping stone of what’s to come within the Sonic Universe.
Knuckles: Positives of the Show within Sonic Universe
Although I think it was a decent first step for a Sonic spinoff, I think the mixed consensus ratings were fair. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 73% critic score and a 75% audience score, which is higher than its IMDb rating of 6.4.
This spoiler review from 3C Films on YouTube summed up what I thought of the series. Despite some grievances, there are many good takeaways, which include the quality of the show itself, the acting and voice acting they got for the franchise, and the soundtrack that calls back to previous movies.
The OSTs and ending themes of the previous Sonic films somehow highlight the nature of what Sonic is about almost to a tee. I love what they did sort of recapping each movie and the pixelated video game graphics they did as ending sequences for both movies.
The hand-drawn cartoon style for Knuckles’ introduction sequence was great as well, with the song just as fitting compared to the ending sequences of its films.
The action from the first two movies to this streaming show by Paramount is seamless, basically on the level of film quality. Some shot sequences with their fight scenes make up for some of the perplexing dialogue or confusing plot points that might not be that canon overall.
If future spin-offs can stay like this and not drop off in quality, then I am optimistic for more series besides the blockbuster movies and where they can take the Sonic franchise on the big screen and at home.
Knuckles: Negatives of the Paramount+ Limited Series
I was kinda disappointed with the lack of original cast from the movies in these six episodes, other than Adam Pally as Wade Whipple, who was involved in both films as a side character and has some comedic moments.
I know it’s the ‘Knuckles‘ show, but when both are in danger at separate times, it would’ve made sense to put some sort of excuse to not be involved. Also, while I know they had to involve the human element in this, the later storyline with Wade’s family wasn’t engaging despite himself being relatable at times.
As a protagonist, the focus was better at the start with Knuckles as a CGI character than later on with Wade.
I would say halfway through, it transitions from Knuckles as the focus to Wade, which made many fans curious as to the mismarketing of the series. There was a good payoff at the end but the first two episodes and the last episode I would say are the highlights of this season over some of the fan service elements in the middle.
The short length of the mini-series was appropriate since it felt dragged on at times throughout the series, compared to a normal 12 or more-episode season.
Like the second film, the goofiest is ramped up a bit and some of Wade’s dynamic with his family doesn’t amount to much by the end of the series. But the flashback with Wade involving Knuckles does help lore dump some of the Echidna’s past.
I initially thought this would be about the backstory of the warrior Echidna, but it was more on Wade and his storyline, with Knuckles and his understanding of his situation with the cultural shock of living on Earth with some obvious pop culture references and religious undertones, which definitely will be hit or miss with most of the audience.
Knuckles: Final Thoughts Overall on the SEGA Franchise
Besides delaying the first film after the backlash they received over the first look at what the characters were going to look like in live-action. But the decision to listen to the fans with the redesign and stay patient in the process is what has saved Sonic in his form through media.
According to Knuckles showrunner Toby Ascher to GamesRadar+ in an interview, this show had just as much VFX if not more and it shouldn’t be considered something extra besides the movies.
“We shot it back-to-back with Sonic 3. It’s the exact same animation quality,” Ascher, who is also a producer on Sonic the Hedgehog 3,”
He followed up to mention that it was bigger than even the first Sonic movie and that this mini-series should be considered as “Sonic 2.5“.
“It’s actually bigger than Sonic 1 from a VFX standpoint. We have 300 more shots in Knuckles than Sonic 1. It’s a TV show but feels and plays out like a big extra movie.”
The first Sonic film came out in 2020, with its sequel hitting theaters in 2022. Ascher mentions that the character Knuckles wasn’t used as a means to make a new show as a quick cash grab before the third movie comes out at the end of 2024.
“If you love what we’re doing with this franchise, this shouldn’t be looked at as something that’s an extra thing that they did on the side and the animation is not that good,” Ascher notes. “We really strove hard to make sure the animation quality on the show is as good as the movie.”
With this series wrapped up, now Sonic fans await the arrival of Keanu Reeves as Shadow in the third film installment coming out this coming December.
Netflix’s 3 Boby Problem is their most recent hit show, as well as the movie Challengers, which recently hit theatres. The new Deadpool and Wolverine came out with a new trailer with ties to Avengers 5, along with both the Lion King prequel and Moana live-action coming out later this year.
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