It’s always shocking to think about how far the Sonic movie franchise has gone. When we think about the day the first trailer dropped and we saw that terrible Sonic design we’d never thought that movie would end up as one of the best video game film adaptations ever made! And that 2 years after that we’d get Sonic 2, which ended up being even better and introducing more new characters. And now, also 2 years later, we’re getting not only another sequel but also a new TV series, Knuckles! I’ve got to watch all 6 episodes of the series and lets just say this is a great addition to this franchise, getting to know more about Knuckles personality, and develop the character for the upcoming Sonic 3.
The new live-action event series follows Knuckles (Idris Elba) on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade (Adam Pally) as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior. The series takes place between the films Sonic 2 & Sonic 3.
There’s a lot to talk about in this show, it’s funny, entertaining and sometimes so exciting, but the series also has some major mistakes that must be addressed even thought this was overall an enjoyable ride. The first 3 episodes are basically perfect, the comedic tone is great, the introduction to the characters is amazing, it felt so good to see these characters back after 2 long years. Knuckles is still the same guy he was in Sonic 2 and I think the point of this series was to develop the character and transform him into a more “heartfelt” character, so they could avoid that plot line in the third sequel. I take this show as a fun and welcomed addition to this franchise. You’ll never be bored, the story is simple so it’s very easy to get into it, the show delivers lots of funny moments, the editing is great, the soundtrack is top notch and the fight scenes are epic. CGI is on par with the films, it’s really amazing what they did here with it and I think that’s why Knuckles did not appear as much as I expected him to… I know this can sound disappointing but let’s delve into this.
Even though the show is fun and entertaining, it’s no secret that the main focus of this show is Wade’s story and not Knuckles’s. We learn way more about Wade’s past and development than we do with Knuckles, there will be more than one episode where you’ll barely see Knuckles in it, and we’re talking about it a 6 episode series. Personally, I don’t take this as a bad thing, I just think this show could’ve been called Knuckles & Wade because it’s different than what we saw with Tom and Sonic in the Sonic film, where both have a good amount of screen time and mostly together. But every single scene Knuckles shows up, he eats it up. There were well choreographed scenes with some dope soundtrack that just gave me chills, really brining the positive and hyping energy this franchise offers.
I’d say that’s my only complain about this show. Of course there’s also the villain who isn’t very menacing or exciting but I don’t think that the villain in this case is what really matters. This show is really well paced and will entertain fans and newcomers, I do recommend to watch the films but even if you didn’t, they will explain it all to you with a fun recap!
Knuckles is an enjoyable and exciting story about friendship full of exciting action sequences, a dope soundtrack, fun editing and some great echidna madness! Even with some flaws here and there, I will say this was a worthy addition to this franchise, exciting for a binge watch in a Friday night!
All 6 episodes of Knuckles premieres on Paramount+ on April 26.
