By Ahead of the show’s release on Friday, the reviews are in for the Paramount+ “Sonic the Hedgehog” TV spin-off series “Knuckles”.
All six half-hour episodes will make their debut the same day and will see Idris Elba reprising his voice role alongside Adam Pally as Wade Whipple. The story follows Knuckles on a journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade as his protege and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior.
Reviews so far have been mixed-positive with one common complaint being how little Knuckles himself is actually in the show. The reasoning is being put down to the cost of the visual effects to keep him on screen.
As such, it’s sitting at 70% on Rotten Tomatoes and at 62/100 on Metacritic. Here’s a sampling of review quotes:
“If you, or your kids, love the Sonicverse, or maybe just enjoyed the previous two movies, go for it…. It’s got some heart, too, which is always good, and unlike its prickly protagonist, it doesn’t take itself too seriously” – Meredith Coons, AV Club
“While it functions largely as a streaming-only a clone of the first film, it displays a personality missing from the mainline movies by veering into welcoming absurdism and whimsy.” – RendyJones, RogerEbert.com
“Knuckles, by fiscal necessity, becomes a secondary player in his own show… Pairing the best character from the cinematic franchise with the worst is certainly a choice; it’s a budget saver, but Tika Sumpter’s Maddie, for one, would have been a less irritating foil” – Luke Thompson, SHH
“Knuckles is a short batch of six episodes that still feels about an hour-and-a-half too long. There is not enough action or development related to the title character with an uneven focus on secondary characters. Kids will be disappointed, and adults will be bored” – Alex Maidy, JoBlo
“Despite its sometimes fun and heartfelt moments, it feels entirely inessential. Video game adaptations have an outdated reputation for being bad. Knuckles isn’t outright bad, but when compared to its contemporaries it feels like a video game adaptation from a bygone era.” – Brian Shea, Game Informer
“It takes the time to grow Knuckles and Wade as characters, and there are some fun set pieces and story elements here if you love this franchise. If you’re generally just looking for a good show? That’s where your mileage may vary, because the story itself is threadbare and a bit forced” – Trent Moore, Paste Magazine
“It frequently feels like unproduced scripts for an underdog sports sitcom have been rewritten to add a stern CGI character and a B-plot about two baddies trying to kidnap him in the background.” – Alistar Ryder, Looper
“Results will vary on “Knuckles”: hardcore fans of the franchise could be easily put off by how much Knuckles isn’t in the show. Others, maybe more casual viewers with little investment, might enjoy it for the harmless, low-stakes series it is.” – Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
“Knuckles” will premiere in full on the Paramount+ service from April 26th.
The post The “Knuckles” Series Reviews Are In appeared first on Dark Horizons.
