TL;DR – When it leans into the absurd, it is a delight, but a lacklustre narrative holds it all back.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this series.

End Credit Scene – What Happens in Reno, Stays in Reno has a mid-credit scene.

Knuckles Review –

When the first Sonic the Hedgehog film came out, I did not know what to expect, but now we are two films in, we know the vibe we are working with. But the question is: are we ready for spin-offs? Well, that is the query we are looking at today as the Idris Elba-voiced Knuckles takes the show.  

So to set the scene, during Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles (Idris Elba) was tricked into working against Sonic (Ben Schwartz), but they all worked it out in the end. Now, Knuckles starts his day by going through a deadly obstacle course just to get the blood flowing. But he hasn’t quickly got the hang of Earth when it takes down a construction crew trying to fix the house, thinking they were invaders. Desperately trying to find meaning in his life, Knuckles is visited by the aberration of his mentor, Chief Pachacamac (Christopher Lloyd), who gives him a new quest. Find someone to become his mentor so he can pass on his echidna ways. Who is that apprentice? Well, enter from stage left Wade (Adam Pally) and his quest for bowling glory. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.     

Where this series truly shines is when it leans into the absurdity of the situation that lets its actors shine. You first saw this in the Shabbat Dinner, where Stockard Channing gets to shine. However, we can’t talk about this series without talking about the rock opera that happens halfway through. The amount of work they went into making it look like a local stage production with an excellent guitar solo. It is such an absurd romp that it almost makes me recommend it just for that. Not all the seasons land here, but when they do, it is a joy to watch.

Thankfully, most of the cast knows just what sort of show it is and leans right into it. Adam Pally always works so well in roles like this because he throws his whole self into them. It is just lovely getting to see him shine here as someone finding the strength that was in him all along. Stockard Channing and Cary Elwes are a delight, and I wish we got more of them together. Julian Barratt got the memo and was a great secondary antagonist. However, while it was always going to be tough to follow Jim Carrey, but while the bad guys have the proper visual styling, they don’t get to the intensity that they needed.     

Needle drops are a bit hit-and-miss. For every perfect Non, je ne Regrette Rien and I Need a Hero, we get a misplaced All the Small Things, or Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta. Thankfully, there are more hits than not, which is good because they are playing with my nostalgia. Indeed, a lot of the styling of this show is based on the visual cues of the 1990s, and we get some deep cuts, like Gladiators, deep cuts. Even then, I was blindsided by a callout to Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, which, given the content, I should have seen coming, but I did not.     

When it comes to the visual effects, Knuckles is a bit inconsistent. Sometimes, they flow in the action scenes and hit with impact. Other times, you can see they did not have enough time to composite them appropriately into the scene. These moments stand out like a sore thumb, also see the Stockard Channing face replacement. It helps that they focused on more practical effects that did sell some of the sillier action beats. I also love that they leaned into the fun with the editing, which was needed in the bowling sequences.  

Where you start seeing the seams of the season is in the narrative. Now, let me be clear: the story is serviceable, and we get some strong points, like a mature conversation about divorced parents, and we discover that the writers really don’t like Reno. There is often a comment about modern television on streaming services that we are watching a cut-up movie rather than a show. Well, if there were ever a good example of this, then Knuckles would be it. It never quite makes the most of its Road Trip premise. However, the most egregious issue is that this is a series where the title character becomes less relevant as the show goes on. Look, to be fair, it is not Book of Boba Fett bad, but it is noticeable, like the budget didn’t stretch as far as it needed.  

In the end, do we recommend Knuckles: Season 1? Well, when it swerves into the absurd, it honestly was a delight. I did not expect a rock opera or a motorbike/bike sword duel, and I am glad that I watched it. However, while the narrative is not flawed, you can feel the restrictions of the budget leak through.    

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Knuckles  yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.
    
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Knuckles
Directed by – Jeff Fowler, Ged Wright, Brandon Trost, Jorma Taccone & Carol Banker   
Written by – John Whittington, Brian Schacter & James Madejski
Created by – John Whittington & Toby Ascher
Based On – Sonic the Hedgehog by Sega
Production/Distribution Companies – Original Film, Sega Sammy Group, Paramount Pictures & Paramount+
Starring – Idris Elba & Adam Pally With Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Tika Sumpter, Julian Barratt, Stockard Channing, Cary Elwes, Christopher Lloyd, Rob Huebel, Rory McCann, Scott Mescudi, Edi Patterson, Paul Scheer, Ellie Taylor & Alice Tregonning And Graeme Thomas King, Jorma Taccone, JJ Battell, Darcey Castle, Kit Rakusen, Daniel Singh, Jaimi Barbakoff, Fergus Craig, Andy Heath, Adam Kerr & Owen Warren  
Episodes Covered – The Warrior, Don’t Ever Say I Wasn’t There For You…, The Shabbat Dinner, The Flames of Disaster, Reno, Baby & What Happens in Reno, Stays in Reno.