Sonic the Hedgehog 3 4K review
Apr 12, 2025- Permalink
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the third film in the Sega video game-inspired franchise, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles reunite to take on a new foe, Shadow the Hedgehog, who is voiced by Keanu Reeves. Jim Carrey returns as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but also plays Ivo’s grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. The live action cast also includes James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Lee Majdoub, Krysten Ritter, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, Alyla Browne, and Tom Butler, while the voice cast features Ben Schwartz, the aforementioned Reeves, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and Idris Elba. Paramount has just released a 4K of the movie as well as a SteelBook version for the collectors. I had a chance to take a look.
The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with HDR10 and Dolby Vision is presented in a 2.391:1 aspect ratio. It’s a great looking presentation with excellent clarity and detail. The colour palette is bold and vivid with excellent highlights and deep black levels. It’s a fun visual treat.
On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Atmos soundtrack that folds back to TrueHD 7.1, as well as Danish, Spanish, French, French (Canadian), Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, Danish, Spanish, French, French (Canadian), Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish. It’s a fun soundtrack that puts the surrounds to excellent use for both ambient and action effects. When needed the subwoofer adds pounding bass, while the dialogue is always clear and prioritized in the mix.
The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 4K also comes with a Blu-ray disc and a digital code. There’s a nice selection of bonus features including a commentary by director Jeff Fowler and Sonic voice actor Ben Schwartz, an introductory piece on Keanu Reeves and his Shadow character, a look at how Jim Carrey brought the Robotnik family to life, director Jeff Fowler discussing directing the trilogy, a look at the recording booth with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, a piece on how the live-action actors work with the CG characters, featurettes on production design and fight choreography, the short A Very Sonic Christmas, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. Collectors should note that a SteelBook case version is also available.
The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 4K is a fun ride for the family whether you’ve played the game or are just viewing this as standalone entertainment. A fun cast is combined with excellent audio and video and a nice selection of extras.