Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 22, 2022

Paramount has once again released the 2020 family action film 'Sonic the Hedgehog,' based on the popular video game series, to the UHD format. The studio previously released the film to 1080p Blu-ray and UHD in May 2020. This new version includes a mini SteelBook and other assorted goodies.

In the sleepy out-of-the-way town of Green Hills, Montana, nothing of interest ever happens. And that’s bad news for Sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) who wants to make a difference in law enforcement. So it is with great joy that he and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter) receive word that he’s been offered a transfer to work in San Francisco. Meanwhile, Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz) has made the town his home. Because he’s different -- blue, super fast, a talking hedgehog -- he has no choice but to live in the background, watching movies and taking in baseball games from afar. When a frustrated Sonic, alone and late at night, runs so fast around the base paths that he wipes out the power grid through the entire region, he inadvertently draws the attention of the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), the self-proclaimed “smartest person in the world” who is never wrong and desires to discover Sonic’s secrets to great power, no matter the cost to himself or to the Blue Blur. Sonic desperately decides to ditch Earth for a new world to call home, but his plans are interrupted when Tom accidentally tranquilizes him. Sonic loses his bag of magical teleportation coins through portal into San Francisco and must team up with Tom, now a fugitive on the run, to retrieve his bag and escape Robotnik’s clutches.

For a full film review, please click here.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Sonic the Hedgehog's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD is certainly an improvement over the Blu-ray, but it's more of an uptick rather than a picture revitalization or re-imagination. Per IMDB the film was shot at a resolution of 3.4K but finished at 4K. It's sharper compared to the Blu-ray but not dramatically so. Clarity is improved enough to notice but it's hard to argue that it's improved enough to make a major transformative difference, at least at normal home projection screen sizes. Certainly the picture boasts sharper textures overall. Little manmade details around Green Hills and many natural locales seen throughout the film do utilize the boosted resolution to squeeze out more intricate, intimate clarity; just don't expect a fully reworked construct. The same can be said of human characters, where "very sharp" on Blu-ray becomes "razor sharp" on UHD. The little things do add up, just not to a substantial sum at the end. Still, even the digitally constructed Sonic enjoys a little visual fine-tuning as well; the quills and hairs take on appreciably sharper definition, the eyes more clarity, the model looking more robust overall.

The Dolby Vision color grading likewise tweaks the experience for the better. In general, it's the basic story: tones are deeper, more nuanced, more alive, black levels inkier, and whites brighter. Daytime scenes enjoy more natural, lifelike lighting, refined tonal output and intensity, a feel for improved color accuracy seen in natural greens, military fatigues, odds and ends around town, clothes, and of course Sonic blue. The light show at film's end is a treat for the boosted luminance and essential intensity, with the lightning blues and hellish reds playing very nicely against the fortified black level depth background. Blacks are a highlight throughout. Take a look at an exterior shot of the Pentagon at the 17:01 mark. The UHD exhibits breathtaking black depth and shadow detail, with the countless dots of illumination all over the screen finding a new gear of brilliance. The Blu-ray looks very good here, but there's a strong enough increase in the spectrum to make a difference. On the opposite end, whites are far more pure here than they are on the Blu-ray, ditto flesh tones. The UHD looks very good. It manages noise better and there are no other artifacts of note in play. It's not one that stands ahead of the pack but everything works as it should.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sonic the Hedgehog's Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers a well-rounded listening experience. The track has a lot of fun with Sonic's speed, offering countless zips and zooms encircling the stage as the character maneuvers around, more pronounced, obviously, in those scenes seen and heard from a human perspective where the speed and movement are amplified (and they are understandably far less so in the various super slow motion shots that show the world from Sonic's perspective, when everything around him is essentially in freeze frame). One example of that comes during a barroom brawl midway through the film. The din in "real time" is pleasantly robust but the sound settles as Sonic makes his way around the room with everyone and everything else stuck in a moment in time. Robotnick's big rig rumbles into Tom's driveway in chapter six to superb effect with potent movement and low end detail. Several other examples of low end might are heard throughout, and it's always well balanced and true. Surrounds are used extensively but the overheads don't offer much in terms of lively, obvious discrete elements. Still, the additional support structure is most welcome. Environmental supports play in harmony in terms of detail, volume, and positioning. Dialogue is well prioritized and lifelike as it flows from the center channel speaker.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Below is a list of all of the included supplements, all of which are on the bundled Blu-ray disc (the UHD carries over the audio commentary track). See below for a list of what's included on the Blu-ray and please click here for full coverage.

• Audio Commentary: Director Jeff Fowler and the Voice of Sonic Ben Schwartz.
• Around the World in 80 Seconds
• Deleted Scenes
• Bloopers
• Music Video
• For the Love of Sonic
• Building Robotnik with Jim Carrey
• The Blue Blur: Origins of Sonic
• Sonic on Set

Beyond the UHD and Blu-ray discs in a standard UHD case, this set includes a "mini SteelBook" which is about 4"x4" in length and width and about half an inch thick. The front features Sonic racing down a road. The background is fairly obscured as if by fog. The film's title appears at the top. Sonic appears on the back as well, filling much of the frame with a white background behind him. He is pointing a white gloved index finger at the viewer. A Sega logo appears on the bottom left and a Paramount logo and legalese on the right. The spine features the film's title center with a Paramount logo at the top. The interior panel spread depicts Sonic fully on the left, a full body image as he appears to be running above a city skyline which sprawls along the right-hand side. The thick card stock digital copy code is tucked under tabs on the right. In addition, this set includes an art card depicting Robotnik's aircraft, a comic book titled Sonic the Hedgehog: The Adventures of Sonic & Donut Lord, and several original poster cards (5.75x4.5). All of the content ships inside a plastic "box."

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sonic the Hedgehog leaves open the possibility for a sequel (which is coming), but this might be a case of being best to leave well enough alone. The film is hardly groundbreaking, but it is grounded, at least as grounded as a film of this style can be. It's fun and festive, well cast, and looks good. The story knocks down no barriers but there's enough spirit to overcome the trite essentials. Paramount's UHD delivers high quality video and audio presentations in addition to a fine selection of bonus content. This new release, strictly for hardcore Sonic collectors only, includes a displayable mini SteelBook and a few other goodies. Not worth the massive markup for the average buyer.