Ever wonder what would happen if the X-Men and Doom Patrol had a really emo baby? Well… that’s The Umbrella Academy.
The Umbrella Academy is quick, quirky, and light, it somehow perfectly balances the real stakes and consequences that play out over the course of the season. This show transports you into a strange world and establishes that it is playing by its own rules. It’s not always clear what those rules are, but it doesn’t matter because the journey is so much fun.
Like any superhero team, there are a lot of characters presented all at once, but one of the The Umbrella Academy’s many strengths is a good action sequence. Those accompanied by a killer soundtrack make every character immediately recognizable. The soundtrack was probably the best part about the show and really added to the overall execution.
The most refreshing part of the series is the members of the academy don’t rely on their powers very much. It’s weirdly both the focus of the show and is kind of overlooked, like the fact that the kids were raised by a robot mother and looked after by a talking chimpanzee butler.
Outside the action, the show can get boring. Though very minor, there are certain side plots that overstay their welcome. I think that can be attributed to some of the characters and their writing. For example, Vanya, the character that’s supposed to be without powers, is flat and isn’t given anything to do until about halfway through the series. The dialogue given to the rogue character Diego, whenever he’s interacting with the detective, his former flame, is incredibly repetitive. It boils down to:
“You don’t do this anymore Diego, you’re legally not allowed.”
“Come on, you know you used to enjoy all this with me.”
“Not anymore, leave this alone.”
“Okay.”
Then the next time they interact, they meet under the exact same circumstances, and almost repeat the same dialogue verbatim with Diego instead giving some BS excuse for being there somewhere in the middle.
The logic of these characters is just so flawed. They make some decisions that make you think they belong in a horror movie.
And while the last episode had great momentum that kept it’s high well into the credits, it cheats you out of an actual ending. There’s obviously a set up for a second season, and this cliffhanger would probably get a really invested viewer to want to flip a table. Even if the series did have an actual ending, it would be enough to make you want more, which is an insult to this massive injury.
Overall, despite all the gripes presented, this series is probably a 7/10. If you like dark humor mixed with superhero action, this is one of your best options on Netflix.
The Umbrella Academy is quick, quirky, and light, it somehow perfectly balances the real stakes and consequences that play out over the course of the season. This show transports you into a strange world and establishes that it is playing by its own rules. It’s not always clear what those rules are, but it doesn’t matter because the journey is so much fun.
Like any superhero team, there are a lot of characters presented all at once, but one of the The Umbrella Academy’s many strengths is a good action sequence. Those accompanied by a killer soundtrack make every character immediately recognizable. The soundtrack was probably the best part about the show and really added to the overall execution.
The most refreshing part of the series is the members of the academy don’t rely on their powers very much. It’s weirdly both the focus of the show and is kind of overlooked, like the fact that the kids were raised by a robot mother and looked after by a talking chimpanzee butler.
Outside the action, the show can get boring. Though very minor, there are certain side plots that overstay their welcome. I think that can be attributed to some of the characters and their writing. For example, Vanya, the character that’s supposed to be without powers, is flat and isn’t given anything to do until about halfway through the series. The dialogue given to the rogue character Diego, whenever he’s interacting with the detective, his former flame, is incredibly repetitive. It boils down to:
“You don’t do this anymore Diego, you’re legally not allowed.”
“Come on, you know you used to enjoy all this with me.”
“Not anymore, leave this alone.”
“Okay.”
Then the next time they interact, they meet under the exact same circumstances, and almost repeat the same dialogue verbatim with Diego instead giving some BS excuse for being there somewhere in the middle.
The logic of these characters is just so flawed. They make some decisions that make you think they belong in a horror movie.
And while the last episode had great momentum that kept it’s high well into the credits, it cheats you out of an actual ending. There’s obviously a set up for a second season, and this cliffhanger would probably get a really invested viewer to want to flip a table. Even if the series did have an actual ending, it would be enough to make you want more, which is an insult to this massive injury.
Overall, despite all the gripes presented, this series is probably a 7/10. If you like dark humor mixed with superhero action, this is one of your best options on Netflix.