The Squad teams watched the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, released on February 15, 2019. Here is our full review.
The Umbrella Academy - The pitch
An eccentric billionaire raises seven children, born on the same day and blessed with extraordinary gifts. The story unfolds after the suspicious death of this patron, allowing the children (now adults) to reunite... to investigate their father's murder together... and save the world from the apocalypse. All in all, it's a fairly "classic" pitch, but the staging is interesting enough to make it worth watching.
Direction and production
Steve Blackman's series, with 10 episodes in its first season, is based on the comic book written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. It features a fairly dark comic book universe, but one that is very well developed in terms of both the settings and the characters (both in their respective roles and their costumes).
What's more, the series offers a world at the crossroads between Heroes ( for the storyline); Kick-Ass (for the colors and burlesque) and A Series of Unfortunate Events (for the highly addictive "Tim Burton-esque" aspect).
While some viewers may regret the naivety of the characters, who are confusing in their series of bad choices and their temperament as perfect anti-heroes, others (fans of Kick-Ass or Deadpool) will love this crazy comic book universe, where the characters, despite everything, have depth thanks to their obvious flaws.
Even their superpowers are astonishing, bordering on comical: there's the super-strong hero (who has a body that's half Hulk, half King Kong); the superficial starlet (who can make anyone believe anything thanks to her voice); the junkie (who can talk to the dead); a tortured knife thrower (expelled from the police academy and a little too impulsive) and the last one, a teleporter capable of traveling through time in a clumsy way (Hiro Nakamura...but not as good, in fact)...and their sister with no powers (we salute the real performance of actress Elle Page).
There's already plenty to laugh about when you look at the cast of this burlesque academy and the hilarious combination of heroes that make it up, raised behind closed doors by a robot, a megalomaniac billionaire, and his friend, a talking chimpanzee. The vision is certainly offbeat, a little crazy—inevitably so—compared to the (too clean and polished) one offered to us by DC Comics, the Marvel universe, or X-Men.
Our analysis
OK, you'll need a little motivation to get into the mystery and crazy world of Umbrella Academy. The first episode is confusing, but it's worth sticking with it. From episode 2 onwards, you'll quickly get through the whole of this very promising season 1. It's even really good to see Professor Xavier's school done Kick-Ass style.
So yes, of course, the characters are less polished than we are used to, but the actors' performances make up for the script's imperfections. Against the backdrop of the end of the world, we almost find ourselves in a "Save the cheerleader, save the world" theme, enhanced with a good dose of dark humor and irony.
In conclusion
We won't spoil any more at this point, but we're already eagerly awaiting season 2. A must-see for all fans of comics and superheroes, especially those with a sense of humor and irony.
