BY : Kodi Robertson
Netflix has once again created a show worth binging and waiting for. As with all my other critiques I will go ahead and warn you there might be spoilers!
Have you ever wanted to be a hero?
I’ll rephrase: Have you ever wanted to be a hero with powers? If so what kind of powers would you have?
In the entertainment industry there have been many series and movies that showcase some of the greatest heroes known in all of fiction. From X-Men to Avengers to even The Incredibles superheroes and superpowers come in all shapes in sizes. It’s hard for comic book writers to come up with new and thought out abilities. That’s where Umbrella Academy comes in.
If you’ve gone through a goth phase in your life you may or may not have listened to or heard of the band My Chemical Romance. Lead singer Gerard Way became a phenomenon with his band; what many people probably don’t know is, he wrote Umbrella Academy and helped shaped the Netflix series we have today.
Umbrella Academy follows seven incredible children as they undergo training to become superheroes. All seven were born on the same day, at the same time, to virgin mothers (whoa, talk about deep) and Sir Reginald Hargreeves set on a mission to find these children and adopt them. For what purpose? We don’t know. The series only has one season so far.
The show centers around the themes of dysfunctionality and selfishness. The family reunites many years later as they try to solve the mystery of their “father” Reginald’s death. Each of the seven children (the show taking place when they are adults) have their own particular flaw.
Number 4 for example: Klaus is a drug addict who cannot keep his powers of speaking with the dead in check. He is also haunted by the only member of the academy who died, their brother Ben aka Number 6.
The action sequences are shot with traditional 3-4 second takes blended with Matrix style slow motion sequences. As a huge fan of the Matrix series I thoroughly appreciated the cinematography in this series.
The DOP uses stylized color schemes to make each shot look like it came straight out of comic book. Hazel and Cha-Cha (the villains for the majority of the series) are often put in mid shots with blue haze as a tint to make them seem more mysterious.
Even the sets of the show had me astounded. The theatre used towards the end of the series put me in awe of how massive the show’s budget was. Sometimes good scenery can take a movie or show very far.
Thematically the show is enriched in many possible themes such as:
The wanting to belong
The weight of responsibility
Dysfunctionality is a part of every family and
What is true uniqueness?
I was able to binge watch this show within a week, and I was very invested through and through. I am choosing not to reveal too much because I don’t want to give away hardly anything except the mechanics of this series.
Imagine now if you would: living in a world where heroes exist. What if you idolized those heroes? What if they let you down? What if they were your family?
Umbrella Academy very much reminds me of the animated series of X-Men that I grew up with. It was so incredible seeing these characters and their CGI powers come to life. I fell in love with all of their abilities that by the end of the first season I was left wanting more
I hope you find this series as enjoyable as I did. If you have already seen it, what’s been your favorite part? Mine so far has been watching Luther (aka Number 1) completely act out of character in the club (if you’ve seen the show you’ll know what I mean).
Until then:
“The ties that bind you together make you stronger than you are alone.” -Reginald Hargreeves
