Written by Steven Allison
Marvel who? There’s a new kid on the block, and it’s hanging out, showing off its powers, on Netflix Road. Meet The Umbrella Academy, a whimsically warped superhero series that genre fans will likely gobble up with glee.
Faithfully adapted – for the most part that is – from the eponymous comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, this labour of love by Steve Blackman follows a dysfunctional family of scattered superheroes. Brought back together after a 12-year separation by the mysterious death of their adoptive father, the disparate group resolves to track down those responsible, with plenty of mischief along the way.
The ensemble cast is captivating in myriad ways as seven siblings adopted by the cold and calculating Sir Reginald “The Monocle” Hargreeves (Colm Feore), whose sole objective was to raise a brood of world-saving superhumans. Their interactions between each other, from quarrels to bonds, are so irresistibly credible that they take the spotlight from start to finish.
Each of the Hargreeves orphans brings something individual to the table. We’ve got Tom Hopper’s super serious Luther (Spaceboy/Number 1), stuck with the super-strength body of a Martian ape after a botched mission, right through to Ellen Page’s meek Vanya (The White Violin/Number 7), a whiz at the violin but with no superpowers to speak of – think Meg Griffin’s nail-growing superpower but even more unavailing.
They’re joined by David Castañeda’s rebellious Diego (The Kraken/Number 2), a breath-holding knife-thrower, and Emmy Raver-Lampman’s narcissistic Allison (The Rumour), a celebrity with the power to alter reality through telling fibs. Then there’s Robert Sheehan’s irritating Klaus (The Séance/Number 4), a drug-addicted, kinetic medium, and Aidan Gallagher’s The Boy (Number 5), a curmudgeonly time-traveller – and a funny one at that – recently back from half a century of being trapped in an apocalyptic future and now stuck in the body of his 13-year-old self. Last but not least, Justin. H. Min’s Ben (The Horror/Number 6) is the odd one out. Killed during a mission, he’s now a ghost who appears only to Klaus.
It’s clear that the purse strings haven’t been controlled super tightly here; otherwise, The Umbrella Academy wouldn’t be such a polished visual explosion. A feast for the eyes, the series is absolutely brimming with snappy cinematography.
Off-kilter camerawork – Wes Anderson springs to mind – sets the scene for gloriously high-octane, often split-screen action sequences. These are often wrapped in a quintessential cape of slow-motion to offer a nice balance.
A killer soundtrack gives this series a real zany spark. It doesn’t get more eclectic than Morcheeba, My Chemical Romance, and Marilyn Monroe, does it? Forget scoring; the sound team here has mastered the art of the needle drop, conveying meaning through well-placed tunes. The technique hasn’t been applied this well since David Ayer’s The Suicide Squad.
The Umbrella Academy is undoubtedly the smart outcome of some true blue-thinking. It unrolls an original story with clandestine exhilaration and boundless energy. Sadly, though, this highly resourceful show isn’t without its kryptonite. It’s fair to say that the series is a bit lost in terms of tone, some of its waggishly forbidding subtleties failing to share the playground fairly with some of its obvious genre tropes. The Umbrella Academy also plods along at an incredibly languid pace, with some heavy bloating in the middle of the 10-episode run. This is something Netflix viewers are seeing time and time again; most recently with You. The series could sure do with a few episodes being shaved off, but for those with the patience to see it through, things do pick up after the lull.
As superhero enthusiasts weep at the loss of most Netflix Marvel tie-ins, as well as the potential cancellation of others in the very near future, The Umbrella Academy fills the lacuna adequately. It’s a fresh but nutso family-drama take on the do-gooding superhuman milieu and a brilliantly oddball whodunnit to boot. It may be a skosh too weird for some lovers of caped crusaders, but if you aren’t overwhelmed by its eccentricities, this superhero romp is a wonderful watch.
