It’s hard to be a big family, especially when you and your siblings have been adopted by an eccentric billionaire scientist who brought you to your home for the sole purpose of testing your special skills. Not to mention the fact that we were forced to become a group of superheroes called “Umbrella Academy” and then to be in the end of the world, but there are positives: do not think, that you set foot on the Commission, which controls the correct development of the space-time continuum, and we lose sight of the fact that the lunar asteroid that crashed both on earth and at the work of your sister VANYA , the family reunites again, and thanks to your fifth brother you escaped the great boom jump in time before you die terribly… what can go wrong again?
Oh, my God, we’re back again.
The second season of the Umbrella Academy begins where the previous one ended, the Hargreaves brothers intend to avoid an irreversibly compromised timeline, saving themselves and the world from broken headphones. That’s why the whole family was found in the 1960s in Dallas. Years full of character and charm, if only the apocalypse, this time personified the frank rain of atomic warheads seems to have reached the Academy of Umbrella well into this time. However, all is not lost after he witnessed (again) the end of the world, thanks to his powers Five manages to bounce back a week with the aim of reuniting and warning his family to prevent (again!) the destruction of the planet. It’s not an easy task to reunite the Hargreaves family, especially to make them think: every member of a quirky family does have a strong tendency to get into trouble, to entertain dangerous bonds, perhaps not too much, but enough to influence the correct execution. Events. It is therefore very likely that the mere presence of the Umbrella Academy outside their time of belonging could provoke a vile chain of events.
If you read these lines face a sense of Deja vu, rest assured you are not alone. The authors, of course, want to put the main characters in a kind of closed time circle with a devastating outcome, but in the course of vision attention can fall only before the canvas of the taste is very similar to the taste of the first season , in addition, the unfolding of the plot sometimes seems too diluted, weakening the rhythm of the episodes. The smoothness of the series is not completely fined: ten episodes are generally fluid and support interest, but more thanks to supporters of support than to the unfolding events involving them. If the first season managed to achieve excellent fluidity, manipulating many events and successful plots, then this is the second season. loses the advantage and can not repeat the excellent result received with past episodes.
While it makes no sense to compare the original material from which Steve Blackman’s series draws inspiration from the series itself, it is gratifying to note that the first season of the umbrella Academy collected characters and themes from the first two volumes of the comic, which managed to weave them wisely. and find a place to add a little new meat to the fire, and so it’s very strange that this second season decides to rely only on about ten pages always belonging to the second addition and completely or almost completely ignoring the rest of the creative work of Gerard Wey and Gabriel BA. Not that the authors feel obliged in any way to follow in the footsteps of the graphic novel The Dark Horse, but it is clear that there have been some difficulties in terms of production in terms of writing, and it would certainly be useful to continue to adapt the comic’s narrative cues in a decline suitable for a television counterpart.
7 – Perfect Number
What the show continues to do well enough is the treatment of personalities. It’s a great credit, because the paper colleague, at least until now, has never paid much attention to the Hargreaves family’s thoroughness, while the show has proven to be able to create a fairly solid foundation for each of the siblings who make up the umbrella academy. Despite some stumbling blocks and some more forgotten characters (primarily Luther), even in these new ten episodes it is easy to empathize with supporting actors, also thanks to the actions of actors ranging from sufficient to superior. Ellen Page should be a star, being actually the most experienced and famous actress of all, and well played by Vanya, who, however, is overshadowed by the charisma of the Five, who is not only the most successful character and multifaceted, but also one of the best in interpretation, thanks to the young, but in great shape, Aidan Gallagher, who manages to perfectly impersonate an adult, forced into the body of a teenager, while Colm Feore brings to the screen the irresistible and attractive Reginald Hargreaves, despotic adoptive father of exceptional intelligence, who still has a nightmare. A laudable mention of Robert Sheehan, who with Klaus manages to conquer the audience, although he is obliged to play the role too monotonous. Therefore, quantity and quality go hand in hand in this case, despite the above shortcomings, the series is entertained from beginning to end thanks to the skill of the actors and chemistry between the actors, who are the real pride of the production.
Dallas
Visually this season it affects less than the previous one, but remains properly packaged in almost all areas. Pastel tones and successful scenography, though too small, are able to convey the atmosphere of America in its early 60s, touching on the characters and themes of the time, sometimes even just touching them, but looking, and almost always manages to deceive the viewer by the fact that he really traveled through time. This second series of episodes, however, does not forget the more historical and absurd tone that characterizes the series, inserting exaggerated and deliberately grotesque elements in a rather skillful but too restrained way. It would be highly desirable that the future of the series be able to find a fair balance on this front to be able to find its full area and constantly punch through the screen.
Ironic and more epic tones merge sequentially: the superhero cut persists, but at the same time it never takes itself seriously, with gags that too often disrupt the rhythm during scenes of tension. Great caution should be appreciated in combat scenes, which are also too repetitive and mechanical in almost all cases, but still remain well realized and distributed during the work. What can’t be said for more intimate or emotional scenes that too often follow a standardized pattern and are characterized by famous musical success in the background, but almost overwhelming in relation to the script, and too free to use slow motion, making their moments themselves too good and tend to lengthen the little things than describe characters or situations, along with a series of special effects and wobbly CGI. Umbrella Academy, however, manages to be not only the sum of its parts, but also in this sense. The product is absolutely not without defects, but still more than pleasant.
Team zero
Unfortunately, the second season of Umbrella Academy does not completely convince the plot too linear, despite the fact that it again plays with time travel, except for a few well-thought-out twists and original solutions, which, especially in the finale, will be able to keep curiosity for – probably – the third season. Whether you’re a fan of the comic or not, you’ll find it very predictable for most of the time, and there will be fewer gusts of ingenuity than the first season, but there will be no shortage of scenes and exchanges of truly guessed jokes, never truly perfect or wisely calibrated as in the past, but always able to entertain. There is no doubt that the potential of the series is not being used properly, and even if some important narratives unfold, there is a sense that nothing really moves and remains too static, creating the feeling that “a lot of noise is created for nothing”. It’s a real shame because the characters and situations will have much more to say than what appears in the second television version of The Umbrella Academy.
In any case, what’s most interesting when it comes to the superhero theme is what’s hidden under the mask, in an alter ego that lives everyday life through its most human and fragile aspect, and this Netflix series is still managed very well by making characters much less “super” but much more “heroes.” Therefore, the less brilliant composition of this season is balanced by the charm and strength of the Hargreaves family, which manages to save not only the Earth, but the entire series.
