The Umbrella Academy could easily be called A Series of Pointless Scenes

The Hollywood Reporter

The Netflix superhero series, based on the Gerard Way comic book, "seems to be a mashup of so many other ideas and projects, notably X-Men," says Tim Goodman. "Umbrella Academy borrows something else from Marvel comic adaptations and Netflix dramas in particular — a belief that there's no urgency in the dramatic equation because there are 10 hours to tell a story," he says. "It's a false assumption, because the Peak TV era has an endless number of compelling options that are more alluring than waiting for a writers room to get its sh*t together." He adds: "It probably doesn't help that the writing is superficial and the acting suboptimal, or that the whole thing relies on an ostensible quirkiness and viewers' innate sense that they've seen echoes of this many other places. The series is annoyingly inert, in short, and derivative in the process."

ALSO:

• Ellen Page is one of the most original screen actresses, yet she seems especially deflated on The Umbrella Academy
• The whole apocalypse storyline of Umbrella Academy is just awful
• The Umbrella Academy lacks the batsh*t whimsy of the original comic
• The problem is that the show itself doesn’t seem to understand its greatest strengths
• The Umbrella Academy is actually a lot of fun, with an A Series of Unfortunate Events vibe
• The Umbrella Academy struggles to rise above the clichés
• It succeeds by leaning into absurdity and showcasing stunning performances
• How that amazing simultaneous dance sequence was pulled off
• Costume designer Christopher Hargadon dressed the cast in vintage, custom-designed suits and a lot of leather
• Umbrella Academy comic writer Gerard Way wasn't involved with the soundtrack