I just finished watching this recommendation by @meins0815 and while I overall enjoyed watching the series, there are a few things I want to point out and some comparisons I would want to make to other superhero franchises. I will try to not spoil the series until the Spoiler section.
The Format
First of all lets talk about the format. Most of the episodes are split up between the current events where a grey haired Utopian fights villains alongside his friends and family, who all got superpowers and an origin story of Utopian getting his superpowers somewhere in the 1920s .
I did not like this style for the most part. Besides from knowing that all major characters will survive the past since they are alive in the present, I feel like there was also a very different tone to the origin story. Almost like you are watching two completely separate movies cut into one.
Maybe some of my dislike for the format stems from actually not liking the origin story itself so let's look into that.
The Origin Story
So without going into the details of the origin story, it certainly was nothing very original. You would think they had to really find some inspiring moments where their character is tested, but I failed to see that anywhere.
The main message of the origin story is: if you have a severe case of schizophrenia just follow the voices in your head and you will get superpowers.
I am generally not so much of a "who thinks about the children!?" kind of guy. I don't like gory violence in my movies and series because I dont like to watch it not because I care about anyones childhood.
My dislike for the content of the origin story is a little overshadowed by the great early 20th century style of the actors and the ambiente. Especially George, boy I love George!
The Characters
Before we dive deep into George (:3), lets talk about the main man: Utopian. Whose real name is Shelly something-I-dont-know. Even though I dont like the story of a schizophrenic succeeding by listening to the voices and following the supernatural visions he has, it is certainly played well by the actor. Especially when contrasted to his performance as chilled dad in the present day.
I also really liked the brother, Brainwave. He is clearly the smarter one, but I will have talk more about him in the Spoiler part.
The dynamic between Utopian and his wife is also quite interesting. She is torn apart between her love for her husband, her children and her very own moral compass, that has changed over time.
Get away with the son and the daughter! If I want to see angsty children in whose hands the fate of the world rests, I will watch Neon Genesis Evangelion. I want to punch the son so bad every time he is on screen, I think I just dont like the actor, his character arc is OK. If you think the daughter is attractive, I will call the police on you, she looks like twelve year old boy.
The side characters and villains seem great. Blackstar is awesome and my favorite present day character is George's son with the teleportation scroll.
Spoilers
So let's put George in the spoilers. I mean it is quite obvious why he is a great character in the origin story, despite his decadence he seems to value his friendships very highly to a point where he actually explores and supports the psychotic visions of his best friend. We don't know what present day George is up to, I even think he might be dead already, which would make me cry hard.
I knew all along that George was not the real present day villain, but it sure took me by surprise that Brainwave was revealed as the evil mastermind. There are some holes in that explanation in my opinion and it seemed really out of character for him to kill his own daughter.
My overarching theory is that the group of six stuff represents that nobody is perfect on his own - everybody is flawed. But if a group of six different characters can come together and unite they can be a great force of good. I like this philosophy in general and I would really like to see Brainwave redeemed somehow, but I guess he will just be the main villain next season, which kind of makes me yawn, because we have seen powerful telepaths fight groups of heroes in other franchises a lot already.
Conclusion
All these superhero movies and series are like ice cream. Marvel and DC are your good old Italian ice cream, with the classic flavors: Superman is vanilla, Batman is chocolate, Spiderman is lemon. Then these new franchises like Invincible, The Boys, Umbrella Academy and Jupiter's Legacy are the Häagen Dazs Premium stuff, like half-baked cookie dough and chocolate fudge. It is all good, it just depends on your mood. After all there is no thing as too much ice cream, is there?
Hab mir neulich auch mal die erste Folge angesehen.... na ja, ich weis nicht, diese Superhelden sind nicht so mein Ding. Und diese hier... früher hätte man eine Story geschrieben, wo der Sohn die Firma des Vaters weiterführen soll (und nicht will), heute müssen es Superhelden sein. Ist trotzdem das selbe, nur mit etwas CGI Klopperei verziert.
Also es hilft schon wenn man diesen ganzen Superhelden Kram mag ;). Ansonsten find ich eigentlich die Charaktere relativ spannend, bis auf die Rotzgören von Kindern die Utopian hat.
Da hast Du sicherlich recht. :)
Aber ich bin ja eigentlich aufgeschlossen gegenüber Neuem, und eigentlich sogar ein Fan von SF und Fantasy. Nur - es sollte auch wirklich neu sein. Und ich habe schon eine Menge Filme gesehen und Bücher gelesen. Nur zu oft denke ich "Das ist doch wie in xxxx." Das turned dann irgendwie ab, selbst wenn der Film an sich nicht schlecht ist. Ist vieleicht ungerecht, "Roneo und Julia" wird ja auch schon seit 500 Jahren gespielt und die Leute mögen es immer noch. Ich bin wohl zu anspruchsvoll. :)
Ich kanns schon verstehen, ich mags auch nicht wenn alles vorhersehbar wird, weil schon tausend mal da gewesen. Ich hab mir als Kind halt immer gewünscht dass er mehr Superheldenzeug gibt, hat zwar etwas gedauert aber ich bin eigentlich froh darüber dass das Genre jetzt so ausgeschlachtet wird. Sachen wie "The Boys" könnte man auch schon als eine Art Dekonstruktion des Genres sehen, ähnlich wie Watchmen.
Wie gesagt, wenn die grundlegende Idee der Story neu ist, ist es ja ok. Dann würde ich mir sogar einen Zombie Film angucken. :)
sorry a bissl late :(
hatte mich nun 3, 4 tage rausgehalten aus dem ganzen affenzirkus.
joo, so hat jeder seine meinung.....
mochte die serie eigentlich so wie sie ist...., die zeitspringerei...., naja daran gewöhnt man sich schon. finde es so eigentlich besser, als immer wieder einzelne folgen in anderen zeiten oder handlungssträngen zu haben. bei TITANS gab da so einige folgen....
und shelly kommt von sheldon - nie TBBT gesehen xD?
aber mich da englisch lesen zu lassen is ne zumutung!!, trotzdem:
!invest_vote /REHIVE (?)
no worries, danke für den Rehive, das Investvotele und das Durchs Änglisch Quälen.
Dass der Typ Sheldon heisst war schon klar, aber frag mich nicht nach dem Nachnamen.
Ich fand halt die Rückblenden haben nicht viel getan außer das Verhältnis von Shelly und seinem Bruder bsser zu erläutern. Es soll sogar Leute geben, die den Vergangenheitskram am besten fanden, ich fand da nicht viel außer nem charmanten 20er Jahre Stil.
sampson xD - hätt ich auch nimmer gewusst, denn auch da kenne ich die comicvorlage nicht :((
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter%27s_Legacy_(TV_series)
ach du kennst ja gar nichts :P
Also ich bin zwar schon gespannt wie es weiter geht, aber da fieber ich anderen Sachen wie Umbrella Acadamy Season 3, Invincible Season 2 oder Spiderman Multiverse mehr entgegen.
ich reite auf der nostalgiewelle - kein platz für was neues xD
aber a bissl übersättigt bin ich schon in diesem genre.
einzi the nevers warte ich immer gespannt auf die neueste....., das is aber auch weit genug von mainstream entfernt um hocherfreulich und anders zu sein :)
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