Watched the first episode...it's not geared towards adults, which is fine, I guess, but it also wasn't great. My review may seem overly harsh to some, though I didn't hate it as much as you might think. I'm focusing on the negatives because it seems like no one wants to mention any of them.
Hated the direction - terrible pop-y music that will be forgotten in 4 months, ADD frenetic cuts and annoying animation. Maybe they're trying to reflect Kamala's own mindset, her inabilty to focus, with the direction, but it doesn't make it enjoyable to watch. It settled down later in the episode, so maybe they'll also tone it down in future episodes. Seemed more like they were trying hard to make a kids' show.
I think everyone's giving this show a pass because it's about a Muslim-American girl, si that automatically makes it different. I'm all for representation, but the story is pretty generic - girl with overprotective parents wants to do stuff her parents forbid, does them anyway, parents disappointed. Yawn.
Also, the superhero origin is pretty bland so far - girl idolozes heroes, suddenly becomes one when she gets superpowers in the mail. I expect we'll learn more about the origin of the bracelet, but for now, it feels like a pretty lazy way to give a character powers. I have no knowledge of the comic character, so maybe something more interesting is coming.
Other failings - the guidance councelor was unrealistic. No way someone that casual would be allowed to hold that job in a real school.
The Avengercon - has anyone involved in the show seen a real comic or sci-fi convention? Instead of taking place in a hotel or convention center, it takes place in some warehouse at night, with exclusively teens attending, like it's a rave or something. Okay, maybe in a world where superheroes exist, this is what conventions are like, but it didn't feel grounded in reality. Just seemed like they wanted to make something that would be more fun looking than a real con, and also put it only at night so Kamala's parents would have another reason to forbid her from going.
Her family is a collection of charactures:
- "Sad dad": poor Kamala's dad, his daughter made him feel bad. He tries so hard, but can't connect with his daughter.
- Super religious bro - but it's okay he's devout, because we want to show Muslims in a positive light. So he comes off as paper thin.
- Overprotective, disapproving mom: where have we seen her before? Oh yeah - in every teen tv show and movie that has come before! Cultural divide between immigrant parents and American lifestyle of daughter - also not breaking any new ground.
I will say the girl playing Kamala is very good. And her character and dialog seems written pretty well, pretty believable for an average kid with average problems. The family is bland-o though. Maybe that's a typical Muslim-Anerican family dynamic. I'm just judging it from the perspective of someone who has seen a lot of tv shows and movies that tread the same ground. Other than the animation and quick cuts (which I don't think worked), this show has started off without anything new to say. Maybe that's okay. I guess in trying to show that Muslim-Americans are just like everyone else they decided to make a basic show about a basic family. So in that respect, they're succeeding.
