Review- Ultraheroes Acrobattle- Dorian Concert Group
11-7-15
By: Theo Blake
I loved superheroes as a kid. I wanted to be one. I used to tie a blanket around my neck and fly around the living room. When I was given an opportunity to review a superhero show, I was really excited. Ultraheroes Acrobattle has a ton of potential for a show. It had the ability to take superheroes and bring them to life for young audiences. I was probably the only person there without a kid, but I could tell that even the kids watching were less than impressed with what I saw.
Based on the highly popular series Ultra by Tsuburaya Productions, this show first came to exist in the late sixties in Japan. Ultraman regularly saves the earth while using his "spacium beam" fired from his crossed arms and many of his other rays and powers. It's became a mega hit with hundreds of characters and is often compared to the Marvel or DC franchise. Ultraheroes Acrobattle is a sixty minute show where kids can see these real life heroes and villians duke it out on stage. It reminded me of the Batman stunt show at Universal Studios only less well done... And let me explain why.
The show has a lot of flash but no substance. There's a whole sequence where they name the characters and they step on stage while lights flash. That's it. Nothing else. A scene like that does nothing to enhance the production; it gives no plot or growth to the characters and although the show has high production value it's not enjoyable. The design philosophy for this show was: How much latex, fire, strobe lights and smoke can we put in one sixty minute show and get away with it?
The humor in the show is not well written. It's degrading to children and assumes all of them are stupid. Parents will roll their eyes at being submitted to this torture. It's a trumped up Disneyland performance, rather than a full theatrical show. The actors mime to voiceovers and do poorly acted gestures; very similar to how in old Cantonese Opera they would have walked around as stock characters.
The stunt guys are impressive and if you have a young kid who's really into karate, he'd probably like this show. But you know what? He'd probably like the cartoon just as much and it wouldn't cost you 400HKD to take him. Parents spend your money elsewhere because this show was a nightmare. I can honestly say I would not recommend this show to anyone.
In the words of Ultraman in Episode 7, "Why fight a battle, you know will only end in tears?"
Ultraheroes Acrobattle is playing through July 12th. For more information, click here.
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