‘The Boys’ spinoff ‘Gen V’ balances strength and weakness

nypost.com:

The Boys” and premiering Sept. 29 on Prime Video, unfolds in that same anarchic loony-toons superhero universe. “The Boys” premiered in 2019 and has yet to waiver in delivering high satire, surrealism and ultra-violence wrapped in a spot-on commentary on American mores and politics in the 21st century (particularly on our preoccupation with social media).

It’s a tough act to follow and “Gen V” is a hit-or-miss affair early on. It continues in the tradition of “The Boys” sometimes for better and to the point where it’s derivative of its predecessor.

And, saddled with trying to retain that oomph — while adding something new to the canon — it frequently falls into a sophomoric rut (sexual situations run rampant) but, when all is said a done, manages to extricate itself before it collapses into the abyss of noisy mediocrity.The setting here is Godolkin University, aka “God U,” where superheroes bred by Compound V matriculate to learn the fine art of harnessing their powers; there are classes in “Hero Ethics” and “Understanding Branding,” for instance, and there’s an adjacent acting school for those who might end up in one of Vought International’s “Supes”-driven television series (maybe streaming on Vaught+) or big-screen movies.

The goal is to graduate, hopefully without killing anyone, and to be drafted into Vaught Tower and The Seven in order to safeguard America. “Being a superhero is not what you think,” says one character.