Gymnastics Academy: A Second Chance review: A light-hearted show for a younger audience

Gymnastics Academy: A Second Chance follows the competitive journey of a 14-year-old gymnast trying to earn a scholarship in an Australian gymnastics academy.

Story

Kyra Berry is invited to the Coreega gymnastics academy in Australia for a three-month trial to decide her selection for a scholarship.

The Academy offered one international and five Australian scholarships which created a competitive environment. 

Kyra faced several challenges in her journey due to her distance from home and the increasing competition. Kyra’s trainers, Maddy and Jaimie, help her and the other candidates overcome their challenges. 

Despite their conflicts, Kyra forms a bond with her teammates which eventually helps her rank first in the national gymnastics competition and earn a scholarship.

Performances

Emily Morris continues her role from the second chance movies in the Netflix series as well. She plays Maddy Cornell, who enables the growth of the students at the academy and the consequent team building. 

Other actors including Stella Shute and Eva Grados, who continued in their roles from the previous movie stand up to the expectations. 

Jada-Lee Henry does an above-average job in her portrayal of an ambitious teenager who faces multiple challenges in her journey.

Positives

The show follows a light-hearted storyline with adequate pacing and an optimistic resolution to every episode. The bright colour palette adds to the optimistic tone of the series.

Scarlett’s character arc and her change of heart toward Kyra were one of the most admirable aspects of the series. The show adopts a natural pace by setting up the character’s motivations early in the series which later become the reason for her recently developed liking for Kyra and her friends.

The show creates a stable balance between retaining attention by creating relatable scenarios for its younger audience and encouraging dreams and ambitions through its hopeful storyline.

The series keeps up with its predecessors and sets up a similar tone and resolution as the movies. It follows the second chance theme through the character of Kyra and her recovery after she injured herself and lost all her scholarships. The series does not disappoint the loyal fans of the Second Chance movies.

Negatives

Much like most of the recent shows being created for a younger audience, the show tries too hard to sound cooler by adding internet slang and focusing a lot on social media. 

The show falls to plain archetypes for some of its characters which comes off as lazy writing but considering the intended tone of the show it is easy to overlook such factors.

Verdict

Despite minor flaws, the show follows a simple storyline which leaves a positive message for its audience. The show is a short yet a fun watch. Gymnastics Academy: A Second Chance proved itself in the first chance it got.

Gymnastics Academy: A Second Chance
Gymnastics Academy: A Second Chance review: A light-hearted show for a younger audience 1

Director: Stephen de Villiers, Clay Glen, and Kelly Schilling

Date Created: 2022-09-16 12:30

Editor's Rating:
3.5

Also Read: Gymnastics Academy: A Second Chance ending explained: Did Kyra get the scholarship?

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