How cheap can it get to prize 10K to the winner?
C'mom, you TV PRODUCERS can do better than that! Guys are busting themselves!
41 Reviews
Derivative, but Enjoyable!
jrollerball25 February 2017
I'm not joking around when I call myself a die-hard fan of the "extreme obstacle course" genre that has exploded in the past few years. But how does Ultimate Beastmaster, Netflix's newcomer compare to other long-running shows like Sasuke, S and American Ninja Warrior?
In a word: well! The show is visually stunning and awesome in design thanks to the work of ATS, the company responsible for the construction of other obstacle course shows like American Ninja Warrior. The Beast is large and impressive enough to leave a lasting impression, with obstacles that range from creative and memorable to bland and boring, although the course composition in itself is highly derivative of the tried and tested "Ninja Warrior" formula: four stages, each more difficult than the last, with a finale involving scaling a tower and an increased emphasis on upper body as the show goes on.
So what unique elements does Ultimate Beastmaster bring to the table? Simply put, its emphasis on international competition helps the show immensely. The six different languages and sets of show presenters gives the show worldwide appeal, and watching all six nationalities react to both their representatives and those of other nationalities adds a unique dimension found almost nowhere else. Even if the American announcers are relatively low in quality (at least in my opinion), they are more than compensated for by the charisma of the other countries, which caught me off-guard when watching the show.
In conclusion, Ultimate Beastmaster is a fairly by-the-books Extreme Obstacle Course programme format-wise, but juiced up immensely by a Hollywood budget and stunning visual presentation. Even if it lacks the ingenuity, competitor pool and history of shows in the "Ninja Warrior" franchise, the international focus helps it to stand out and fill a niche in the genre. If you have a Netflix membership, I wholeheartedly recommend giving Ultimate Beastmaster a try!
In a word: well! The show is visually stunning and awesome in design thanks to the work of ATS, the company responsible for the construction of other obstacle course shows like American Ninja Warrior. The Beast is large and impressive enough to leave a lasting impression, with obstacles that range from creative and memorable to bland and boring, although the course composition in itself is highly derivative of the tried and tested "Ninja Warrior" formula: four stages, each more difficult than the last, with a finale involving scaling a tower and an increased emphasis on upper body as the show goes on.
So what unique elements does Ultimate Beastmaster bring to the table? Simply put, its emphasis on international competition helps the show immensely. The six different languages and sets of show presenters gives the show worldwide appeal, and watching all six nationalities react to both their representatives and those of other nationalities adds a unique dimension found almost nowhere else. Even if the American announcers are relatively low in quality (at least in my opinion), they are more than compensated for by the charisma of the other countries, which caught me off-guard when watching the show.
In conclusion, Ultimate Beastmaster is a fairly by-the-books Extreme Obstacle Course programme format-wise, but juiced up immensely by a Hollywood budget and stunning visual presentation. Even if it lacks the ingenuity, competitor pool and history of shows in the "Ninja Warrior" franchise, the international focus helps it to stand out and fill a niche in the genre. If you have a Netflix membership, I wholeheartedly recommend giving Ultimate Beastmaster a try!
This show is crazy
kenyae-cagle23 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The obstacles of this show was insane to see people fail and win through these experiences. I know if I was apart of this game I would lose at the first round. I thought this game was very fair when it came to elimination rounds. It was powerful to see people try so hard to get through this. This seems to be especially made for climbers. But it was great to watch this show.
New season and new American hosts are disappointing
danimacke19 December 2017
I couldn't wait for the new season, but was disappointed. I am not a fan of the new hosts, and found Tiki Barber and Chris DeStefano really offensive. I felt they are not only terrible hosts, but a little too liberal with the racist comments. Bring back Terry Crews and Charissa Thompson.
Great ANW alternative
grlym-4684929 August 2020
All seasons are great. The show and the way they score the athletes gets better each season. Great insight in body types myths dispelled
Only disclaimer : season 2 has American comedian host, Chris DiStefano, run his comedy style without correction. His NJ frat boy jokes that goes into racist and sexual harassment moments throughout season. I wish Netflix would re-edit he season to edit out Chris DiStefano to the greatest effort possible.
Only disclaimer : season 2 has American comedian host, Chris DiStefano, run his comedy style without correction. His NJ frat boy jokes that goes into racist and sexual harassment moments throughout season. I wish Netflix would re-edit he season to edit out Chris DiStefano to the greatest effort possible.
The best TV show on Netflix
ajschuettpel14 June 2019
This is the olympics of all obstical courses on TV because just like the olympics countries unit to compete for a title, which in this case is the title to become ultimate beastmaster. I would like to see Russia, USA, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Australia, Ukraine, Canada, Greece, and South Africa in session 4.
P.S. Netflix please release session 4 soon because i been waiting for a year now.
P.S. Netflix please release session 4 soon because i been waiting for a year now.
Good, but could be better
matte-3267728 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
CONTAINS SPOILER
The show is good, however inconsistent. SPOILER The finale prize is randomly halved just because the two finalists tie and have to go to sudden death SPOILER
The commentary is cool, especially being international however a tiny bit cringe at times.
The obstacles are great, and they definitely look like a challenge. I would have rated this higher if they made the finale a little better. Rather than eliminating players, I feel like the finale should see all players do all 3 first courses and the two highest scores making it to the final.
The show is good, however inconsistent. SPOILER The finale prize is randomly halved just because the two finalists tie and have to go to sudden death SPOILER
The commentary is cool, especially being international however a tiny bit cringe at times.
The obstacles are great, and they definitely look like a challenge. I would have rated this higher if they made the finale a little better. Rather than eliminating players, I feel like the finale should see all players do all 3 first courses and the two highest scores making it to the final.
Great potential, decently entertaining, but some growing pains.
jtadag10 October 2018
After watching all 3 seasons I figured I'd write a review. On a whole, this show was pretty fun to watch. There were some ups and downs which I'll go into more in depth but it was a fun ride and pretty entertaining to cheer for all the different athletes watching them overcome these extremely brutal courses. I'd recommend it if you're not looking for something too serious or maybe you're in between sport seasons and are looking for something to fill the void a little. Anyhow, onto the details.
Season 1 was pretty decent. They had a ton of competitors, some really great commentators (Brazil and South Korea were particularly great) and the course was pretty decent to watch the runners. There were some amazing athletes and it was really awesome to watch some that were just leaps and bounds better than their competitors. The HUGE flaw of this season is they tried to make things harder randomly mid season by changing a few obstacles that actually caused physical harm to competitors which was frankly unacceptable. This put a huge damper on the season for me as I don't want to watch people get hurt for the sake of something being "more difficult."
Season 2 was IMHO the best season thus far. The course got both more difficult but also safer for the athletes. It again featured some amazing athletes and the Chinese commentators were amazing (notably the woman). Some excellent athletes once again. My only gripe with this season was that there was a change in the point system which sometimes created insurmountable gaps in points. Although this wasn't bad because it basically meant the most consistently good athlete typically went on, it meant there wasn't much upset potential. I didn't mind it too much as there were just so many good athletes in this season that the finals were really superb regardless.
Season 3 was pretty tame in comparison to Season 2 and I attribute a lot of that to a change in the course to make it more luck based, which I believe is stupid, rather than skill based. This introduced some obstacles that were random timing based or that frankly seemed unbeatable. It seemed like this season they tried to have a ton more variety, which is appreciated, but having entire episodes where no one completes a level is rather boring... which brings me to my next point. The athletes in this season were halved, witch each country having half the competitors. While this was alright, the competitors on a whole felt a ton lower quality than the first and second seasons and it left me feeling as if it were a lot less fun to watch. I will admit once the finals came around the remaining athletes were once again superb but no one had the explosiveness or the raw ability that was seen in both the first and second seasons. On a whole it was still good, but fell flat for me. It was also odd to see the change in obstacles so frequently which left some preexisting ones a lot easier than they were previously (like the bar between the circling pistons and the climbing wall all of the sudden being shorter from one episode to the next).
I would really like to see future seasons of this show make the obstacle course a nice balance between S2 and S3. Safer obstacles similar to Season 3, but less random timing things (like the swinging gear, trampoline), but the fun and explosive course that Season 2 was very close to being. Variety is fun but only when people can actually seem to complete it if they have the ability, not the entire field of athletes failing.
Season 1 was pretty decent. They had a ton of competitors, some really great commentators (Brazil and South Korea were particularly great) and the course was pretty decent to watch the runners. There were some amazing athletes and it was really awesome to watch some that were just leaps and bounds better than their competitors. The HUGE flaw of this season is they tried to make things harder randomly mid season by changing a few obstacles that actually caused physical harm to competitors which was frankly unacceptable. This put a huge damper on the season for me as I don't want to watch people get hurt for the sake of something being "more difficult."
Season 2 was IMHO the best season thus far. The course got both more difficult but also safer for the athletes. It again featured some amazing athletes and the Chinese commentators were amazing (notably the woman). Some excellent athletes once again. My only gripe with this season was that there was a change in the point system which sometimes created insurmountable gaps in points. Although this wasn't bad because it basically meant the most consistently good athlete typically went on, it meant there wasn't much upset potential. I didn't mind it too much as there were just so many good athletes in this season that the finals were really superb regardless.
Season 3 was pretty tame in comparison to Season 2 and I attribute a lot of that to a change in the course to make it more luck based, which I believe is stupid, rather than skill based. This introduced some obstacles that were random timing based or that frankly seemed unbeatable. It seemed like this season they tried to have a ton more variety, which is appreciated, but having entire episodes where no one completes a level is rather boring... which brings me to my next point. The athletes in this season were halved, witch each country having half the competitors. While this was alright, the competitors on a whole felt a ton lower quality than the first and second seasons and it left me feeling as if it were a lot less fun to watch. I will admit once the finals came around the remaining athletes were once again superb but no one had the explosiveness or the raw ability that was seen in both the first and second seasons. On a whole it was still good, but fell flat for me. It was also odd to see the change in obstacles so frequently which left some preexisting ones a lot easier than they were previously (like the bar between the circling pistons and the climbing wall all of the sudden being shorter from one episode to the next).
I would really like to see future seasons of this show make the obstacle course a nice balance between S2 and S3. Safer obstacles similar to Season 3, but less random timing things (like the swinging gear, trampoline), but the fun and explosive course that Season 2 was very close to being. Variety is fun but only when people can actually seem to complete it if they have the ability, not the entire field of athletes failing.
Definitely entertaining
artgutierrez19 August 2020
It's a fun show to watch if you don't take it too seriously. I thought that the commentary from the entire international panel of hosts was too corny and scripted. It distracts from the competition. Speaking of competition, female contestants have absolutely no chance of ever winning here. They are basically time filler on this show. Almost every single event is geared toward upper body strength, which women clearly lack compared to men. Perhaps they should have women only competitions and men only competitions. That would definitely make things more fair for everyone. But hey, like I said, you can't take this show too seriously. Just enjoy the athleticism shown in the events and discard the rest.
Nice obstacle course!
jorgek20406 April 2020
Decent. Wait for Season 2
kmalford9 June 2017
Aping Sasuke is probably a good idea, as they're The Godfather of the TV obstacle course contest, but maybe they should have aped more, or less. The course is itself good, camera work is alright, and the graphical presentation is fantastic.
I have a really big problem the announcers on this show. I love Terry Crews. Love him. I'm sorry to say, I really don't like him as a host. The other host, whom I am unfamiliar with, repeats both the style and sometime even the words of TC. Sadly, both of them are really weak hosts. Most of their commentary is chanting USA, which is obnoxious. They also have frequent trouble pronouncing the names of contestants.
Finally, a major problem that better version of this show is the editing. In one hour, there's little reason not to show the entire run for every competitor. They cut around people so much that you only really see half of the contestants' runs at all.
I think this could be a great show, but it's not there now.
I have a really big problem the announcers on this show. I love Terry Crews. Love him. I'm sorry to say, I really don't like him as a host. The other host, whom I am unfamiliar with, repeats both the style and sometime even the words of TC. Sadly, both of them are really weak hosts. Most of their commentary is chanting USA, which is obnoxious. They also have frequent trouble pronouncing the names of contestants.
Finally, a major problem that better version of this show is the editing. In one hour, there's little reason not to show the entire run for every competitor. They cut around people so much that you only really see half of the contestants' runs at all.
I think this could be a great show, but it's not there now.
Action, Joy, Defeat and Comradery. Tons of Fun!
interastral14 December 2018
Just finished watching Season 3. I've watched Season 1 and 2, and they were awesome, but Season 3 topped it all for me! Real life action! Trials of strength, endurance and nerve! Like the Olympics but 10x more exciting! Go watch it now, you'll come away smiling, laughing and feeling great about the potential of humans to be good spirited and amazing! :D
Seasons 1 and 2 both had a good amount of humour - primarily from the hosts. But somehow Season 3 managed to crown it for me. Not only were all the hosts from every country, witty and funny, but some of the fails from the contesteants where real roll on the floor laughing stuff. Haha!
But what stands out most about Beastmaster in all seasons is the display of human courage, strength, will and honour. I'm not a big sports fan, but Beastmaster somehow manages to blend the virtues of the human spirit into athletics, parkour and rough and tumble competition.
One of the things I really loved about this show is the Biopics of each contestant, who are all from diverse parts of the world. And the biopics, are emotive, funny and tragic, as they show the trials and successes of each contestesant has gone through to become a world class athlete. Moving, joyful stuff.
If you're looking for pure entertainment, that also shows the strength and bravery of human beings, look no further than Beastmaster!
It's produced by Sylvestor Stallone, who's shown through his sponsorship of this show that his heart is just as big as his muscles, haha!
Great stuff. Enjoy! :-)
Seasons 1 and 2 both had a good amount of humour - primarily from the hosts. But somehow Season 3 managed to crown it for me. Not only were all the hosts from every country, witty and funny, but some of the fails from the contesteants where real roll on the floor laughing stuff. Haha!
But what stands out most about Beastmaster in all seasons is the display of human courage, strength, will and honour. I'm not a big sports fan, but Beastmaster somehow manages to blend the virtues of the human spirit into athletics, parkour and rough and tumble competition.
One of the things I really loved about this show is the Biopics of each contestant, who are all from diverse parts of the world. And the biopics, are emotive, funny and tragic, as they show the trials and successes of each contestesant has gone through to become a world class athlete. Moving, joyful stuff.
If you're looking for pure entertainment, that also shows the strength and bravery of human beings, look no further than Beastmaster!
It's produced by Sylvestor Stallone, who's shown through his sponsorship of this show that his heart is just as big as his muscles, haha!
Great stuff. Enjoy! :-)
Beast of Burden
ninjanicktan16 January 2018
As a fan of Ninja Warrior/Sasuke, I admire Ultimate Beastmaster for continuing the obstacle course genre, and Netflix was smart to pick this up to round out its offerings. It's entertaining to watch contestants attempt to conquer four rounds of obstacles through cumulative scoring, but Ultimate Beastmaster still hasn't worked out some of the kinks in its armor.
The best part of UB is its international appeal. The program has contestants from six different countries with a pair of hosts for each of the countries as well. Its nice to see how athletes from different countries stack up against each other, and to see that that the obstacle course genre is gaining traction throughout the world
The cumulative-round scoring does bring more strategy into the fold, with contestants going for extra points whether by hitting point thrusters or saving their strength for later levels by electing to land in the water.
The main downside, though, is the lack of progression through the series. Within each episode, there's a group of 10 contestants that go through the obstacles, but it's the same thing for every episode... until the last one where the champions of the first nine episodes compete against each other. I think the program would be much better to have all the athletes compete through each level one by one, similar to the way Ninja Warrior works.
That said, if they choose to stick with the current format, I would have one episode that is exclusive to the female competitors. Most of the women are pretty much knocked about by the second or third round in every episode. Just have all of them compete with one another in one episode to level the playing field.
I also think there should be more variety and challenge in the obstacles themselves. Most of the obstacles from season one to season two are exactly the same. And compared to the obstacles on Ninja Warrior, many on UM aren't as difficult. Stage 3 from NW makes Stage 3 from UM look like a course for children.
The best part of UB is its international appeal. The program has contestants from six different countries with a pair of hosts for each of the countries as well. Its nice to see how athletes from different countries stack up against each other, and to see that that the obstacle course genre is gaining traction throughout the world
The cumulative-round scoring does bring more strategy into the fold, with contestants going for extra points whether by hitting point thrusters or saving their strength for later levels by electing to land in the water.
The main downside, though, is the lack of progression through the series. Within each episode, there's a group of 10 contestants that go through the obstacles, but it's the same thing for every episode... until the last one where the champions of the first nine episodes compete against each other. I think the program would be much better to have all the athletes compete through each level one by one, similar to the way Ninja Warrior works.
That said, if they choose to stick with the current format, I would have one episode that is exclusive to the female competitors. Most of the women are pretty much knocked about by the second or third round in every episode. Just have all of them compete with one another in one episode to level the playing field.
I also think there should be more variety and challenge in the obstacles themselves. Most of the obstacles from season one to season two are exactly the same. And compared to the obstacles on Ninja Warrior, many on UM aren't as difficult. Stage 3 from NW makes Stage 3 from UM look like a course for children.
Great Game Show But someone found some cheat codes
dgtlpsyche28 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The obstacles and athletes are amazing and it's visually stunning but course changes(chain to rope, the angle of the tube) throughout the initial elimination rounds make it seem unfair and rules seem to have been bent to make the finale who they wanted and the prize was changed at the end. Some rather choice video cuts and angles of what the audience(viewer) saw and at times it was obvious the announcers were dubbed later over the footage.
It lost credibility points with me, with no audience or on some runs they cut to different points.
Hats of to the athletes that looked rough.
It lost credibility points with me, with no audience or on some runs they cut to different points.
Hats of to the athletes that looked rough.
Not enough women
putting-426576 January 2018
I really enjoyed the show but the lack of women competitors really strikes a chord. With only approximately 20% women it's rather depressing as a female to see them not have a fair chance to begin with. It is clear that the start of levels 1 and 2 are more suited to long and high jumps, more dependent on height rather than arms and a mix up of the obstacles would give a more balanced course for both men and women. Level 3/4 for example is more suited to women with the arms and climbing techniques as it involve little to no long jumps.
The fact that level one has some guys who can't climb a rope knock out women because they are a little short is very frustrating.
Also flexibility is a skill thats missed out as far as obstacles go. Would be cool if some obstacles had this involved. I get its hard to design obstacles but I think there are some obvious changes that would make the show a lot more interesting and fair.
The competitors on the show do provide a level inspiration to people and having more females i.e. role models would really help to boost the show. I highly doubt there are not enough women who would be willing and capable.
The fact that level one has some guys who can't climb a rope knock out women because they are a little short is very frustrating.
Also flexibility is a skill thats missed out as far as obstacles go. Would be cool if some obstacles had this involved. I get its hard to design obstacles but I think there are some obvious changes that would make the show a lot more interesting and fair.
The competitors on the show do provide a level inspiration to people and having more females i.e. role models would really help to boost the show. I highly doubt there are not enough women who would be willing and capable.
The Best Obstacle Corse Show in the World.
teamrussia24 September 2022
I have been waiting for 4 years now for the awosment of renewal of the show for season 4. In season 3 there were 10 countries and a tournament style format and I would like to see the tournament style format again in season 4, in season 3 there were 10 countries competing, maybe there should be 21 or 15 countries competing in season 4 and the countries I would like to see in season 4 are the host country ( USA) 🇺🇸, United Kingdom🇬🇧, Canada 🇨🇦, Australia 🇦🇺, Germany 🇩🇪, Sweden 🇸🇪, France 🇫🇷, Italy 🇮🇹, Brazil 🇧🇷, Czech Republic 🇨🇿, Greece 🇬🇷, Argentina 🇦🇷, Japan 🇯🇵, South Korea 🇰🇷, South Africa, Spain 🇪🇸, New Zealand 🇳🇿, Austria 🇦🇹, Netherlands 🇳🇱, Norway 🇳🇴 and Finland 🇫🇮, Denmark 🇩🇰, Iceland 🇮🇸, Switzerland🇨🇭, Belgium 🇧🇪, Serbia 🇷🇸, Albania 🇦🇱, Poland 🇵🇱, Malta 🇲🇹, Cyprus 🇨🇾 and Portugal 🇵🇹. I would recommend to everyone to watch Ultimate Beastmaster and rate the show a 10/10 because it is an amazing show on Netflix and it deserves a forth season.
P.s. Netflix when you read my review for Ultimate Beastmaster, I would like a to Pick/Draw out the Countries from my list in the review to compete in Ultimate Beastmaster season 4.
P.s. Netflix when you read my review for Ultimate Beastmaster, I would like a to Pick/Draw out the Countries from my list in the review to compete in Ultimate Beastmaster season 4.
Great game show
whystone200119 September 2018
two kinds of fun...
lynzee38 January 2021
Watching the competitors is fun AND just as entertaining and fun is watching the commentators from all the countries getting excited and goofing off as their athletes do well or don't.
the different commentators make fun of other countries and their athletes too and always with good humour and no malice.
there are subtitles so you can understand what the italian, brazilian, french, south korean etc commemts are.
so far only season 3 is on netflix so hoping they will show seasons 1 and 2 too!
the different commentators make fun of other countries and their athletes too and always with good humour and no malice.
there are subtitles so you can understand what the italian, brazilian, french, south korean etc commemts are.
so far only season 3 is on netflix so hoping they will show seasons 1 and 2 too!
Entertaining, good format, but Barber ...
OneAnjel12 September 2023
I found this to be engaging, not only because of the variety of countries but just the set up overall. Having hosts from each country was a great touch and worked well in S1. But in S2 Tiki Barber became almost unbearable with his incessant chatter, and there should have been some teleprompters involved to relieve the audience from the same exact phrases and rule reiterations on every run. He fancies himself a sportscaster but fails to keep us well-apprised of the most impotent details, such as what the points are. Instead, we start looking for a brick wall to bang our head on as he tells us, for the millionth time, that one must get through digestive track quickly because it sinks fast and the contestant will run out of time to jump. Fortunately, we had some very professional hosts in S1 including Terry Crews (who probably could have stood to throw more humor in). I couldn't figure out if all the episodes were filmed in one day because all the hosts had the same outfits on in every episode, which I found odd either way. I have very little criticism of the international hosts in S1 & 2, other than all of them struggled to find new ways to say the same thing over and over while seeming enthusiastic. Someone said the rules and points seemed to change but I didn't see that, not within the same course. But some of the rules were confusing. I did see one rule not followed when it tells us whoever is at the highest level "on the wall" when the time runs out is the winner, yet the competitor who was deemed the winner was literally dangling (fell off) when the buzzer sounded. Overall, I felt the obstacles failed to be inclusive of a wider variety of ability and focused too much on leaps and upper body strength, and the Point Thrusters favored only those with more height. By S3, we find the foreign commentators are much more prominent, making it more entertaining and relieving us of that monotone noise Barber continues to spew. But the course has become almost rediculous (think: Wipe Out) where even the most elite athletes can't make it past certain obstacles, or those who do are met with an impossible leap to safety. No wonder it only went for 3 seasons with only a 10k reward for all that wasted effort. Also, the video crew had to many limited angels and we almost never see the big picture of these course - which really give a new perspective when the rare moment occurs. They also failed to let us know what was happening at each step - suddenly 4 different people are starting back at the first round! Boring to see them in sections like that. One review said they thought a woman could never win this and there should be a separate show for them. As a woman myself, here's my reaction to that: 1. In the current state of things, men are entering women's sports by identifying as female, so that isn't a real arena anymore; 2. Women are doing this to challenge themselves against other athletes, not against other women. I'm all for a women's basketball team, for instance, but irl we should definitely not lower standards so less capable people can achieve something they aren't meant to achieve. I'll end by saying I felt a lot of the athletes didn't think it through very well as we see things like bangs blocking visibility and shoes popping off - just check your ego at the door and get your hair out of your face! I just hope they were all there to have fun because there's no such all-around athlete who would have been successful on these rediculous "obstacles".
ANW is becoming way to soft
p-m-p-o1316 July 2018
If you are sick of ANW shoving sob story after sob story in your face and then changing it making it easier for women to make it farther even if they don't do as well as some of the men then this show is for you. I like ANW but it gets old. UBM is all about being the best competitor, your background doesn't matter your race doesn't matter and your gender doesn't matter! All that matters is how far you can make it.
(S3) Liked it , but hosts are obnoxious
rhysallen-329195 April 2023
I found this show very entertaining, the athletes are brilliant , I was really happy when they finally added Australia and Great Britain as these two countries are very big and are the most known countries in my opinion.
However , the hosts are just annoying. Whoever thought that tiki barber chanting USA every five seconds must be insane. They are nothing but cruel to the other hosts , and whilst they pass it off as being patriotic , it is boring and obnoxious.
As well as this , the Australian hosts are completely deadpan compared to the likes of Brazil , who are constantly screaming and shouting ( plus who thought that Danii Minogue was a good host for a sports show) .
Then there are the French and Italian rival hosts , which I don't mind to much and I find can sometimes be entertaining to watch , but after you see Francesco behind the French hosts and Bianca with her wand for the millionth time , it can get very repetitive.
The female British host Kate abdo I find hardly ever talks , which makes her look like she doesn't know what's going on , whilst Stuart Bennet is constantly growling in his super low voice , he's basically carrying the entire British team in terms of commentary.
The only good hosts are the Brazilian hosts , as they are very funny and comedic , the Mexican hosts as I love their pride and watching them in general for me is a delight despite the fact I don't come from Mexico , the South Korean hosts are very good as well , and although I don't understand what their saying half the time , I love the dynamic between the two.
However , the hosts are just annoying. Whoever thought that tiki barber chanting USA every five seconds must be insane. They are nothing but cruel to the other hosts , and whilst they pass it off as being patriotic , it is boring and obnoxious.
As well as this , the Australian hosts are completely deadpan compared to the likes of Brazil , who are constantly screaming and shouting ( plus who thought that Danii Minogue was a good host for a sports show) .
Then there are the French and Italian rival hosts , which I don't mind to much and I find can sometimes be entertaining to watch , but after you see Francesco behind the French hosts and Bianca with her wand for the millionth time , it can get very repetitive.
The female British host Kate abdo I find hardly ever talks , which makes her look like she doesn't know what's going on , whilst Stuart Bennet is constantly growling in his super low voice , he's basically carrying the entire British team in terms of commentary.
The only good hosts are the Brazilian hosts , as they are very funny and comedic , the Mexican hosts as I love their pride and watching them in general for me is a delight despite the fact I don't come from Mexico , the South Korean hosts are very good as well , and although I don't understand what their saying half the time , I love the dynamic between the two.
Season 2 was the best.
ravenlimbs5 August 2021
Good show, needs some tweaks
janjerina22 July 2020
This is some fun TV, the production value is very high, the commentators are fun, competitors are interesting. The premise of different countries competing against each other also adds another fun element.
Obstacles do tend to get a bit repetitive and, in my opinion, focus too much on upper body strength and climbing skills. Climbers dominate this show...
And as some other reviewer said, female representation is low and none of female athletes cast, are climbers. Which unfortunately results in them being eliminated early and makes it seem like they cannot be a threat to the male athletes, which is not the case in other shows like this.
This said, I do enjoy watching it and will also watch future seasons... hopefully they can iron out some of the kinks...
Obstacles do tend to get a bit repetitive and, in my opinion, focus too much on upper body strength and climbing skills. Climbers dominate this show...
And as some other reviewer said, female representation is low and none of female athletes cast, are climbers. Which unfortunately results in them being eliminated early and makes it seem like they cannot be a threat to the male athletes, which is not the case in other shows like this.
This said, I do enjoy watching it and will also watch future seasons... hopefully they can iron out some of the kinks...
Entertaining but completely unfair
lisneyborroto2 July 2022
It's a good show and I've finished nearly all of season 1, however, there's a ton of things wrong on it. First of all the last round is a huge rock climbing wall, giving the advantage to any and all walk climbing competitors. The slits on the wall are so tiny that if you're a bigger competitor you stand no chance. Secondly, there's a ton of jumps here, so it's much easier for taller people. Women never make it through, and I feel bad they're even on the show because it's false hope. Third, PLEASE for the love of God stop replacing the chain with a rope. It rips through all the contestants hands. You have no reason to do this other than wanting to be a sadist.
So to win you generally have to have the shape of a tall, slightly thinner male contestant who is a rock climber.
So to win you generally have to have the shape of a tall, slightly thinner male contestant who is a rock climber.
International Spin on Sasuke that is slightly better than ANW
Brianknowsmovies1 July 2018
I have seen ALL of the Sasuke seasons and American Ninja Warrior shows and UB is just as good as all of those. If you have seen Sasuke, this is pretty much a modern version of that without the comic entrants.
It has the same annoying backstories as the others though, but they don't seem quite as long and allows for a little more competition to be shown rather than constant fluff. Some of the recent ANW shows are getting so bad with every one getting a sob story, so ridiculous and makes it a must to record and skip forward on that show, so good choice on UB there.
Each UB season has a worldwide cast of athletes and a pair of announcers from each of the 6 countries represented. The international aspect adds a lot to the show and the foreign announcers all are VERY attractive and bring a lot of energy to the show. I also liked they didn't relegate the female announcers to just the sideline to ask stupid boring questions, they get to announce in the booths for their countries too, just like the men.
The US casting has gone with a male / male team for seasons 2 and I hear again for upcoming season 3 too which is sad as the casting there was relatively lame and just doesn't have the same dynamic...nor are they as pleasing to look at than all their foreign counterparts. Also, Japan was inexplicably left out in season 2 and you didn't get to see the Sasuke champ return ...why???
It might be ANW has a non-compete or something because none of the well known American or Japanese men and women that run obstacle courses show up on UB either...that is a real shame and if that is the case, that indicates ANW treats them like hired actors rather than true contestants, which take some credibility away from that show for me.
All in all UB is a fresh take on the Sasuke formula with better production and gives ANW a run for its money and has a cooler looking course that hasn't been nerfed to cater to women. No participation trophies here as it states, some of the women did really well and earned my respect for competing on a course that is really punishing and requires an aggressive approach to beat.
It has the same annoying backstories as the others though, but they don't seem quite as long and allows for a little more competition to be shown rather than constant fluff. Some of the recent ANW shows are getting so bad with every one getting a sob story, so ridiculous and makes it a must to record and skip forward on that show, so good choice on UB there.
Each UB season has a worldwide cast of athletes and a pair of announcers from each of the 6 countries represented. The international aspect adds a lot to the show and the foreign announcers all are VERY attractive and bring a lot of energy to the show. I also liked they didn't relegate the female announcers to just the sideline to ask stupid boring questions, they get to announce in the booths for their countries too, just like the men.
The US casting has gone with a male / male team for seasons 2 and I hear again for upcoming season 3 too which is sad as the casting there was relatively lame and just doesn't have the same dynamic...nor are they as pleasing to look at than all their foreign counterparts. Also, Japan was inexplicably left out in season 2 and you didn't get to see the Sasuke champ return ...why???
It might be ANW has a non-compete or something because none of the well known American or Japanese men and women that run obstacle courses show up on UB either...that is a real shame and if that is the case, that indicates ANW treats them like hired actors rather than true contestants, which take some credibility away from that show for me.
All in all UB is a fresh take on the Sasuke formula with better production and gives ANW a run for its money and has a cooler looking course that hasn't been nerfed to cater to women. No participation trophies here as it states, some of the women did really well and earned my respect for competing on a course that is really punishing and requires an aggressive approach to beat.
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