Depending on the team viewers rooted for, Super Bowl LV was either a great triumph or a major disappointment. However, the halftime show, headlined by The Weeknd, was enough of a grand spectacle to appeal to every fan whether they cheered for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Kansas City Chiefs.

With a setlist consisting of “Starboy,” “The Hills,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” “I Feel It Coming,” “Save Your Tears,” “Earned It,” “House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls” and “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd had a lot to pack into less than 15 minutes and he did relatively well. This is due to his incredible charisma which leaps off the screen.

The halftime show opens with an incredible tracking shot that depicts The Weeknd in the great, lavish lifestyle of a celebrity, surrounded by dazzling lights and riding in a convertible. He steps out and walks to a stage and begins the show which depicts all of his major hits. From the lightshow to the fireworks to the dancers, there is a grand sense of spectacle that more than makes up for some of the lackluster halftime shows of the past decade. 

Highlights of the show included “Earned It” where The Weeknd is accompanied by dozens of violinists and a choir which make this already wonderful track more of an epic composition. The show’s finale, “Blinding Lights,” was as good an ending as any for this show with The Weeknd and an army of similarly dressed dancers charging the field in a fun and energetic conclusion.

While the show was very good, one element that drastically hurt it was when The Weeknd and his dancers were in a maze of lights accompanied by the track “Can’t Feel My Face” where the camera work is odd to say the least. As the camera and the dancers move in a tight corridor, the camera is bumped into which creates a disorienting effect.

There’s a moment where The Weeknd grabs a camera and sings directly to it, similarly to how Freddie Mercury grabbed a camera during 1985’s Live Aid,  and it’s very close to his face. It’s odd and doesn’t add much to the spectacle of the show. In fact, it works against it.

Despite a few hiccups in the camerawork, The Super Bowl LV Halftime Show is definitely one of the best shows of recent years and is a great successor to last year’s magnetic show featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.