Stars: 1/5
As much thought went into the creation of “We Can Be Heroes” as the character names: “Slo-Mo” and “Facemaker.”
The writer-director of “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl” and “Spy Kids” seems to have slacked off in the creation of this film. Robert Rodriguez took superhero nicknames a little too far with character names such as “Wild Card,” “Miracle Guy” and “A Capella.” Other aspects of the movie weren’t any better.
The film was released by Netflix on Christmas day and quickly gained many streams. Netflix revealed this month that they are planning to create a sequel although the movie had a very low-budget feel.
The story follows the children of the world’s greatest heroes, the heroics, after their parents were captured by aliens. It is up to the children to work together to save the earth from an alien invasion.
Although the movie does have potential, I was unable to get past the cringe script and low-quality special effects. The plot was surprisingly less predictable than I originally guessed.
The audience finds out that the alien invasion plot was all a training practice for the children heros. After the children ‘stopped’ the invasion, the aliens reveal their scheme to teach them something their superhero parents lacked: teamwork. The message of the film is supposed to be “children are the future.”
The movie opened with the children watching their parents fight and lose to the aliens. The end showed the parents watch the kids fight and defeat the aliens. The parents weren’t able to get along and work as a team, which is why they lost. The children worked together and claimed victory.
It was sentimental to see each parent proudly watch their child succeed in something they were unable to do. The alien take-over turned out to be the children taking over the parents roles as heroes.
I suppose we need movies like this to appreciate the good ones. I just don’t understand why Rodriquez let this slide. If you’re a parent and need to turn on the TV to occupy the kids, “We Can Be Heroes” is okay. Other than that, I do not recommend.