Netflix Gritty Sci-Fi Is One Of The Most Overlooked Superhero Movies
Superheroes have always drawn the attention of many, making for popular comics, books, movies, and TV shows. Something about having people stronger and more noble than the average person saving the day while also having a normal human side makes the stories easy to connect with. However, some think superhero movies are overdone, which is why films like How I Became a Superhero have drawn the attention of some viewers eager for a darker and more realistic take on what would happen if you gave the average person superpowers.
How I Became A Superhero
How I Became a Superhero is a French film directed by Douglas Attal (Next Time I’ll Aim for the Heart) and released in 2020. It’s a science fiction movie focused on superpowers. There are groups of people who already have powers and are using them for their own gain.
Some people aren’t satisfied with how superheroes get all the fame and attention. At the start of How I Became a Superhero, a drug starts to be passed around that gives normal people superpowers. Instead of using these powers to help people, they use them for their own gain and to become famous.
A Twist On The Genre
For example, a teenager gets the ability to throw flames and uses it to torment people at his school. Some characters are killed immediately upon taking the drug. Others are choked to death with ropes.
How I Became a Superhero is a dark story that takes a twist on the idea of superheroes and offers a far more realistic idea of what someone who suddenly received powers would do.
Some of the main cast of the movie include Pio Marmaï (I Kissed a Girl), Vimala Pons (Elle), Benoît Poelvoorde (Man Bites Dog), and Leïla Bekhti (Paris, I Love You).
A Critical Success
How I Became a Superhero is one of those movies where critics and audience members just couldn’t agree. Critics loved the film, with an average score of 83 percent.
On the other hand, audience members didn’t like it very much at all, with a score of 49 percent.
Despite the poor review, many fans admit that How I Became a Superhero has some unique features and that it’s a rather accurate focus on human behavior and offers some dark humor at some points.
However, some moments are a bit too intense, and the story doesn’t seem fully fleshed out at points.
Similar To Project Power
Additionally, some fans mentioned the story was slow to build. How I Became a Superhero spends a lot of the early part of the film setting up the world, the drug, and which people get the powers.
While it’s helpful in explaining what happens and setting up the story, it does make for a slow and boring start.
Several fans compare the story to Project Power, another 2020 film from America that also focused on superheroes. They do have rather similar premises.
In Project Power, there are pills, instead of drugs, found on the streets. These pills give people random and unpredictable powers for about five minutes.
Stream It Now
Interestingly, though Project Power has a lower critic score review on Rotten Tomatoes, at 61 percent, the audience scores are rather similar. Where How I Became a Superhero had 49 percent, Project Power had 46 percent.
If you want to watch How I Became a Superhero for yourself, it’s available on Netflix. You can also compare it to Project Power, also on Netflix.
