How I Became a Superhero (review): Should you watch the new Netflix movie?

This Friday, new review on CNET France with a novelty from the Netflix catalog. How I Became a Superhero is, as its name suggests, a superhero movie. One of its particularities? He is French. Here's what we thought.

The synopsis of the film

Paris, nowadays. In a society where superheroes have become commonplace and seamlessly integrated into everyday life, a mysterious new drug is hitting the streets. Its main side effect? It gives superpowers to its consumers. Incidents related to this substance are increasing, and Lieutenants Moreau and Schaltzmann are responsible for leading the investigation. To put an end to the traffic, they will be helped by two former vigilantes, Monté Carlo and Callista. But the investigations are going to be more difficult than expected...

Our opinion on How I became a superhero

For nearly twenty years, the superhero film genre has enjoyed unprecedented growth and popularity, helped by the worldwide successes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A genre which, over the years, has somewhat stalled, struggles to offer new original proposals, and purrs more than it surprises. What a joy to see it revisited today by French cinema, with certainly less means, but no less beautiful ideas.

How I Became a Superhero is a fan movie, and it shows. Its young director, Douglas Attal, loves the genre and treats it with respect and seriousness, drawing inspiration from modern readings of M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable (2000) or James Mangold's Logan (2017). As in these films, the superhero is part of the real world, with its social realities linked to violence, youth or the media.

Aware that he does not have the same colossal means of a Marvel, Douglas Attal endows his film with a backbone closer to the thriller. This mixture of American themes and French inspirations gives all its interest and unique identity to this pleasant feature film.

This balance which - on paper - may seem fragile, works in particular thanks to a high-flying cast: Pio Marmai, Vimala Pons, Leïla Bekhti, Benoît Poelvoorde, Swann Arlaud. Inhabited actors who give body with a beautiful intensity to these X-Men made in France. We can regret despite everything the youthful defects of a first feature film, which sometimes fishes in the management of the rhythm, the intensity and the stakes.

The few fights, despite some good ideas, are often too messy to fully work. However, these flaws are still forgivable. If superhero adventures bore you, and you think they all look alike: this movie is definitely for you.

Produced by true admirers of the genre, How I became a superhero succeeds in being an honest and respectful rereading. It is also an original proposal that uses the most promising talents and the greatest strengths of French cinema. A film which also shows that genre cinema in France is far from having disappeared, and that there is even still a lot of it under the hood. In a word: Cocorico.

Where to see other superhero movies in streaming?

So there you are spoiled for choice! You can find The Boys series on Amazon Prime Video, or Wonder Woman, The Dark Knight and Suicide Squad on Netflix. If you're more of a Marvel fan, "the place to be" is obviously Disney+, where you'll find the entire MCU Cinematic Universe.

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