WE CAN BE HEROES

Yaya Gosselin, Lyon Daniels, Andy Walken, Hala Finley, Lotus Blossom, Dylan Henry Lau, Andrew Diaz, Isaiah Russell- Bailey, Akira Akbar, Nathan Blair, Vivian Lyra Blair, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Pedro Pascal, Adriana Barraza, Boyd Holbrook, Christian Slater, Christopher McDonald?
Directed by Robert Rodriguez.

This is a superheroes Jr!
Writer-director, music composer and, most especially for his films, editor, Robert Rodriguez has had a flair for almost 30 years for making genre films. But, to the point here, he has been interested in children’s films, especially with his series of Spy Kids.

He is aiming for the same audience here. But, he is moved on from the popularity of spy films and heroes to the world of the Superheroes. The trouble is that the adult Superheroes are not as effective as they used to be – and we see them, quite a variety of them, multi-ethnic, men and women, all with their superhero costumes, attempting to vanquish aliens but, in fact, all being rounded up and imprisoned in the spacecraft. There is some familiar faces here including Christian Slater, Boyd Holbrook and, as the leader, Pedro Pascal.

So, what is the world to do? The superheroes have children with powers – and it is entertaining as the screenplay shows each of the children exercising their powers, from the ability to sing low and high notes even beyond the human ear, to a boy who has the ability to elongate his arms, to a girl who draws, to a boy, Slo- Mo, who moves in slow motion, twins who clash but are able to reverse time, and so on.

Obviously, they have to band together, face the threat from dangerous aliens, be supervised by a sassy Miss Granada, Priyanka Chopra Jonas), be exhorted by the President of the United States (Christopher Mc Donald) do a lot of training (but with a lot of slapstick’s accidents at first), and take responsibility, especially with the leadership of Missy (Yaya Gosselin), daughter of the superhero leader, who works with her grandmother (and Adriana Barraza).

The children escaped from supervision, work out a way to get onto the alien spacecraft, leading to all kinds of confrontations and strategies, capitalising on the particular powers. In the meantime, the imprisoned superheroes can look on only by television, becoming more and more proud, of course, of their offspring and their achievements.

There are some twists, a spy amongst the children, the role of the President and Miss Granada, final achievement – and, affirmation of children as the future superheroes taking the place of their parents.


1. The title? The adult heroes? The children heroes? Superheroes Jr?

2. The target audience? The children’s audience? And not judging the film as an adult superhero story?

3. The setting, the American city, adults, their roles as superheroes, the children, their powers? The US president and government? The alien invasion?

4. The introduction to the adult superheroes, men and women, multi-racial, their costumes, seeing them all in action? The characters? Interactions? Their being captured and interned?

5. The children, their powers, gathered together, the authorities looking after them? Missy and her leadership, not having any power? Link with her father? The scenes with her grandmother? Her assuming leadership?

6. The range of children, their ages, their powers, Slo-Mo? and his slow motion running, the boy with the elongated limbs, the twins and their reversing time, the boy in the wheelchair and his knowledge, the girl and her singing, the girl and her drawing, the two boys, the one who should have been leader?

7. The training sequences, activities, clash among themselves, accidents? Missy taking them in hand?

8. Under supervision, Miss Granada, her authority, presence? The henchman?

9. The children escaping, the threats from the aliens, the appearance of the aliens, the spacecraft? Getting into the spacecraft, Slo Mo and his having to be rescued?

10. The children and their plans, Missy coordinating, some of the powers going skewiff? The presence of the president and his encouraging them? Their being discovered by Miss Granada, her being an alien? Then her being a benign alien and encouraging the children?

11. The activities, the relying on all the powers, the confrontation of the pyramid, the discovery of the drawing girl as a spy, her drawing the monsters, the children having to combat them, Missy on the elongated arm and her courage, the dropping of the battery into the water, Slo Mo and his rescue, the elongated arm, the split-second timing?

12. The revelation of the President and the associates as aliens? The revelation that they were benign aliens? Condemning the adults as ineffective, the next generation as being the saviours, the coming to earth to test the youngsters, the youngsters passing the test?

13. In the meantime, the adults all confined, grandmother having encouraged the children, being taken, everybody watching the events on a television screen? The parents’ pride in their children?

14. And the happy reconciliation at the end – and the children being available for any sequel to show that they could be heroes again?