For those of us who grew up during the age of Spy Kids or The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, we fell in love with the kid action genre that Robert Rodriguez was creating. I was 12 when Spy Kids came out, and if I could figure out how to be a spy with a cool tree-house safe home, I’d do it.
What I didn’t realize was that the genre would still hit home as an adult. Watching 2020’s We Can Be Heroes had me giddy for the world of the Heroics and the stories still left to be told. And now, we are getting a sequel to the Netflix movie, and honestly, GOOD. When I spoke to Robert Rodriguez about the movie, I even asked about a spinoff series with these characters because it is an incredibly rich world to play in, and Rodriguez loves to bring his characters into different genres. (I’m thinking specifically of Danny Trejo in the Spy Kids movies, who is, in fact, the same character from Machete.)
So why am I telling you all of this? BECAUSE YOU SHOULD WATCH We Can Be Heroes IF YOU HAVE NOT. The movie is just fun! It’s about a group of kids learning that they have to take over and fix the world their parents left behind, true to real-life, honestly. But they step up and be the heroes that the world needs because that’s what kids are forced to do.
Leading the charge is Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin), who doesn’t have powers but takes over as the leader of the kids’ group, just like her father Marcus (Pedro Pascal) does with the Heroics. And look, it’s great for adults to watch too, because it makes us realize the stuff we do does impact the younger generation.
Though we think we’re helping and we’re trying to make a change, that next generation has to continue it on and fix whatever we get wrong. It sucks, but that’s how life is, and I think We Can Be Heroes does a great job of reminding us that kids are strong, too, and they recognize what’s wrong with the world and how to make it better.
And honestly, who doesn’t want to see more of these superheroes? There is still so much to see from each of these characters, and even Rodriguez himself said he has more ideas and stories to tell, so … let’s do it!
Again, I was a teenager when The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl came out, and even at the age of 14, I still thought it was cool, so … yeah, I like watching movies that Robert Rodriguez makes. They’re fun, these characters still have a lot to do and a lot of stories to tell, and if it gives me Pedro Pascal as a superhero dad some more, then I’m sold.
(image: Netflix)
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