We Can Be Heroes

When alien invaders abduct Earth's superheroes, the planet is left without its defenders. The children of the captured heroes are taken to a government safe house, since they too possess extraordinary abilities. Unwilling to wait while their parents remain prisoners, the kids plan an escape and train for a rescue mission, learning along the way that their individual powers only add up to something useful if they can function as a team.

Robert Rodriguez directed and wrote the screenplay, and produced it with Racer Rodriguez. It is the twenty-first of the twenty-four films he has directed in chronological order, arriving between Alita: Battle Angel in 2019 and Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles in 2021. The cast of forty-five credited performers is led by YaYa Gosselin as Missy Moreno, alongside Lyon Daniels, Andy Walken, Hala Finley, Lotus Blossom and Dylan Henry Lau as the young heroes.

Released on 25 December 2020 and running 97 minutes, the film mixes action, comedy, family and fantasy. On IMDb it holds a rating of 4.7 from around 19,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.9 from 831 votes. A critics' rating of 6.1 from 46 reviews places it somewhat above the audience scores on both platforms, though all three measures point to a modest overall reception.