The Superpowered Detective Story That's Heating Up On Netflix

Superhero and detective movies are among the most popular genres around, so it seems that Netflix and director Douglas Attal decided to combine the two. Early indications are that they're seeing great success.

Originally released in France in 2020, "How I Became a Super Hero" centers on detectives Gary Moreau (Pio Marmaï, dubbed by Shayn Herndon in English) and Cécile Schaltzmann (Vimala Pons, dubbed by Alexis Sterling in English), who both live in a world where superpowered individuals live among normal people. However, they come across a case where normal people are using mysterious drugs to gain superpowers of their own, leading to crime and new ethical questions about who deserves to have powers.

Now, with the movie having debuted this past weekend on Netflix, a much wider audience is able to experience the superhero origin story and crime thriller, opening it up to the international market for the first time.

Despite a small amount of press around the movie, "How I Became a Super Hero" has joined "Mother's Day," "Fear Street: Part One," "Major Grom: Plague Doctor," and "Fear Street: Part Two" as one of the most popular new releases on Netflix. Although the film now has increased attention, few critics outside of France have managed to review the movie yet. Thus, one of the best remaining places to get a pulse on the public's reception to the film is IMDb's user ratings page, which contains just over a thousand ratings for the movie and 24 written reviews.

Many users compared the film to another Netflix superhero movie, 2020's "Project Power," which similarly features a drug that grants its users superpowers. ladymidath gave the movie 10 out of 10 stars, writing, "All the characters are interesting and believable in their roles. The action is good, but still allows the story to breath. The quieter moments are just as interesting and never become boring. This is a welcome change from the dark, 'all superhumans are evil,' trope like Invincible and The Boys, and the lighter, 'all superhumans are good and noble like that in many DC and Marvel comics and films." jfriedewald also praised the film, noting the cast's chemistry and sense of humor as something that sets the movie apart from typical comic book adaptations.

"How I Became a Super Hero" is now available to stream exclusively on Netflix.