Cinema HoundSniffing out great movies.
← Find more movies

We Can Be Heroes (2020)

100 min · Action, Sci-Fi, action comedy film, adventure film, family film, superhero film

Popularity5/5
12-month trend31k21kExpand

12-month trend

Monthly article views

31k02025-09: 23,922 views2025-10: 24,117 views2025-11: 28,192 views2025-12: 24,469 views2026-01: 31,461 views2026-02: 27,178 views2026-03: 28,949 views2026-04: 25,184 views2026-05: 21,743 views2026-06: 20,850 views2026-07: 23,055 views2026-08: 25,134 views
Sep24kOct24kNov28kDec24kJan31kFeb27kMar29kApr25kMay22kJun21kJul23kAug25k

2025-09 to 2026-08

The story

Missy Moreno is at home with her dad, Marcus, when they receive word to come to the rescue of heroes where Missy has to go with her father and be with other Heroics children. These children, each possessing unique and distinct abilities, watch the battle between the aliens and Heroics on television, which ends with the Heroics' capture. Upon discovering that a peer's drawings can predict the future, the children realize an alien invasion is imminent. They must hatch a plan to escape their confinement and work together to navigate the dangers of the situation while trying to stay safe and find a way to stop the threat.

Full plot (contains spoilers)

After being captured by the Heroics, a group of children with various superpowers—including super-strength, stretching, and time manipulation—are held in a facility. Missy Moreno joins them and, after realizing their peer Ojo's drawings predict the future, they plan an escape from a vault. They successfully flee to the home of Missy's grandmother, Anita, who is the Heroics' trainer. When aliens arrive, the children are sent through a tunnel and eventually reach a Mother ship. They discover that the 'alien' threat is actually a training exercise orchestrated by Ojo and Ms. Graneda to prepare them as the new Heroics. The children successfully deactivate the alien's rocket, and their parents emerge, revealing the ruse was to prepare them to save the world.

First release year
2020
Runtime (minutes)
100
Production countries
United States
Original languages
English
Directors
Robert Rodriguez
Writers
Robert Rodriguez · writer
Cast and characters
YaYa Gosselin; Lyon Daniels; Andy Walken; Hala Finley; Priyanka Chopra
Genres
superhero; science fiction; action; comedy
Themes
teamwork; destiny
Tone and mood
zany; imaginative
Setting
A training facility and a high-tech space station during a staged alien invasion.
Premise and plot tags
superhero; training; hidden identity
Source material / true-story basis
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl
Franchise connections
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl
Content notes
kid-oriented
Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its imagination and heart while noting its zany nature.
Reported review scores
Metacritic · score: 51 · scale: 100 · review count: 10
Production trivia
The film was the most-watched film on Netflix in 2021.; It was seen in 53 million households during the first four weeks.; The film was released on December 25, 2020, pushed forward from a January 1, 2021, release date.
Catalogue themes and tags

alien invasion

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

Your lists

Loading your lists…

Movie themes