Super-héros malgré lui

Super-héros malgré lui

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	2021
Founder	Philippe Lacheau (director and co-writer)
Products	Superhero comedy film

Super-héros malgré lui (; also known under the titles Superwho? and Badman) is a 2021 French superhero film comedy film directed by Philippe Lacheau, who collaborated on the script with Julien Arruti, Pierre Dudan, and Pierre Lacheau. The cast features Philippe Lacheau, Tarek Boudali, Julien Arruti, Élodie Fontan, Alice Dufour, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Amr Waked, and Georges Corraface. It had its initial screening on 14 November 2021 in Sarrebourg before being released nationwide on 2 February 2022.

Plot

Cédric Dugimont is an actor struggling to find work, mostly appearing in commercials for small-sized condoms. He unexpectedly lands the starring role in a superhero movie titled Badman after the original lead passes away suddenly.

Following rigorous preparation, Cédric begins shooting alongside celebrated actor Alain Belmont, who portrays Badman’s adversary, Clown. When Cédric’s father Michel, a police chief, suffers a collapse, Cédric rushes him to the hospital using the Badmobile. However, a malfunctioning prop explosive causes a crash into a bank, leaving Cédric unconscious and amnesiac. Upon awakening and seeing the movie props, he believes himself to be Badman and assaults two police officers before vanishing.

A family takes him in for the night. Mistaking a prerecorded scene on his prop watch—depicting Clown holding Badman’s wife and son hostage—for reality, Cédric sets out for Clown’s supposed hideout in Vaucresson, which is actually Belmont’s residence. Along the way, he catches a ride with reporter Laure Laville; they divert to cover a bank robbery by Le Schizo and his crew.

When one of the robbers attempts to abduct Laure, Cédric intervenes and incapacitates him before leaving Laure behind. Pursued by Le Schizo’s gang, Cédric infiltrates Belmont’s mansion during a birthday celebration and uncovers that Badman’s family are actually Belmont’s wife and son. He kidnaps Belmont’s child but is rendered unconscious by Michel, who then allows him to escape after recognizing him.

Cédric’s sister Éléonore and his friends Adam and Seb take him to the studio to help restore his memory. As his recollections return, Le Schizo confronts him over the failed robbery attempt. Employing a grappling hook, Cédric disarms Le Schizo and defeats him after an intense struggle, leaving him for Michel and the police to arrest.

The following day, Cédric reunites with Laure, his ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile, news breaks that Tom Cruise was accidentally shot during filming of a Mission: Impossible sequel. At the premiere of Badman, Cédric acknowledges his retired father. The story concludes with Badman triumphing over Clown and rescuing his family.

Production

Shooting commenced in August 2020 throughout locations in Île-de-France, such as Rueil-Malmaison, Hauts-de-Seine, Gif-sur-Yvette, Mennecy, and Essonne.

A particular scene depicting an accidental shooting nearly faced removal due to its resemblance to the 2021 Rust shooting incident where Alec Baldwin unintentionally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Julien Arruti, co-writer and actor, explained that this scene had been penned two years earlier and therefore remained included.

Release

Super-héros malgré lui debuted on 14 November 2021 in both Sarrebourg and Strasbourg, followed by its general release across France on 2 February 2022. The film was introduced to Japanese audiences on 15 July 2022 under the title Badman: Shijōsaitei no Superhero (バッドマン 史上最低のスーパーヒーロー).

Box office performance and critical response

Upon its release, the movie secured the top position in the French market, with 142,435 admissions recorded across 688 cinemas. Globally, it amassed a total revenue of 14,770,359.

The critical feedback was varied; AlloCiné assigned it a rating of two and a half stars out of five, based on evaluations from 19 critics.