What is it about the 2000s-10s that inspired many films about sick and dying kids? Perhaps the worldwide child mortality rate has dropped low enough that storytellers feel it’s the right time to talk about it, but regardless of the reason, they have the same familiar plotline– the diagnosis, the acting out, and finally, resolving whatever relationship the film is centered on in order to make things right. Death of a Superhero added animation representing the lead’s artistic outlet, but really, it’s still the same plot, graffiti’d on occasion. Still, the usual beats work because the film doesn’t try to manipulate huge melodramatic moments made to make the viewers cry. Instead, like the protagonist, it tries to keep things realistic, and maybe have some fun along the way. Death of a Superhero mostly pulls it off with its excellent cast.
"Pic sidesteps cloying sentimentality and heavy-handedness with the help of a solid cast."
— John Anderson
A dying 15-year-old boy draws stories of an invincible superhero as he struggles with his mortality.
While suffering from terminal cancer, a dying 15-year-old Don Clarke copes with his mortality through drawing an invincible cartoon superhero.
The tone shifts into a pretty strange third act. Yeah, okay, understandably, it would be nice to have experienced sex before dying, but it did feel very out of place when Don’s friends start to ask other people to have sex with Don. It’s a pretty strange shift in priorities, but thankfully, it got resolved in a fairly smooth way.
If they incorporated the animation and cartoon sublimation more in the story, this would have felt more memorable.
