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Join Telegram ChannelDaniel Brühl and Himesh Patel star in this behind-the-scenes satire of superhero movies, which unfortunately lacks the necessary bite.
The Americans have a good expression to sum up the lack of desire to know the manufacturing process of a product: “ I don't want to know how the sausage gets made. » Implied: “ Don't show me how it's done, I'd rather not know for fear of being disgusted. » The problem of The Franchiseis that everyone already knows more or less how the superhero sausage is prepared. Examined from every angle since the beginning of their reign over world cinema, the films of supermen regularly give rise to well-informed articles, where the slightest change in filming or production is examined. Anyone even the slightest bit interested in superheroes in cinema already has an encyclopedic knowledge of behind the scenes.
It is in this particular context that the new HBO series aims to mock the Marvel universe (while being careful not to draw on the DC Comics films, properties of Warner Bros., just like the damn inflated HBO) through the filming of 'A space opera devoted to a minor and perfectly imaginary superhero. The first fifteen minutes which tell the story of this little circus are rather amusing, and the reconstruction of the set of projects of this magnitude is close to perfection – take the word of a journalist who has visited several of them.
The problem is that The Franchise very quickly finds himself confronted with the banality of his satire and forced to tick all the expected boxes: the Shakespearean actor (here played by Richard E. Grant) who doesn't know what he's doing there; the indie director (Daniel Brühl, himself an MCU star) dispossessed of his film by an all-powerful producer; incel fans who can't stand a female character taking up too much of the screen; the cocked star (Billy Magnussen); the incessant script rewrites and compromises; the absurd product placements to please China (rather funny scene with a tractor to fit into the story); the cameo of a character decided at the last moment…
We know that all this is true, widely documented and perfectly absurd, and that the superheroic industry manufactures feature films and series like others manufacture clothing. fast fashion. Does that make it a good subject for good comedy in a world where The Boys taunts the same thing but without holding back?
Never hilarious – never catastrophic either – the series has a fairly impeccable cast who knows how to enhance conventional situations. This is very little coming from the producers Armando Iannucci (creator of the brilliant The Thick of It And Veep) and Sam Mendes (who is also directing the pilot), as well as shownrunner Jon Brown (notably passed through the writing rooms of Succession), visibly more gifted at ridiculing the powerful than men in tights.
The Franchise is a series that is easy to digest (the kind in which we languidly string together episodes hoping, without really believing in it, that a laugh will come), devoid of the artistic impulse that would justify its existence. Which is exactly what she accuses of her subject of mockery. Admit that it's a bit strong coffee.
The Franchise, eight episodes. To be seen from October 7 on the Max platform.