The superhero bubble has been predicted to burst for well over a decade at this stage, but it’s beginning to look more likely than ever when the previously-impervious Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken more hits in the last 18 months than it did in its first 14 years.
Underwhelming reactions to the likes of Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law to name but a small few has seen Kevin Feige’s all-conquering franchise come under heavy fire for the most sustained period in its existence, but Smoking Causes Coughing could be just the tonic.
The farcical French fantasy released in local theaters last year, but it’s coming to domestic shores at the end of this month. Once you hear what it’s about, though, you may realize that any talk of the costumed crimefighter genre being taken round the back and put out of its misery is well wide of the mark.
In what’s a 100 percent accurate description of the events that unfold, a team of five heroes known as the Tobacco Force (who are all named after different types of cigarettes, because why not) lose a catastrophic battle to an evil turtle, which forces them to be sent on a mandatory retreat to work on their personal, professional, and superheroic issues.
Naturally, the Emperor of Evil Lézardin decides to show up at the most inopportune moment, forcing the Tobacco Force to get back together quicker than they would have liked to take down the omnipotent enemy and save the world from complete and total destruction. Just like that, the superhero film has been saved.