I am rusty on reviews, so be kind with me.
The trailers for Brightburn has lead all of us to believe the movie is a retelling of DC Comics Superman origin, with a dark twist. Well, that is pretty much what we get in Brightburn. So, on the surface, people may not be attracted to this movie, is it a super hero type or is it horror…well, it is both.
Synopsis:
What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? With Brightburn, the visionary filmmaker of Guardians of the Galaxy and Slither presents a startling, subversive take on a radical new genre: superhero horror.
To try to not go in to spoilers in this movie, well it isn’t difficult to do, the trailers show you, kid has “Superman” powers and goes bad. But the journey and what he does is worth the price of the ticket. There is so much heart in this movie and so many “DAMN!” moments, you have to see the film.
I will say they are dangerously close to “Smallville” territory. There were moments that felt pulled from Smallville, the WB/CW show from 2001 to 2011. But, the question on most people’s minds were, what would happen if Clark went bad. In Smallville, there were times it seemed Clark was sent t rule over humans and he even felt superior. This movie, Brandon, the main character, knew he was superior. The ship he arrived in was in the barn and he was attracted to it, by the throbbing sounds of a foreign language. He eventually realizes what it is saying when calling out and that turns this 12 year old kid from, regular kid to…the bad guy.
Brandon Breyer, kind of shout out to Marvel as well, a bunch their heroes all have the same first and last initial. Like, Peter Parker, Scott Summers or Matt Murdock, I thought it was pretty cool. Because this movie has all of the tropes of a super hero origin. But the movie builds and builds and takes different turns that you may not expect. I think that is why the movie feels very Superman, and yet feels very original. There are times you think something is going to happen, then…nope.
The question I get, is it even a horror movie. Yes it is. It has some truly horrific things, some good gore moments that are call backs to other horror icons as well. One thing I kept thinking about, is how to stop this force in the movie. I guess you’ll have to find out.
The cast is rock solid, some familiar faces for fans of Slither, or the Office. Elizabeth Banks and David Denman are so good in the movie, but Jackson A. Dunn is wonderful in the part. At times it doesn’t seem like much, but he plays the part very well. The story is very good, like I said some, not really twists, but unexpected things happen. Also, there is heart in this movie…But, don’t get too comfortable…Which does happen.
IMDB.com has a rating of 6.5
I give Brightburn a solid 8.0, it is good for horror and superhero fans.
What if Superman realizes his power and he is superior?
One thing, I went with a “date” and she brought something up. She wanted more origin, wanted to know more about where he is from. I said Krypton, I thought that was funny. But I agree for another movie, where and why. I am glad they didn’t go deep into the character’s roots, it left me with my own imagination. I think a sequel and a prequel would be great. It just has to make enough money.
