Brightburn (2019)
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Brightburn Movie Review
Brightburn is a 2019 superhero horror film directed by David Yarovesky and starring Elizabeth Banks. It’s such a good, hugely underappreciated flick.
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“Whatever you’ve done,
I know there is good inside you!“
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This is basically a darker version of Superman where a family adopts a kid who came from outer space, but eventually he starts a killing spree, and plans to conquer the world. Yes, first and foremost, I absolutely agree with the critics that the film never truly reached the greater heights that it was destined to reach as this premise alone is so damn superb and clever. They just did not include enough of amazing sequences to really cash in on the premise.
But still, I do not agree that it’s a weak movie because of that. It’s still a fine movie in its own right, and I’ll take an original superhero tale, a more subdued one, in favor of most Marvel or DC movies out there. And it is certainly beautifully subdued, and incredibly potent in its emotion. Following the parents, and especially the mother coping with the realization that her son is a monster was heartbreaking.
The movie cleverly explores adoptive families and alien cultures, and it’s thus rather sophisticated in that regard. The dialogue is stupendous, and all of the scenes surrounding the conversations about the kid were the best parts of the movie.
As for the action/horror department, it’s a mixed bag. Some sequences are incredibly powerful, and they actually make the kid rather scary and chilling, but overall more could have been done with it, but given the smaller budget, I am fine with what they achieved.
David Denman isn’t the greatest actor, and I feel that the father would have been a much more memorable presence had a better actor played him. The kid is actually fine for what he is, but this is Elizabeth Banks’ show and she killed it as this conflicted, wounded mother.
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Brightburn flies by how short and fun it is. The second half is clearly much more interesting than the slower first one, but the mystery aspect to it is great, and I found the gore excessive, but impactful nonetheless. The cheaper cape also somehow made it more realistic, and some of the scenes with him flying around were quite creepy.
Yes, watching Brightburn one can never escape the feeling that even more could have been done with this incredibly awesome premise. However, I disagree with the critics that that made the film weak as this is still such a good, very interesting and even sophisticated superhero horror hybrid, and I will take original superhero films like this one in favor of any Marvel or DC film out there. The dialogue is stupendous, some scenes are quite creepy, Elizabeth Banks’ performance is terrific and the movie potently showcases the mother’s conflicted reactions upon the realization that her child is a monster.
