Movie Review--Brightburn

". . . I know I'm something else, something superior."
--Brandon, Brightburn


Brightburn has the advantage of standing apart from many other movies in the superhero genre, merging an inverted version of the classic Superman story with a horror-slasher emphasis.  Some scenes even cleverly mirror specific moments in Man of Steel (a very underrated movie with the misfortune of being followed by several major misteps) before they head in a completely different direction.  In fact, I would recommend watching Man of Steel shortly before or after watching Brightburn.  Brandon, the malicious Superman-like being who arrives on earth in an alien vessel, is no Clark Kent!  Having a unique concept, however, does not elevate Brightburn to anywhere near the status of the best superhero/supervillain movies.  The film ultimately showcases an excellent idea that deserves a better delivery than the one it receives.


Production Values

Brightburn usually reserves its special effects for scenes involving dramatic kills, with the deaths becoming more frequent and violent throughout the second half of the movie.  The CGI is well-placed; instead of offering another effects-laden spectacle, Brightburn focuses more on the buildup to and the intensity of Brandon's misdeeds.  Because of this, the first half is very much a slow burn start to a story that eventually leads to brutal murders.  The performances, rather than the effects, carry the film prior to the deaths, also adding some needed weight when the violence begins.

Elizabeth Banks and David Denman contribute a great deal to the movie's successes, portraying parents (albeit not biological parents) whose dream of raising a child is threatened by Brandon's increasingly strange behaviors.  Their relationship as both lovers and concerned parents is realized rather well from the beginning onward.  Of course, without a solid performance from Jackson Dunn, who acts Brandon himself, the movie wouldn't even begin to take flight.  Thankfully, he plays the character with all of the curiosity and malice needed to make the most of how the script handles its evil Superman figure.  The script hardly gives him the material he needs to fashion a complex, deep character, though.


Story

Mild spoilers!

An extraterrestrial pod lands near the home of the Breyer family in Kansas, carrying an alien being that resembles an ordinary human baby.  Naming him Brandon, the couple raises him as if he is an adopted child, but he starts to act if he is drawn to a secret compartment in the barn concealing the ship.  He becomes deeply upset when he learns his true identity, but I will refrain from spoiling anything further!


Intellectual Content

For a film that is intended to defy genre norms, Brightburn doesn't develop its themes beyond the baseline, generic extent that is needed to even make the film an inverted Superman story.  There is so much more that could have been done with the character of Brandon.  Near the very end, he claims that he wants to do what is right, but there is scarcely any explicit internal conflict in the earlier scenes, and it is unclear if he was merely lying.  Brightburn would have greatly benefited from a deeper examination of what it means for someone with the powers of a superhuman savior figure to fall into darkness or be born a psychopath.

Some people erroneously think that a natural orientation towards their values (i.e. a conscience that leans in a specific direction) is etched into the minds of all intelligent creatures, when humanity itself has always been in significant moral disunity in large part due to the utter subjectivity of conscience.  If even humans do not share the same value frameworks, it should not be surprising for another species, hypothetical or actual, to have different values or disregard human preferences regarding the use of its abilities.  The film simply neglects the most significant ramifications of its central premise.


Conclusion

Brightburn might fall short as far as its thematic content is concerned, but it might still be worth watching for anyone who wishes to see a brutal, unconventional take on the Superman story.  It is the execution that falters, not the conceptual foundation, as the latter is quite strong.  Indeed, one of the only aspects of Suicide Squad that is in any way noteworthy (in a positive sense) is the reason Amanda Waller wants to form her team: she wants to have a defense force ready in case another Superman appears and does not share the values of comtemporary America.  It took a group outside of DC to make a movie that actually depicts that idea!  Given that a credits scene sets up characters for possible sequels and that the movie has certainly not exhausted the potential for Brandon as a character, we might soon see a Brightburn cinematic universe that rectifies some of its initial mistakes.


Content:
 1.  Violence:  Several scenes are fairly gruesome, far exceeding the violence in a typical superhero or supervillain film.  In one scene, a woman's eye is pierced by a glass shard, which she pulls out, producing blood.  In another scene, a man's jaw is slammed so hard against a steering wheel that it hangs in an unnatural manner.  Some of the kills are quite bloody!
 2.  Profanity:  Multiple characters utter "shit" or variations of "fuck."
 3.  Sexuality:  The opening scene shows Brandon's "parents" engaging in foreplay.  Later on, Mr. Breyer discusses sexuality with Brandon in a very open manner and in a surprisingly positive way, but his explanation is very sexist, as it describes men as having inherently high sex drives by virtue of being men and also ignores female sexuality.  Numerous societal and individual problems have been created as a result of these two myths about sexuality.