MRMOVIESETC
REVIEWS:
“Brightburn”
(2019)
"TAKE. THE. WORLD..."
I can already tell that I’m probably going to be nicer to
“Brightburn” than I should be based solely on the potential that this film had
on its own merit, and a teaser it contains for the future that could be so awesomely
bad-ass if given the chance to succeed.
I hope I don’t come to regret it.
***
So “Brightburn”, as anyone and everyone likely knows
already, is a graphic horror twist on Superman’s arrival on Earth, except this
cosmic visitor has a much different and darker destiny when it comes to his
superpowers. If this had been provided as a PG-13 romp instead of Rated-R, it
likely would have been pretty mediocre and generic; however, since they did go
more balls-to-the-walls and let a twelve-year-old kid seriously mess up some
people’s shit, it was decently entertaining.
You may have already heard that “Brightburn” doesn’t
exact carry a lot of depth, even for a horror film, and those rumors are
absolutely true. One could possibly argue that there’s a message behind the
curtain about how orphans that are adopted can come with special sets of unique
challenges due to multiple kinds of unstable backgrounds and upbringings, and
regardless of that possibility, they should be loved and nurtured
unconditionally no matter what. That, or, Brandon Breyer, the non-homicidal
half of the titular character, is merely a spawn of a hostile alien race bent
on death and destruction and nothing more. The audience can decide which one
better suits them. Personally, the latter is a lot more fun.
In the story-proper, Tori and Kyle Breyer (Elizabeth
Banks & David Denman), are a married couple in rural Kansas that have been
trying desperately to conceive a child, but as of yet, they have been
unsuccessful in doing so. One evening before another round of conception
ceremony can begin, a strange foreign object crashes on their property. After
inspection, the Breyers discover a tiny spacecraft containing what appears to
be a human infant. Clearly alone and defenseless, the Breyers take the child in
to raise him as their own.
For the first twelve years, the family grows and prospers
really well together. Brandon is a friendly and highly intelligent pre-teen
that Tori and Kyle couldn’t love more if they tried. However, on said twelfth
birthday, the vessel that Brandon arrived in and has been locked away in
storage by Tori and Kyle comes back to life and begins creepily communicating
with Brandon’s mind; ushering in a darker and insidious nature within him that
quickly escalates to Brandon committing one grisly murder after the next to
those that cross his path in a way that he doesn’t like.
There’s obviously a little more that comes along and
occurs in the Third Act, but seeing as the plot is already thin, I’ll keep the
rest out of here.
The question of course now is – does “Brightburn” work as
a horror twist on the superhero genre? For the most part, I think I can say “Yes”.
I’m still on the fence as to whether or not it’s so much good as it is an intriguing
curiosity. The pacing is certainly fine and consistent, and some of the kills
were pretty awesome, too. There was one in particular involving glass that,
while I won’t spoil the body part involved, pushed all of my squeamish buttons.
Sincerely, it takes a lot to get me unsettled in my chair, and that scene got it
done almost embarrassingly easy.
The acting was decent as well, with Elizabeth Banks
carrying the bulk of the load as the believably devoted mother to Brandon.
Speaking of Brandon/Brightburn, Jackson Dunn turns in a respectable performance
as the kind child-turned-killing machine. He’s especially effective during his
quieter moments when he has to use icy facial expressions to portray his
burning menace. There are some areas that he still needs to grow in, though
should this turn into some sort of series in the years to come, I believe he’ll
do just fine.
Bringing me to my next point, I couldn’t help but feel
that, despite being as violent and gore-heavy as “Brightburn” is, that Brian
and Mark Gunn pulled some punches in the screenplay for the sole purpose of
being able to up the ante in coming sequels. As I mentioned before, there’s a
pretty killer tease in the final seconds of the film that point to a
potentially batshit crazy sequel that I’m totally on-board for. When you think
about it, that’s not an entirely illogical approach as long as the intention is
to continue bringing the unhinged carnage in order to take Brightburn’s world
to the next level.
Part of me wants to be a disappointed that this kickoff
feature left me hungrier than I’d rather be after a thrill ride. Taking the
recent first half of “IT” for example, sure, it made me super anxious for the
second chapter in September, but it stands tall as its own film to fill the
time between releases. As a piece of the whole, “Brightburn” might fit in
cozily with those that may come later, but by itself, it’s not quite something
that I can enjoy with multiple views.
Still, it brings a brisk and brutal turn to a cinematic
landscape saturated with comic book films, so it’s a welcome change
nonetheless.
“Brightburn”: 7/10
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