Brightburn Flies Up, Up, and Through

Brightburn (2019)

Brightburn is one of the best concepts for a movie this year. Unfortunately, it is over very quickly. At only an hour and a half, it breezes through the some potentially great horror/thriller moments. Besides the breakneck pacing, Brightburn was an interesting and entertaining ride about a family who finds an infant that crashes in their farm who grows up to have powers. It is a story we have all seen before in the form of Superman, but this time, instead of having a heart of gold and fighting for truth, justice, and the American way, this kid fights for himself. Brandon, played by Jackson Dunn, quickly discovers his powers and then decides that he doesn’t need to listen to anybody, which is honestly how I would react if I had powers. Where he and I diverge is the amount of killing. Brandon kills anybody who crosses him, while I would just walk away, impervious to whatever they try to do. When Brandon goes off, it is brutal. He pulls no punches and Dunn does a fantastic job of playing a mentally unstable boy who can’t handle rejection. He is completely believable, with his wry smile after every bad deed. In fact, the entire cast acts very realistically. Everyone has very human responses to something completely inhuman. There aren’t many surprises if you know the Superman story, since it is just the opposite of Superman, but there is enough violence and humor to keep the audience entranced. Brightburn got me very excited for a future Netflix show, Jupiter’s Legacy, which will have the same writers, Brian and Mark Gunn. Jupiter’s Legacy, like Brightburn, is a superhero story that subverts the expectations of traditional comic stories. Overall, Brightburn was a creative movie that didn’t quite meet its potential. I give Brightburn #53 of Superman #75 (this one is for the nerds).