SiftPop

By Ben Davis

  Brightburn stars Elizabeth Banks and David Denman as Tori and Kyle Breyer, who from the start of the film appear to be desperately trying to start their own family. On one fateful night, a ship crash-lands on their farm with a baby boy inside it. They decide then to raise this boy an their own, but by doing so they may have unleashed a great threat to humanity as we know it. Brightburn asks one simple question: What if Superman wasn’t here to save the world, but to take it?

While they’re some cool concepts and things to enjoy about Brightburn, overall I was very disappointed with this film. Its premise is simple yet incredibly creative and it delivers based off of that idea; however, Brightburn lacks depth and character development, which made my experience feel as if I were just watching a really long and uninteresting short film. Like I said, this film isn’t all bad. The premise is very interesting and is a riff off of the Superman mythology that feels as if it should have already been an else-worlds graphic novel. It’s a brilliant premise that they do deliver on by showing just how easy it would be for a character as powerful as superman to wipe us all out.

Elizabeth Banks and David Denman are also great here, as they really embody the idea of a middle-American family. Banks and Denman are able to overcome a shallow script by showing their true horror once they realize what their son has become. It’s a testament to just how good these performers are. Jackson A. Dunn is also a standout as Brandon Breyer, proving to be both creepy and menacing once his powers and intentions take hold. Another big plus here is just how graphic Brightburn is. It perfectly executes its violence by not being in overdrive the entire film, but rather picking its moments wisely and turning the volume up to eleven when it’s most necessary. This leads to some very shocking moments that make the movie thrilling if only for a short while.

All in all though, this film really disappointed me. One of the many reasons is the short runtime. This film could have really benefited from a longer runtime showing more character work instead of just telling the audience how they should feel via exposition. Brightburn is also incredibly repetitive in its structure. The movie often shows the same scene in a different context over and over again, making the film seem way longer than its very short runtime would lead you to believe. These repetitive scenes could have really been moments for more character development.

  This leads me to my biggest issue with Brightburn: character development. Brightburn lacks depth and complexity, which leads to its character development suffering. Instead of showing us Brandon Breyer’s headspace and his reason for turning evil, it just sort of happens on a whim without any context as to why this would happen if he’s always been a very sweet and happy boy. It’s very frustrating because this idea could have been wonderful had the script been fleshed out a lot more instead of just relying on the same beats over and over again. It really made me not care for these characters at all when they go through the trauma of having some sociopath hunt them down because the script doesn’t give me a reason to care. It’s deeply disappointing because I’m such a huge fan of the creators behind Brightburn.

In conclusion, while they’re some bright spots in Brightburn—in particular the premise—I can’t really recommend this movie for a theater watch. It’s too short, very repetitive, and lacks character motivation/development. However, if you’re still interested in seeing this after all of this, I’d wait for streaming.

Grade: D