Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Director: David Yarovesky
Quick Impressions:
What if Superman were evil?
That’s the question Brightburn asks. My question is, “Why has no one made this movie before?” Maybe someone has. I mean, yeah, yeah, sure, we all know Superman can temporarily be turned evil (sometimes by accident, sometimes by design, usually by weird Kryptonite). And even casual DC readers are vaguely familiar with Bizarro (and possibly Supermany antithetical others). But the dramatized versions of these storylines are usually kind of silly in execution. As my husband put it, “In the movies, evil Superman is usually just grumpy.”
When we first saw the trailer for Brightburn, we were hooked instantly. The concept requires no explanation. We see a farmhouse, a couple cradling a space baby, a boy whose eyes turn an ominous red, a mysterious caped figure who crashes planes, and we understand immediately. Evil Superman origin story. Sounds cool. (Superman is so iconic, he can almost be treated like a real historical figure, and Brightburn‘s use of all the right iconography signals that this is a “what-if” story, like, “What if the Nazi’s won World War II?” This is, “What if the hero who came from space had been evil right from the start?”)
Part of me deeply regrets that DC didn’t jump on this concept of an evil young Superman and use this movie to reboot the character. Instead, rumor has it that they’re preoccupied by the question, “What if Batman were a sparkly vampire?” We’ll see how that works out.
When Zack Snyder wanted to be dark and edgy, it’s too bad he didn’t ask, “What if Superman were evil?” instead of, “What if Superman just wanted to be a fisherman or something?”
I wish (so hard!) that Brightburn were the first film in a rebooted Superman franchise. Imagine if this boy weren’t Brandon Breyer but the equally alliterative Clark Kent. (It’s pretty easy to imagine. That’s the whole point. He’s probably even named after Brandon Routh, the Christopher Reeve lookalike from Superman Returns.) Imagine. Clark spends his adolescence struggling with his emerging impulses, powers, and identity. He murders a bunch of people and turns into an evil villain from a horror movie. (Spider-Man doesn’t stop the man who kills Uncle Ben? Well, Superman straight up murders George Kent, Krypton-style, then blames a tornado for his father’s death and collects the life insurance.) But as Clark matures, he gets a grip on himself, regrets his youthful mistakes, and tries to atone for his evil past by dedicating the rest of his life to helping and protecting humanity. That’s a dark new take on Superman that would actually captivate audiences.
As is, Brightburn might actually be the first film in a new franchise of its own. I would watch another of these for sure (but it had better go somewhere!) Of course, this is equally likely to be a standalone film. It works either way.
I also want to see Booksmart superbad (hahaha), but my husband and I were so excited for this Evil Superman story that we actually paid money to secure advance seats instead of using MoviePass and taking our chances day of. (Yes! We still use MoviePass. Maybe we’re crazy, but we prepaid for another year, and we’re already in the black again with seven months left to go. I guess we live in an alternate reality that explores the question, “What if MoviePass worked?” For us, it does.)
Brightburn is not a breathtaking masterpiece, perhaps, but it delivers exactly what the trailer promises. Evil young Superman. Some mysterious figure with a cape is murdering people at random with his supernatural space powers? Well, what did you expect? This isn’t Smallville. It’s Brightburn. (Didn’t you watch the trailer?) That’s not a S-shape that actually means “hope.” It’s a B-B-shape that actually means “entrails ahead.”
Brightburn also seems to be a cautionary tale about parenting choices and being careful what you ask for. While you watch, it’s pretty hard not to think about current events and buzzy social issues. I wish it pushed a little harder on the questions it raises, but at least it does a better job raising questions than the Breyers do raising Brandon.
The Good:
All the Breyers want is to be a “normal,” complete American family. They long for a baby. They pray to God, to the universe, to anyone who will listen. (“Maybe next time, limit it to God,” you’ll want to advise.) Once they acquire said baby, they put their all into raising him. They try so hard to be good parents, and they fail spectacularly. (I hear Homer Simpson’s voice in my head now. “The lesson is, never try.”) So they aren’t perfect. So they make a few wrong choices with their kid. So they leave a creepy spaceship hidden beneath a trapdoor in their barn. What’s the worst that could happen?
This is my America.
Back in 1938, our Superman seemed like the answer to Hitler’s twisted version of Nietzsche’s Übermensch. (Well, “seemed like,” is perhaps putting it too mildly.) We were Americans. Our heroes were good. (It was easy to be the good guys. The Nazis set the bar pretty low.) We were a country that was on track.
But yeah, now, things are not so great. We wish it were the wolf at the door because we know all the chickens are in pretty rough shape. We don’t have each other’s backs. Kids bully each other. Our boys don’t seem to understand consent, and girls who are harassed have little recourse. We’re pretty sure kids shouldn’t have guns, but at least the adults who have a right to bear arms know how to use them to protect us…right? And maybe not everyone is kind to refugees, but we know that taking them in and treating them as our own is always a good decision…right? And above all else, we need to stay true to our nature because everything’s working out for the bees…right?
What I see in Brightburn is a pretty clear representation of Americans’ current moral muddle over everything. Anybody who has the internet knows that contradictory advice is out there. If you ever worry that what you’re doing is wrong, within seconds, you can use the internet to confirm that it is. And if you know in your heart that a particular take on a political issue is wrong, deeply wrong, then rest assured that somebody else knows with equal certainty that your opposing take is also wrong, deeply, deeply wrong. (And dangerous, too!) What’s the right thing to do? Well…
Everybody’s probably going to die pretty soon, so….
Yeah, this movie may not be the Superman we want, but it’s definitely the Superman we deserve. It’s like the Superman created by Gen X and passed on to succeeding generations. Things aren’t going so well here? America’s in peril? Don’t worry. Somebody’s coming from the sky…to kill us all. (Sure, drink and drive. Why not?)
The movie also really highlights how difficult it is to be a woman. When you can’t have a baby, you’re implicitly a failure. (That’s how society often makes you feel, without even trying, and you internalize it.) Just look at all the books on the Breyers’ shelf. Or go to the bookstore looking for books about infertility. The genre, at least, is fecund. Fear sells.)
Then once you become a mother, you’re doing it wrong. You’re a bad mother. And when they really want to twist the knife, you’re no mother at all.
Also, you’re a young girl being stalked and harassed. Nobody does anything. The authorities act like you are crazy. The burden of proof is on you. Then somebody hurts you, really hurts you. And what kind of punishment does he get? Well, I mean, he’s young. It’s a youthful mistake. To get the law involved, he would have to do something much more serious.
And it isn’t much better for the men. Time and again in this movie, we get an illustration of how confusing and difficult it is to be a father, to know the right way to raise a son. Here’s the Kyle Breyer method of parenting. Something wrong with your son? 1) Give him candy? 2) Don’t let him play with guns 3) Vaguely encourage him to play with himself 4) Spoiler. It’s hard to establish clear boundaries when the rules are always changing.
Without giving spoilers, I can’t really elaborate on this final point, but we also see what happens to police officers who do their jobs.
This is basically a damned if you do, damned if you don’t world. Have you heard about a controversial topic in the news? Brightburn assures you that no matter which side you choose, you’re probably wrong, and you’ll definitely die horribly.
So it’s a cool movie in that way. It also raised another question that I wish it would have explored a bit more. As a mother, I thought, “Okay, this movie is asking me, if you had to choose between your own child and humanity, which would you choose?” (I think she makes the wrong choice. This woman is too impulsive. That’s her problem.)
It’s strangely entertaining (and delightfully frustrating) to watch these adults consistently make bad choices. I think both Breyer parents definitely make a huge, huge mistake. But I’m also amazed by the other adults in Brandon’s life (especially his aunt and uncle) who for some reason fail to take him seriously. His aunt’s lack of judgment is especially egregious. The district must be really desperate if she is their only counselor. The red flags she ignores are kind of staggering.
I kept saying to my husband after the movie, “Leave superpowers out of it. His behavior becomes extremely disturbing, and no one is taking him seriously enough. An unremarkable twelve-year-old boy is perfectly capable of being dangerous, especially if a woman is completely alone with him in the middle of nowhere.” (I’m also confused about why his aunt finds it so “inappropriate” for him to show up at her house. She’s his mother’s sister. He’s her nephew.)
Elizabeth Banks is the only star in this movie. (I vaguely recognize several other actors, but they’re not even close to her in name recognition and star power.) She gives a good performance, but I wish we got a closer, deeper look at the character. David Denman is really good as her husband/Brandon’s father. He gets several hilarious lines and many engaging moments. (I died laughing when he wondered what they would tell a therapist about where they got him.) Matt Jones (whom I’ve definitely seen in stuff) and Meredith Hagner are good as the aunt and uncle. And Becky Wahlstrom (also a familiar face) is also good as Erica’s mother. I loved Gregory Alan Williams as Sheriff Deever. (I know I’ve seen him in stuff, but except for Banks, this entire cast just has a vague, hauntingly familiar quality.) Young Jackson A. Dunn makes a fittingly creepy Brandon.
Leaving all the other philosophical questions aside, you can also view Brightburn as a metaphor for the struggles of adolescence and the difficulty of parenting a kid through puberty. I do feel Brandon is misunderstood, and I think the movie shows pretty convincingly that corporal punishment doesn’t work. (But, then again, nothing works, because we’re all doomed, so…)
Best Scene:
The most significant scene is certainly the entomology talk in the science classroom. Pay close attention to what Brandon says about bees and wasps. His thoughts here are the only answer we’re going to get about a lot of things.
Funniest/Not Funniest Scene:
Kyle’s fumbling spiel in the woods has got to be one of the most awkward versions of “the talk” I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s so hilarious, but also, right away, gives us grave feelings of misgiving. So Dad, next time if you’re trying to talk to your son about sex, listen to what he says back to you. If it doesn’t seem to be going well, maybe you need to talk some more.
Best Action Sequence:
I like the final father/son bonding time sequence. This unfolds almost like a very early Disney movie. You watch and think, “Hmm, there could be worse ideas than this, but I sure can’t think of any.” Probably Kyle’s own dad felt similarly awkward about giving “the talk,” so when he sensed Kyle was becoming a man, he just sat him down in front of a VHS of Old Yeller and hoped for the best.
Best Scene Visually:
Two related scenes stand out to me. The first is the initial visit to a classmate’s room, and the second is the part in the diner that we see briefly in the trailer. (Thanks, trailer, for letting me know what to expect, so I could strategically half hide my head inside my shirt during a particularly wince-inducing moment of gruesomeness!)
The Negatives:
What if Superman were evil? That is Brightburn‘s premise and plot, revealed by the trailer that goes on to show us snippets from practically every scene in the whole movie. Granted, the trailer scrambles events chronologically to retain some mystery. But very little of the finished film is not in there somewhere.
What would it be like if Superman were evil? What if the Kents adopted not a future hero, but a nascent sociopath with superpowers?
The question practically answers itself. We’re familiar with Superman. We know he came from space and grew up on a farm in Kansas. We know how sociopaths behave. As a result, there is nothing truly surprising about Brightburn. It’s entertaining, often scary, sometimes gruesome, occasionally funny. But surprising, it is not.
I found myself wishing the movie would give me a little more. It could either go slower and delve deeper or move faster and push further. It does neither. You already know exactly what you’re getting going in. And that’s exactly what you get, all right.
Also, some scenes are so much creepier and scarier than others. Instead of building, the intensity of the horror constantly goes up and down. Maybe this is so we have time to recover in the interval between horrific acts. As horror movies go, this may not be as scary as some, but it is about one-hundred billion times scarier than Us which we saw earlier this year. That new Annabelle sequel also looks scarier based on the preview, but this movie definitely is unsettling…in a way. (The kid is creepy, no question, but he doesn’t have any kind of element of mystery working for him. We know exactly what we’re dealing with here, Evil Superman.)
I also would have appreciated more of an explanation of Brandon’s origin, though I think his early monologue about insects gives us enough of the puzzle to come up with reasonably satisfying answers for ourselves. (This all puts a very eerie spin on praying, by the way. A theist would say, “See? She should have just prayed to God!” A certain type of atheist would smirk and reply, “See? This is what happens when somebody answers your prayers!” Similarly, someone could say, “See? This is why it is dangerous to take-in so-called ‘refugees’!” And someone else could reply, “No, this is what happens when we treat refugees the way we treat immigrants in America.”) (You can have a lot of fun debating abortion and a woman’s right to choose, too, if you find that fun.)
Brightburn certainly delivers what it promises, but, basically, in the end, that turns out not to be very much. We already know basically what would happen if young Superman were evil, and happen it does. The end.
I think the movie might work better for people who haven’t seen the trailer. Maybe in the future, someone will be channel surfing and encounter Brightburn accidentally at random. That person might enjoy an unfolding mystery that simply wasn’t there for me. (Then again, channel surfing is rapidly becoming a thing of the past and might not survive even until the end of this sentence.)
It might have helped the movie to withhold Brandon’s out-of-this-world origins from the audience until he discovers the truth himself. This would mean luring the audience to the movie in a different way, but that seems more than possible. In May, audiences are easily lured. Surely this weekend lots of people will be paying to see a completely unnecessary live-action remake of Aladdin (and I may even be among them).
Since my older son and daughter were also taken with the trailer, I should also mention that I think this movie would be too gruesome and frightening for my ten-year-old. She might eventually get to see it the, “Close your eyes! Now!” way, and I think she’d love aspects of it. But it is extremely gruesome in places. (And I find the implication of the thorough and calculated victimization of the Elizabeth Banks character very disturbing.)
My only other complaint is something Superman kind of glosses over, too. (But that was then!) As I watched the early scenes, I kept wondering to myself, “How on earth did they find a pediatrician without proper documentation of some kind?”)
Overall:
Brightburn would be better if it pushed harder, went further, gave us more. But it gives us exactly what we see in the trailer. (Exactly!) It presents a cool concept (reasonably well executed) that’s fun to watch, if occasionally a bit gruesome for my tastes. I liked the Billie Eilish song at the end, too. And I think the movie’s not nearly as taxing as, say, Batman v Superman.
