5 Questions: Brightburn
There was a lot of hubbub on the interwebs about Brightburn when the first footage was shown from the 2019 film. I guess the progression for the superhero genre is entering its “they’re really bad guys now” phase. We went from Christopher Reeve being the tighty whities hero, to Mike Keaton bringing some goth into it. Then we introduced heroes with flaws like RDJ and they quickly got darker and darker. So dark, that even our white bread Superman snapped a dude’s neck in public! So we’ve moved now to the point where our superbeings are just totally evil and murdering folks with their powers. Seems all rather depressing to me but watching Brightburn recently did bring about a few questions in my brain. Five to be exact….
1- As an “original horror concept”, is it really that original?
I’m gonna tell you right now that Brightburn isn’t original. Especially to anyone who has seen or thought about what Clark Kent would have been like if he had turned to evil instead of good. I much prefer Mark Waid’s comic Irredeemable to what this film does, but I guess it’s probably easier in the comic format than on film. Stories like this have been around for years, to be honest, and it’s usually much more exciting to see the story of a would-be superhero as a bad guy.
2- How does one fake an adoption so easily?
It can’t be this easy to just acquire an alien baby. I get that they found the little thing lying in an open field with no one around but you would think that somewhere down the line they needed a birth certificate or social security number. Martha and John Kent did this whole deal way back in the 1950’s or something, so I would give them the benefit of the doubt. In 2009, though, I don’t think so.
3- Is little BB just a product of his environment?
No freaking way! This little kid is surrounded by a loving family, which is something that can’t be said for a great many people. The one thing that kept Clark Kent from turning into a monster was the upbringing that he received from Ma and Pa Kent. I guess there’s something about the values taught growing up on a farm in Kansas by a couple of parents who have literally been begging for a child. I just wish there was a better explanation for why it is that little Brandon Breyer goes from loving little child to extreme psychopath.
4- Am I the only one who can’t unsee Roy whenever David Denman is on screen?
Consider it a good problem to have but I can’t see David Denman without seeing his character from The Office. I thought that he played a really good part in Brightburn and I enjoyed Elizabeth Banks, as well. They aren’t always on top of things when it comes to knowing whether their child is a complete murdering psycho, but at least they seem like they care.
5- Space alien tyrant or creepy little bastard?
There really is no twist to the movie when you go into it knowing that the boy is gonna turn out to be evil. The biggest question is whether or not he’s gonna get killed by someone in the end. For me, though, the story about where he came from and why he turns to evil and ruling the world is the interesting bit. Unfortunately, it’s also the part that doesn’t get much time. The film isn’t very long and probably could’ve used another 20 minutes or so. Movies like this normally have that Loomis character who delivers all of the exposition and I think Brightburn needed something like that.
