Brightburn (2019)

A horror flick from director David Yarovesky and producer James Gunn

Brightburn explores the concept of a child gifted with superpowers—one who lands on Earth from another planet, though instead of becoming a hero, he turns out to be quite sinister, I suppose.

Trailer with US subtitles:



Screenwriters: Brian Gunn, Mark Gunn

Cast: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Meredith Hagner, Matt Jones, Jennifer Holland, Emmie Hunter, Steve Agee, and Gregory Alan Williams

So—basically, it’s an evil Superman.

A total Supervillain...

The trailer looks solid enough, I guess, but let’s be real—you just can’t judge a movie by its trailer these days.

His ship's gonna be pumping out all these instructions, and then his parents are gonna realize they gotta scrap the whole thing just so it doesn't rot his brain. ☕

The good son meets Superman. I honestly don't know how else to put it.

It’s such a bummer when they opt for cheap production values that force a movie into this strict horror box. Honestly, I would’ve been way more into seeing an evil Superman played out as an action drama instead of leaning so hard into the horror tropes. I was picturing something with the vibe of Chronicle, just with a massive Hollywood budget behind it.

Sure, I’ll admit *Chronicle* was a decent enough flick.
It isn't that the core concept hasn't been touched before—it definitely has—but I don't think anyone has truly dug deep into its potential yet.
That being said, this opening feels like a total rip-off of the *Superman* origin story to me.

From what I can gather, nothing is slated until June 2019.

rowdyotter12 said:Sure, I’ll admit *Chronicle* was a decent enough flick.
It isn't that the core concept hasn't been touched before—it definitely has—but I don't think anyone has truly dug deep into its potential yet.
That being said, this opening feels like a total rip-off of the *Superman* origin story to me.

From what I can gather, nothing is slated until June 2019.

I think this movie is leaning hard into those Superman comparisons without even trying to hide it.

So, I wouldn't really call it a "rip-off."

rowdyotter12 said:So—basically, it’s an evil Superman.

A total Supervillain...

The trailer looks solid enough, I guess, but let’s be real—you just can’t judge a movie by its trailer these days.

Like we ever could. 🍿

Who was watching?

The concept is solid, the movie is alright, but the story just falls flat... 😁

The concept itself is honestly great, but the execution just doesn't hit the mark for me. I guess you go in expecting something much more substantial, but at the end of the day, you just end up with a total letdown.

Semi-spoilers? 🤔

It’s a wasted concept, plain and simple.

I would have found it profoundly more compelling to witness a granular "psychological transformation"—watching a sweet, unassuming little kid evolve into a dark triad supervillain, complete with all the nuanced triggers that could have ignited such a descent. Instead, we're just given a rushed, haphazardly executed transition. It would have been far more gripping to see a genuine internal struggle, a tug-of-war between whatever remnants of humanity he possessed and the cold-blooded psychopath who sits there calmly studying the anatomy of his victim.

Something about the untapped potential of this character reminded me of the unsettling ways certain children play with animals.

Ultimately, what I got was a horror flick that peters out into a sort of low-stakes joke, feeling much more casual and half-hearted than it ever should have been. Such a shame.

I guess... is this worth watching to pass the time, or should I probably just skip it?

Drew Long76 said:I guess... is this worth watching to pass the time, or should I probably just skip it?

It’s pretty mediocre—just way too many clichés.