Brightburn

Who doesn’t like a good superhero origin story?

I love a good origin story. “Joker” is a wonderful origin story of a classic villain. “Batman Begins” shows the origin of Batman can his skill set. Star Wars Episodes 1-3 act as an origin story for Darth Vader, another classic villain in cinema.

But what about a twisted origin story? A “What If…” story, if you will. Superman has always been a classic example of a wholesome and selfless superhero. An alien, sent from a dying world and raised by a loving couple on Earth. A condition of being on planet Earth, young Clark Kent discovers that he has remarkable abilities that he chooses to use to benefit the world…

…but what if he didn’t? What if, when his powers develop, he realizes his superiority and chose to “take the world”?

Welcome to Brightburn County, Kansas, home of Kyle and Tori Breyer and their “adopted” son, Brandon. The Breyers found baby Brandon in the woods after a spaceship crash-landed. Around Brandon’s 12th birthday, Brandon starts to develop unusual powers such as super strength, super speed, heat/laser vision, and of course, the ability to fly which keeps them hidden from everyone.

Between an attempt to impress a girl he likes going wrong and his father denying him the shotgun that he was given as a birthday present, a deadly road is paved and blood and bodies are found at every stop along the way.

Armed with these new powers, a jaded Brandon Breyer dons a mask, a cape, and an accurate sense of superiority over all humans and begins a reign of terror. First in Brightburn and then the world.

I gave this movie a 9, with my only deduction being Originality. It’s clearly based on something else so that’s hard for me to give it a full 2, but with the strength of the rest of the movie, it has nothing to worry about. All of the characters play a part in the world around Brandon and they play it in a way that makes sense. If you were the mother, how would you react? How would the uncle react? A teacher? The mother of a girl who claims that you were hiding in her room? They all react in that anger or denial that one would suspect.

A great story with a logical ending of Brandon donning a mask and taking over the world. A very entertaining movie and I hope there is a sequel someday.