Brightburn is a recent sci-fi / horror / thriller movie that appeared to be something i would enjoy. While I appreciate the anti-hero aspects of it, a lot of it doesn't make much sense and things became woefully predictable after a while. Even though I don't think this film is great, it isn't terrible either, and I may give away some plot stuff below. Therefore....
SPOILER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT
source
With an interesting story, a reasonably big budget, and some mid-card names such as Elizabeth Banks, this movie looked like it had some real potential. Unfortunately, it becomes kind of an eye-rolling experience after a while since so many of the surprise moments are predicated on really dumb situations such as "oh i thought my son that I am absurdly watchful over was in his room? You mean he isn't in there?" (actual situation that happens not once, but twice in this movie.)
The film starts out actually very well, as we are introduced to a wholesome family who lives a peaceful life in rural Kansas. The family seems normal enough, but the son (who is clearly the focus of the film - even early on) is a little bit socially awkward but also seems to be very gifted as a student.
We are taught with a few early instances in the film that there is a reason he is so smart, and his advantages are not limited to his intellect. We are shown that he has super strength when he severely injures another student. For me, this would be the end of the film.... but everyone just carries on as if it is not completely physically impossible for a 12 year old normal-sized kid to obliterate the bones in another student's hand using nothing more than a handshake. It's just dumb that they kind of treat this like a "boys will be boys" situation and no additional action is taken.
This film basically is the story of the TV show Smallville (which I liked) but done in a completely dark fashion. Also, a lot of it seems very rushed. The fact that Brandon (the young boy with the power) totally changed his entire attitude overnight is completely impractical, even for a super hero goaded by bullies and puberty: One minute he is a good boy that listens to his parents, respects his teachers, and tries hard to be respectful..... the next he doesn't give AF and basically wrecks anyone who gets in his way, including his own family who just 10 minutes ago he was treating with love and respect.
So overall, i was a bit disappointed with this film but can still applaud the fact that there is a superhero movie giving backstory to a villain although it does seem extremely rushed and at times, kind of dumb. If there is a tie-in to other superheros in some sort of trilogy, I can say that this was done well enough that I would be interested in seeing them.
I also don't much care for child actors and am very critical of them kind of across the board. I admit that his is a massive factor for me. Brightburn ends up being an incredibly predictable ride with a few shock moments that relied on gore and tension for effect rather than actually having good writing and direction. For the most part it ended up being quite average due to the rather impractical nature of the storytelling. While i realize that being a superhero at all is in itself impractical, the fact that Brandon was raised right doesn't meld well with the immediate "not giving a crap about authority or the love that exists in his family life" about-face that occurs far too quickly in this movie.
I think it takes the right kind of person to enjoy this film, and for me anyway, it missed the mark but just a tiny amount. It is still worth watching, but certainly not fantastic.