230. Brightburn; movie review

BRIGHTBURN
Cert 15
90 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong gory injury detail, violence, language

Gosh, I am so fed up with movies about characters with extraordinary powers.
Brightburn offers a different dimension in its attempt to turn the superhero genre on its head but it still failed to ignite my interest beyond a flicker.
This is the Superman story if the alien child had been a destroyer rather than saviour of society.
David Yarovesky's film stars Jackson A. Dunn as Brandon Breyer, the boy from outer space who is taken in as one of their own by a couple (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman) who are desperate to have a child and see his arrival as fate.
He is a smart and sweet boy but when he hits puberty a rage grows within him.
And nobody is safe - from his school crush to his mum and dad - get on the wrong side of Brandon and there will be trouble ahead.

On the plus side, Banks is in fine form as his 'mum' who, despite growing evidence, refuses to turn on her boy.
Meanwhile, Denman is a picture of incredulity as his dad when he realises that the alien who they gathered from a UFO isn't a normal human child.
I was equally astonished that he was so surprised.
I digress.
Dunn is the star turn as the deadpan Brandon whose favourite answer to even the most devastating scenario is at monotone "ok".
Nevertheless, Brightburn just didn't grab. Brandon's violence is predictable and its gore overplayed.
So, be warned, it is not for the usual under-12 superhero market.

Reasons to watch: A villain with super-powers certainly makes a change
Reasons to avoid: Doesn't grab as much as it should

Laughs: None
Jumps: Two
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? There is no such place as Brightburn but there is a Brightburn School in Nairobi, Kenya.

The final word. Writer, Brian Gunn: "There’s a long tradition in comic books of superheroes who are found out in the woods and taken in by some parents and raised as if it was their own. How would you pull off such a thing? Beyond that, what in these people made them so sure it would turn out so breezy." Slash film

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