Brother From Another Planet Reviews

I liked it better than Starman. It wobbles a bit at the end, but overall it's both solidly funny and interesting.

This movie is like a combination of a 70s drug story drama, an early 60s sci-fi movie, and an 80s independent film. I didn't know what to make of it, and I wouldn't recommend it unless that weird description I just gave interests you.

Many will be discouraged to watch Brother From Another Planet simply because of the movie's premise and title. I'll admit that it doesn't exactly sound interesting, but if you're a fan of John Sayles, this is sure to be a delight.

The Brother (the silent lead character played by Joe Morton) is a walking metaphor. That much you can pick up on from about ten minutes in. But what exactly is he a metaphor for? Does he represent the slavery of the African-American race? Or does he truly represent an alien, in the most realistic sense of the word? Maybe he stands for both. But he's the good guy here, and despite his stoic nature, you learn to like him. Joe Morton does a great job in the role, really capturing as much of the emotion of the character without ever actually saying a word. It's pretty magical.

The plot develops as you would expect it to. This Brother is here to help and he can work wonders, almost Messiah-like. It all sounds pretty cheesy, but to watch it all unfold on the TV is something else. It's got some great scenes in it and the camerawork is great. I just liked the whole style of it in general. These kinds of low-budget films always seem to get to me. By the way, did you know that John Sayles financed this movie with some of his MacArthur Fellows 'genius' grant? Did you know that he was one of the few to be selected for that award? I mean, come on. That's pretty impressive.

The only problem that I had with Brother From Another Planet is that it became more preposterous as it went along. But it didn't do this at once, like go from 'normal' to 'crazy' with a single action. No, it builds slowly over the last half hour or so until it all just explodes in a ridiculously choreographed action scene. That's when I sort of lost interest. But thank God it was close to the end.

By saying this, I'm not at all dissing John Sayles. I think the man's a fabulous filmmaker, and Lone Star is really the only film of his that I've seen. I just think he could've patched the ending up a little bit better. Things would've been a little more enjoyable than they were, and that's why I didn't like Brother From Another Planet as much I wanted to. Part of me was saying 'Man, this is cool', while another part was going 'Seriously, man? This is ridiculous.'

But hell, I don't care. Watch this film. If you think it's stupid, turn it off. But try not to. Even if it bores you, just try to get interested. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn something.

"Brother From Another Planet" is not an important film or one that should even be sought out. But it's clever, well-made, and well-written, and if you have the time to watch a good movie, you've got my recommendation.

After I watched this movie, I looked it up online and was *shocked* to see it got a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, since my film major roommate and I were both very, very unimpressed with it. Everything about it said crappy movie, from the unfunny jokes to the bizarre jarring transitions (more than once we asked each other, "Wait - so what just happened there?"), sound effects that appeared to have nothing to do with what was actually happening, the three instances where women I didn't care about gave long monologues about guys they were involved with (that I also didn't care about)... Nothing in this movie made sense. I couldn't pull anything out of it to be impressed with. Knowing it was supposed to be some sort of comedy cult classic doesn't change my mind on this one, although it does make me wonder what everyone else is seeing that I clearly missed.

It was a decent movie. I just saw this movie. I cant believe I just saw young looking joe morton with dreads.lol But the movie is decent once you get in to it. I never heard of it till it came out tv late at night one day.

A very different kind of sci fi movie that is kind of dated. Joe Morton(Smallville and Eureka) gives an amazing performance as the main character and he does it all without uttering a line. Not one word. Bill Cobbs is also excellent in a small supporting role as he was very funny for the short time he was on screen. Just be prepared for those feet.

For what it is, it's well made. Put together on a very small budget, a classic really was born out of this one. And Joe Morton acting without speaking the whole time? Great performance. Loved the scenes at the pre-refurbished Ellis Island.

A unique blend of racial commentary and immigrant fable from John Sayles. Joe Morton's worldess performance carries an awful lot of weight.

This one was out on the fringe in the 80s and still feels it now. Notice the dating with the video games...only slows down a bit because of the "moral tale attached to it.

A deceptively intelligent "stranger in a strange land" story, with well-drawn characters and stylish villians.

The plot is strange and long, and the dialog-less protagonist doesn't leave a lot to desire. It does have an interesting concept, but it didn't deliver like I was expecting it would. The film has this dull feeling to it, but still manages to be watchable, and partially enjoyable.

An interesting, if sometimes confusing, look at our society through the eyes of an escaped slave from another planet. There's comedy, drama, and heart. Not quite as much of them as there could be, but just enough to keep you engaged.

It doesn't have much story and can get a little slow, but overall it's wonderful. It's really just a collection of scenes of people reacting to the brother, and the slave owners trying to track him down. It has a brilliant script, great dialogue, and very assured and well paced direction.

It's insightful, but Brother From Another Planet is instantly forgettable.

The outstanding Morton delivers a nuanced performance as a mute alien, masquerading as an unemployed black man in NYC, as he discovers what life in 80's is like. Light on the sci-fi the story is really charming as he bumbles around meeting kind folks who give him a role in the world. One of the best elements is the video arcade scenes that are hugely nostalgic and features a number of classic games. The poor quality picture can be distracting at first but stick with it and the story soon draws you in and from then on it hardly seems to matter.

A man flees his captors on another planet and pops up in Harlem. I thought the director did a phenomenal job on a shoestring budget. Nice message driven story with great camera tactics.

Awesome title. Bad movie

MST3K material. i am sure of it.

"Brother From Another Planet" is not an important film or one that should even be sought out. But it's clever, well-made, and well-written, and if you have the time to watch a good movie, you've got my recommendation.