2024 Show
Brad Falchuk & Byron Wu · United States of America · English, Korean
Surprisingly fun action punctuates a generally flat crime-comedy story
Buddy comedies, especially those that pair up total opposites, are almost guaranteed to be fun at the beginning, just from the surprise factor of having these personalities clash. But a show needs more than that to sustain interest, and The Brothers Sun just doesn’t fill out its characters enough beyond their respective archetypes within the first two episodes watched for this review. So far, this is a series that seems to be built around moments—in particular, the impressively choreographed fight scenes that communicate both peril and comedy—but without more substantial themes to prop itself up. It’s definitely slickly made and has production values to show off, but it can’t help but feel like it’s just ticking boxes.
When a mysterious enemy targets his family, a Taipei triad member heads to Los Angeles to protect his strong-willed mother and oblivious younger brother.
"The Brothers Sun has the perfect mix of comedy and drama. It’s a narrative about what’s expected, what can be endured and how much we are willing to give up so others can live out their dreams."
— Aramide Tinubu
A timid college student learns about his family's criminal history when his estranged brother—a hardened gangster—returns from Taipei to California to protect him and his mother from escalating turf violence.
The action sequences in The Brothers Sun don't reinvent the wheel by any means, but it really is worth noting how comedic they can be—whether they build towards a punchline or they're just not afraid to look ridiculous (e.g. a sequence involving hitmen dressed in inflatable dinosaur costumes), all while maintaining a relatively high level of violence. It's unfortunate, then, that the action so far doesn't exactly advance character or move the plot forward in a more meaningful way, given how adept the series' direction already seems to be at showing, and not just telling.
We know Michelle Yeoh can be everything, everywhere, all at once, but from this moment on she's going to be typecast as a fierce mother bear with dangerous combat skills (we're not complaining though).
Emil Hofileña is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. He also writes as a theater critic, with work published in Rogue and Out of Print, among others. He’s probably crying over a movie or an episode as we speak.
Really good series loved every episode and can’t wait for a second season