The Brother from Another Planet
Cinecom Pictures | Release Date: September 14, 1984 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Washington PostRita Kempley
The Brother From Another Planet is brilliant science-fiction with a social conscience. It goes to worlds where men, some of them anyway, have never gone before. And all they really ever had to do was take the A-Train. [16 Nov 1984, p.21]
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie finds countless opportunities for humorous scenes, most of them with a quiet little bite, a way of causing us to look at our society. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
Thankfully a sharp cast and goofy wit mostly keep the movie light on its feet. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Buoyed by Morton's sensitive performance, the film proceeds as a series of vignettes, some of them unforgettable. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
The superhero stuff is often unintentionally silly, but again, Sayles shapes a catchy premise into a subtler piece, using Morton's "alien" status as a way of asking who deserves to be called an outsider in a country born of outsiders. Read full review
75
Film ThreatStaff (Not Credited)
The Brother from Another Planet profoundly illustrates, modern life is more unfair than it needs to be….It may not be the perfect John Sayles film, the perfect science fiction movie or the perfect film about black life — but it manages to seamlessly mix wit, slapstick, poignancy and politics. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
The superhero stuff is often unintentionally silly, but again, Sayles shapes a catchy premise into a subtler piece, using Morton's "alien" status as a way of asking who deserves to be called an outsider in a country born of outsiders. Read full review
75
Film ThreatStaff (Not Credited)
The Brother from Another Planet profoundly illustrates, modern life is more unfair than it needs to be….It may not be the perfect John Sayles film, the perfect science fiction movie or the perfect film about black life — but it manages to seamlessly mix wit, slapstick, poignancy and politics. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Written and directed by John Sayles, with biting wit and scathing insights into earthly race relations. [04 Oct 1984, p.27]
70
The New York TimesVincent Canby
The Brother From Another Planet, set in major part in Harlem, means to be fantastic as well as funny and satiric, and from time to time, it is each of these things. Mostly, though, it's a nice, unsurprising shaggy-dog story that goes on far too long. Read full review
70
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Central to the film's deft balancing act between shaggy dog humour and something just a little more serious is Morton's expressive performance as the alien, though the rest of the cast also plays admirably. Read full review
70
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Central to the film's deft balancing act between shaggy dog humour and something just a little more serious is Morton's expressive performance as the alien, though the rest of the cast also plays admirably. Read full review
70
NewsweekJack Kroll
There's an aura of liberal ineffectuality about The Brother, but it's touching and amusing and confirms the originality of Sayles. [08 Oct 1984, p.87]
60
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
The two different ends require shifts in point of view that are beyond Sayles's talent as a visual storyteller, and the film does not cohere. Yet many of the individual scenes are charming, funny, and pointed, and the movie gives off Sayles's usual glow of goodwill. Read full review
50
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Pic is essentially a series of behavioral vignettes, and many of them are genuinely delightful and inventive. Once the Brother discovers the Harlem drug scene, however, tale takes a rather unpleasant and, ultimately, confusing turn. Read full review
50
Washington PostPaul Attanasio
Sayles is no storyteller; despite the verve of its language, The Brother From Another Planet eventually sags of its own weight. Read full review
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