Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Intense, bloody action in great Asian-centered drama.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Brothers Sun
What's the Story?
In THE BROTHERS SUN, Eileen (Michelle Yeoh) and Bruce Sun (Sam Song Li) seem like any other family on their Los Angeles block, with Bruce in a pre-med program at college and Mama Sun working as a nurse. But the Sun family has a secret: They're at the center of an international criminal conspiracy, and someone has just found out their real identities. Now Bruce, violent gangster brother Charles (Justin Chien), and Mama Sun must team up to protect their family at all costs.
Is It Any Good?
Propulsive and thrilling, this series has the vibe of action-thriller yarns like John Wick, but spreading the mayhem out over a season gives viewers ample time to get to know characters. And The Brothers Sun doesn't skimp on its characterizations: Each member of the Sun family is a fully realized individual, played by strong actors. Michelle Yeoh is, as most viewers will already know, a powerhouse who can play both strong and soft with equal skill, and here she's a tough mama with a complicated past that's spooled out sparingly. Viewers will also quickly grow fond of Sam Song Li as Bruce, the youngest Sun son who has one habit he must keep hidden from his family: He wants to be an actor, and keeps spending his school tuition money on improv classes.
Setting lovable characters in a dangerous crime-filled world is an iffy idea; no one wants to see a character they've grown to appreciate get hurt, and thus its violent moments have an extra zing. Yet The Brothers Sun keeps the violence on the lighter side by injuring/killing mostly faceless henchmen types, many of whom wear actual masks during confrontations. The Sun family keeps coming out on top, so we're free to relax and watch as this show's mysteries are slowly revealed: Who's after the Suns? Why is it so important to protect Mama Sun? And should we be rooting for the Suns at all? Discovering the answer to these questions is fun; just watching the Suns interact with each other is even better.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how The Brothers Sun mixes violence with comedy. Do the two enhance or detract from each other? Do the laughs make the violence less scary or intense?
In The Brothers Sun, Bruce is new to his family's criminal activities in Taiwan and America. How does that help this series give exposition to viewers?
Costumes and masks figure in many violent scenes in The Brothers Sun and many characters who are killed are side characters whose faces are obscured. How does this help soften deaths and violent altercations?
TV Details
- Premiere date : January 4, 2024
- Cast : Michelle Yeoh , Justin Chien , Sam Song Li
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- TV rating :
- Last updated : January 23, 2024
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