BRIGHT

BRIGHT, hear of it? Yeah, it is Netflix film directed by David Ayers, starring Will Smith and a unrecognizable  Joel Edgerton, that came out right before Christmas that all the critics were dogging out. I manage to just see the headlines and avoided the actual reviews. I didn’t want any of them to poison me to it. I wanted to see it with a open mind. Im a fan of Ayer but not the screenwriter Max Landis, so I already had issues of my own to overcome.

The trailer didn’t do anything for me. I just seemed gimmicky and silly. But then twitter blow up with the talks of shitty reviews and everyone else saying it was great and wanting a sequel. Critics and audience seemed to watch 2 different movies and I had to see for myself what the deal was.

 Well the deal is critics can be stuck up assholes that take films too damn seriously. I guess it was my bread and butter I would be too. But critics are not normal people. They don’t go to movies to have a good time. They’re looking for flaws and holes. For something to interesting to write about. They seen damn near every movie ever made and have to keep up with all the movies that come out as they’re careers go on.  They have to watch every thing, including The Emoji Movie. Think about that. They had to watch The Emoji Movie! Being a film critic fulltime is my dream job but if I got that assignment I would tell my editor to go fuck 'em self or at least call out sick until it was no longer in theaters.

Bright is a fresh take on the buddy LA cop film we’ve already seen a million times. Some of  those films David Ayer written and directed himself. The movie takes place in a world were faries, elves and orcs live side by side. Not peacefully, however. Orcs are the minorites that society shits on. Officer Scott Ward(Will Smith), whos having a hard time of it after being partnered up with the 1^st  Orc in the LAPD Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton).  So racial undertones aren’t subtle at all. People treat Jakoby like he was a black man trying to be a cop in the damn 1900 or something. Way over the top. Apparently, Orcs chose the Dark Lord 2000 years ago. What does that even mean I don’t know. But  that didn’t bother me because this world felt real and lived in. All of explanation would have been too extra.

The chemisty between Smith and Edgerton is the best thing about the whole movie. At first it’s a bit uncomfortable bc Ward is all most as hateful to Jakoby as everybody else is. But once the shit hits the fan and they have to start running for their lives they start to gel. Smith’s wise cracking one liner switch is turn all the way up. Classic Will Smith but maybe one of his most unlikable character to date. But on the scale 1-10 of unlikability Smith tops out at 4. But then he’ll save the day at the end, so it doesn’t even matter. He’s Will Smith, he never play real assholes, just grouchy good guys. Edgerton is the straight man that never gets the jokes. His unwavering earnestness and naivety was endearing amidst the seedy L.A. atmosphere. Besides being a Orc he would be a better fit in Mayberry.

Overall Bright was a fun action movie. Was it perfect? No, but it kept my interest from start to finish. Do you know how hard it is for me to watch a movie at home without scrolling my phone. It’s damn near impossible but I did while watching Bright. I think it would make for a better series. They created a whole world to explore but we barely got a taste of it because it all focused on the 2 leads. I want to know why the elves are so bougie and are there dragons out there. Are there Hobbits out there somewhere? Is there a Fairy equivalent to Oprah. Who is the president? Is this world ready for it’s first Orc President? Prehaps not, if being a Orc cop is such a big deal. There looks to be a Bright 2 in the works and hopefully I can get some of my question answered.  4 out of 5 STARS.