Bright – 2 out of 5
Honestly, I didn’t actually plan on ever seeing this film because I’m not a fan of the writer or director and it just really didn’t interest me that much. However, the film has such a divide between what the audiences and critics thought that I figured I should probably give Bright a chance and see what camp I fall into. Well, this wannabe critic ended up falling in line with the real critics…maybe they’ll like me now and accept me as their own!
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| It would just be lazy of me to make a Bad Boys reference. |
In a fantasy world where our modern society is mixed with fantastical races from another world, Officer Daryl Ward (Will Smith) is returning back to active duty after being shot on the job. He blames the incident on his orc partner; Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton), who is believed to have let the culprit get away because he was a fellow orc. Orcs are already looked down upon in this society so tensions run high as these two respond to a call of a disturbance and find a horrific crime scene with only one survivor, a frantic elf named Tikka (Lucy Fry). Tikka has a magic wand in her possession that is being pursued by her sister; Leilah (Noomi Rapace). The wand holds great power and it can only wielded by a certain individual, called a “Bright.” Now Ward, Jakoby, and Tikka are in for the fight of their lives as humans, orcs and elves are all chasing them in order to claim the wand as their own.
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| The cops prank the orc by putting a "Kick Me" sign on his back? What decade does this movie take place in? The 80s? |
Bright is one of those films that I like more as a concept than I do as an actual product. In fact, I think this movie might have been great if put in hands that, in my opinion, were more competent than the ones it was made with. The performances are great and I really liked the chemistry between Smith and Edgerton, the makeup effects looked fantastic, and the action is very exciting. However, the film ended up too long and was crafted by the wrong writer and director.
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| He got shot by an orc and his world got flipped turned upside down. |
I would never say that David Ayer is a bad director because there’s nothing wrong with his visuals and he does make some really good movies (End of Watch is the best thing he ever made!). The problem I’ve seen with him is that he’s not very good handling story, tone and juggling genres. Brightshowcases all his short comings as the movie can’t quite nail down a tone that it wants to have, develops characters and situations poorly, and can’t blend being an urban cop drama and fantasy feature all in one. Too often the film ends up taking itself too seriously and not taking its levity seriously enough. Ward and Jakoby’s relationship and their development ends up being serviceable but the underlining social commentary the film is attempting to make feels lazy. Part of this has to do with how Ayer is presenting the story but a big part has to deal with my biggest complaint of all about the film and that is writer Max Landis.
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| Elves...sexy and deadly. All things considered, being killed by them seems like a cool prospect because they will make it look amazing. |
Full disclosure here: I do not like Max Landis. I think he’s an entitled brat who is incredibly misogynistic and borders on being a narcissist. He talks like he’s the greatest writer ever but his work lacks focus and direction and his dialogue comes off like a child trying to be a “big boy.” All his flaws with his writing are highlighted brightly in this film. Lofty goals are set as this film tries to parallel race relations in America but it is handled very sloppily as this element seems to be quickly replaced after it is established. Then you have to sit through a movie that is at least 20 minutes too long and have to endure a plot that feels like it is just repeating itself over and over again. Basically, the whole plot is Ward and Jakoby get the wand, they get attacked, and they fight off the attack and flee, and run into more people waiting to attack. Wash, rinse, repeat. Adding in the overly serious tone the script presents and is reinforced by Ayer and I was left with a movie that has its nose in the air like it is the greatest thing walking but, in reality, felt like a quickly churned out tale that lacks depth, nuance, conflict and intrigue.
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| And her first spell is Swallow Slugs. |
I don’t want to sound like Bright is the worst movie ever to be made, far from it. I just found it overhyped, sorta boring, and not as good as the product clearly thinks itself to be. Hell, I’ll even admit that I might have been bias because of my low opinion of Landis (it’s not like I’ve given the movies he’s written high scores—the highest was American Ultra). As bad as Ayer is at trying to make this movie both a ground-level cop/crime drama and a fantasy feature, the visuals he supplies are fantastic and the lighting used to illuminate locales and sets is fantastic. Ayer also does a great job as making the action very engaging, unique and never repetitive. There is a lot of potential to Bright and it probably would have made a better series than a movie because the world-building is haphazardly done and is clearly forced into the story but this potential just never felt fully realized and it just ended up a movie that felt too long and one that delivered too little.
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