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Bright (2017), Unrated, ★★★


2016 was a tough year for director David Ayer who made Suicide Squad because there were talks that Warner Bros interfered with the project and that Ayer had a concept that felt suited to the superhero movie. I actually wanted to see Ayer's cut of that movie and not the mess that was placed upon me that felt like a kid was scribbling Crayola all over the background setting up characters or in different scenes. Anyway, this movie is basically no different as the story felt a bit incoherent and too much going on in the style than in its substance. But, I have to be honest. I had enough fun with its characters and the action that I can recommend people to stream it.

The movie takes place in the future in Los Angeles in which humans co-exist with elves, fairies and orcs. Officer Daryl Ward (Will Smith) has had a bitter working relationship with his partner, Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton) because of an incident involving Ward being wounded on duty. Ward is struggling to keep his house intact that he shares with his wife, Sherrie (Dawn Olivieri) and their daughter, Sophia (Scarlet Spencer). Sophia worries that Ward will get killed on the force. Jakoby is getting blamed by the police because of Ward getting injured.

Ward and Jakoby are still riding together after the incident but after being assigned to him, he protests to Sergeant Ching (Margaret Cho), but she does not care for her complaints. Later, they arrest Serling (Chris Browning) by waving a sword around at the cops but speaks Orcish saying the he has a message from an organization called The Shield of Light and telling him that the prophecy has chosen him. The agents ask Serling about two elf sisters - Lelilah (Noomi Rapace) and Tikka (Lucy Fry). Lelilah wants to resurrect the Dark Lord, an evil entity that was defeated 2000 years earlier in by the Nine Armies. Lelilah is a "Bright", meaning she can wield a wand without it destroying her. So, they need to find Tikka in order to trap Delilah.


There's nothing great or spectacular about this movie because many elements or components of the buddy-cop genre have been rehashed before. However, this is a different world or alternate reality that makes you question of how races fit into that society because of the different races of aliens are fit into jobs that make them get some respect. Even though the main plot is a bit silly, I still have a fun time with the characters and the banter from Will Smith and Joel Edgerton. Noomi Rapace chews up the scenery as the villain as she blends like some sort of elf-vampire that could be a distant cousin to Selina from the Underworld franchise.

Director David Ayer combines Lord of the Rings and other fantastical movies with his brilliant cop movie, End of Watch. I mean, most of the humor from Will Smith is noticeable and can be beaming with entertainment. However, some of the humor retreats from the suspense making the moments distracting. Screenwriter Max Landis has some cool and unique ideas in here but there are some case that his unique style does not blend in with the social commentary well or does not particularly bring up those issues many times and he missed some opportunities in exploring those issues. However, this movie is too similar to Zootopia, which is a kid-friendly movie dealing with the issues. I don't know if I watch it again, but since it is not in theaters, it is a recommendation that is worthy of checking it out if you're into the fantasy genre mixed with action.

Bright is streaming on Netflix and even though this is unrated. This has strong violence and language throughout with brief nudity so this is not for children.

***


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