Director: David Ayer
Writer: Max Landis (Screenplay)
Starring: Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Jay Hernandez, Edgar Ramirez, Ike Barinholtz
Plot: Set in a world where mystical creatures live side by side with humans. A human cop is forced to work with an Orc to find a weapon everyone is prepared to kill for.
Runtime: 1 Hour 57 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Enjoyable Action Blast
Story: Bright starts as we enter a universe where humans live side by side with orcs, fairies and other fantasy creatures. Human cop Daryl Ward (Smith) is near his retirement after a new death moment recently, his partner is the only Orc on the force Nick Jakoby (Edgerton) in a world where people treat other species like different citizens.
With the tensions rising within the force to get rid of Jakoby, even Ward doesn’t want to work with him, but he doesn’t want to treat him as an equal unlike the rest of the force. When the Dark Lord is set to return with the help of Elf Liela (Rapace) a Bright and her dark magic, that is forbidden, Ward and Jakoby are going to need to put the tension and differences between them behind them and stop the end of the world.
Thoughts on Bright
Characters – Daryl Ward is a human cop, married with a daughter, he is returning to duty after being shot by an Orc, that his partner an Orc lost in pursuit. Ward is put to the test on this night, as the force turns against him after they get in possession of a wand that the police and criminals want. Nick Jakoby is an Orc cop, the first of his type to get the role, hated by both humans and orcs alike. He is an honest character and tonight we see how he will fight for any species of innocence. Liela is the Elf that wants her wand back, so she can bring the Dark Lord back to take over the world, she kills anyone who gets in her way with her two assassins by her side, she is the deadliest enemy that the cops will face, though she is a safe villain for this film.
Performances – Will Smith is the best he has been for years now, he has part wise cracking, part all or nothing which he was always the best at in the late 90s. Joel Edgerton gives us a great performance too, he is the deadpan humor which connects for the film and his character. Noomi Rapace is good even if her villainous character is by the book, she does well with what she needs to do in her role. Lucy Fry does a great job and deserves praise because her role gets us a laugh with her reactions to what happens on the life or death battle.
Story – The story does follow two cops battling for their lives to stop a wand getting into the wrong hands, the pair must do the right thing to save the world. This happens all over one night which keeps the story flowing smoothly, it does turn into a buddy cop feel to it without being a comedy, where two people from different backgrounds must put aside their difference to do the right thing.
Action/Crime/Fantasy – There is plenty of action in this film, we have hand to hand combat, weapons, gun battles and even car chases, this is an action film you can enjoy. The crime world we take throws the fantasy characters into the generic gangs we would see the cops needing to face, this includes moments of talking about the histories of the species and the envy between the species.
Settings – The film takes place in LA which shows the different environments that our characters have come from and dislike.
Special Effects – The effects used to create the different species come off great as we see how each species fits into the world seamlessly through the film.
Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Pop-culture references don’t work and turning to a Mexicans being treated differently doesn’t seem to make sense in a world where it is species that discriminate over the human races.
Final Thoughts: This is a film that I had only heard bad things about, but I did find myself enjoying, the one night gives the film the edge of your seat feeling needed and this is easily the best I have seen Will Smith in years.
Overall: Great enjoyable ORIGINAL fantasy action movie.
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