Tomorrow Netflix releases Bright, and here's why I think you should check it out. If you like the action and buddy comedy aspect of Bad Boys, you'll enjoy this. Don't be thrown off by the presence of orcs, fairies, and elves. This is not Shrek, those are not tooth fairies, and these aren't jolly Santa elves! Though, if you're here for the orcs, fairies, and elves, don't get too excited, because there's very little magic and fantasy here (though there is some).
For the most part this is your typical edgy, buddy cop film. Great action full of fist fighting, explosions, shooting, and some stabbing. Coupled with some comedic back and forth between the eager to prove himself partner and the partner that's less than thrilled to be partnered with him. The only difference is Daryl Ward (Will Smith) is partnered with an orc, Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton). Surprisingly, there was not much magic used during the 1 hour and 57 minutes of runtime, and even the elves and orcs pretty much fought without magic. But they are fast, strong, and ruthless; which makes for some great fight scenes!
If you've seen the trailer, you can probably guess that the orcs seem to have taken on the position in the film that would typically be portrayed by Black actors. This made me uneasy at first, worried it would veer too much into stereotyping. Orc or not, it is clear that if this was not a world with orcs, elves, and fairies, the people who were orcs would be portrayed by Black actors. So I could not separate the two while watching. Meanwhile, in this world, the police force is pretty diverse in regards to humans (though they were very much anti-orc, including anti-Jakoby). However, this is not to be confused with the world outside of the police force, as a good amount of time is spent in a neighborhood that is all Latino. So the human race is not completely intermingled and desegregated.
Plot wise I found the film a bit lacking in some respects. The general premise is clear, but it fails to dig into some of the more interesting aspects of the story. In fact, I think a prequel and sequel would be way more interesting. What was this great battle that took place 2000 years ago back when the orcs chose the wrong side? And if they chose the wrong side, how did they become part of society? Why are the elves so well off? Also, they touched on themes of racism, police brutality, and even Christianity. But they did nothing with it. They just plopped them down and kept it moving.
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Worse yet, the ending was subpar! If we aren't going to see much magic in the film, can you hit us with a ton at the end by actually allowing Leilah (Noomi Rapace) to succeed, forcing Jakoby and Daryl to have a major showdown with the evil lord she was trying to release? And if not that, could you make Daryl and Jakoby fake their deaths in the fire and use the wand to go live in some far away place where no one with bad intentions could find the wand and they can have whatever they want? At the very least, they could have showed us what happened to the wand!
Alas, despite the poor reviews currently on Rotten Tomatoes (currently 29%, 3.3/10), this month Netflix ordered a sequel with Will Smith. While I am a bit let down, for reasons noted earlier, I think a lot can be done in the sequel. There's so much to explore here, but it must go far outside of the buddy-cop film box. As for this one, if you're looking for a buddy-cop film check it out. If you're looking for a buddy-cop film with a spin that goes beyond putting some of the actors in special effects make-up, I would say wait until it hits tv. But it's already on your tv. So go ahead and check it-out! Ha!
6/10