Merry and Bright: A Review of The Netflix Original Bright

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The Bright movie was an extremely interesting commentary on race relations between species. It was a buddy cop movie through and through. And despite that fact that this movie has been highly anticipated by myself for months prior, I was still surprised by the different way they went about things. Although I found this movie extremely interesting, I was left with a lot more questions than answers.

Pros:

   The Bright movie was filled with an interesting story and characters. It has many pros that overall made the film enjoyable. Included in this is the way this movie introduced fairies. They were as bothersome as rats, magic rats. This was an interesting way of approaching a species that people typically think of being so aloof. Although the Fae do not play a huge role in this film, they were interesting background to the story.

Within this story the Orc culture was one of the few cultures that had a firmly established background. Officer Jakoby, played by Joel Edgerton, is the first Orcish officer on the LAPD.  But where the Orcish background really comes in is amidst the Orcish gangs. Dorghu, the Orc gang leader talk about his past as a Miami Orc and the strong Orc community in Miami. He also talks about what an Orc being “blooded” means. This comes in as important towards the end of the story for Officer Jakoby.

   Another pro about The Bright movie are the Inferni elves, Tikka and Leilah, played by Lucy Fry and Noomi Repace. The Inferni are known as “Rogue Elves” and are the equivalent of being an Elvish gang. Leilah is a Inferni priestess and Tikka an Inferni traitor escaping with the Leilah’s wand. They are both extremely interesting characters, Tikka ended up being my favorite character in the entire film.

   This movie focuses on the adventure of two cops trying to protects a magic wand in the ghetto of LA. They run into multiple gangs throughout the story-line. The crossover of Latino gangs and Orc gangs is extremely interesting. It is a very real-world and familiar feeling to see these gangs interacting with each other. This brings up another pro that this story creates a normal feeling world that involves fantastical creatures. This version of LA involving Elves, Orcs, Fairies, and Humans still feels like it all fits together and is normal.

 

Cons:

    Despite finding this film extremely entertaining, it still had many downsides. If you went into the film expecting a story like “Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them”, you would disappointed. This is a buddy cop movie through and through. If you were expecting it to lean into more of the fantasy aspect you might be upset.

While the movie had many incredible qualities, the background and backstory lacked substance. The two federal agents, played by Edgar Remirez and Happy Anderson, are also hunting the magic wand that the two main characters were protecting, did not serve much purpose. They only show up on occasion to say a snarky comment before disappearing into the background. On the same train of thought, Elves also lacked substance. Officer Ward, played by Will Smith, describes Elves as, “Snobby creatures that make money off of everyone else.” But other than this little information the viewer is given, you’re left with many questions. Especially in regards to the Inferni Elves Leilah and Tikka.

   The main character, Officer Daryl Ward, has a wife and daughter. When all the craziness starts to go down he tells them to get out of town. This phone call is the last we see of his wife until the very end. I would have appreciated more involvement with the characters of his wife and daughter.

Additionally, there is a prophecy mentioned on several occasions throughout the story that is never fully explained. The way the movie treats prophecy is like everyone knows it, yet it is unclear to the audience what exactly the prophecy is, only that there is a prophecy. This is an important detail that is not explained due to the fact that it heavily involves the main characters Jakoby, Ward, and Tikka. I would have enjoyed this film more if the writers had taken the opportunity to explain the prophecy.

One of the largest complaints to be had about this movie is the two magical gangs that are glossed over. The Inferni and the Shield of Light are two magical gangs. One said to bring the return of the Dark Lord, the other said to stop it. Yet it is never truly explained what that means.  This is an extremely important part of the story and to gloss over. Overall I find this one of the most unforgivable mistakes of the movie.

 

 

Conclusion:

   In conclusion, would I recommend this film? Surprisingly, yes. There were many flaws, yet I still overall did enjoy it. I also want production companies to make more films like this. A Bright sequel is something i would stand behind solely to understand more of what was going on in the world. The aesthetic and way this film made fantastical things seems so real-world was inspired. But where the movie fell was explaining the important background details. Overall the conclusion is that this film is enjoyable enough for myself to recommend to you.

 

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