It’s been a while, folks, but your favorite dumper is back in action. I know I haven’t been around much since we celebrated the arrival of Jaws on Netflix back in September, but I’m here now, and I’m ready to help you dump some time into Netflix streaming.
This week, we’re checking out the Netflix original Bright.
Bright is a surprisingly fun — albeit flawed — fantasy-lite cop drama from the director of Suicide Squad.
Starring Will Smith and helmed by David Ayers, the film suffers from the less enjoyable tendencies of both men. However, above and beyond those annoyances, Bright has a real vision, and the world its characters inhabit is in many ways one of the realest alternate versions of our reality we’ve seen in the current era of superpowers and sulking heroes.
Maybe that’s because this isn’t just another superhero movie. Bright is more like a new version of Harry Potter created specifically for Die Hard fans. It shows us a detailed word of orcs and elves and wizardry and spells, with a healthy dose of exposed grey matter, car chases, and explosions.
Will Smith is Will Smith — or an everyman type of Will Smith who grapples in a very real way with Will Smith versions real-life problems. But he does manage a few solid moments of genuine depth.
Joel Edgerton is a fucking revelation. I spent the majority this film trying to figure out which actor was beneath those prosthetics, only to discover it was Hollywood’s go-to hunk from Down Under. He is perfectly cast here, and he lends a supreme amount of joy and empathy to his bumbling character.
Most of the ancillary characters are pretty one-note, however, and some infuriatingly so. I mean, come on, this can’t be what we’re supposed to believe all Hispanic gangsters are like.
The biggest bright spot is the trio of badass elves, who seem like they come straight out of the second and third Matrix debacles. Lead by Noomi Rapace, these elves do not fuck around. These extremely powerful, sideways-flipping experts take no prisoners. Their presence also makes up for the dreadful boringness of the only other elf that is extensively represented in the film.
Who ordered the pixie sprite, am I right?
Overall, Bright is an enjoyable romp. The pluses — and moments of silly fun — greatly outweigh the minuses. Although grim and violent, it never goes over the edge; it merely skittering along the rim, teetering precariously but never slipping up completely.
Check out the trailer for Bright below.
