Review of Bright (2017) by Shubham R — 23 Dec 2017

I finally got off from work after an exhausting semester last week. I had made a mental note about Bright releasing on Netflix a month back when I read about it. I wasn't sure about the plot, but I have always been drawn to the multi-species fantasy genre by default through films and games.

As Bright started, the build up was curious. I had to work a bit hard to tune in to the plot setting. How did this world work? What were the new social dynamics when you mix magic to the plot? (Like I still don't understand what do the magic feds do exactly?) Also, initially the humor between Nick and Daryl strangely awkward. Like I wasn't getting it. But once all the action so effervescently exploded, interspersing it with that same humor had me in splits. I was dying laughing. I mean, I have always had a soft spot for Joel Edgerton since Kinky Boots days which he is not known for anymore; but his performance in Bright was perhaps, his comic timing at its finest.

Bright, was a thoroughly awesome movie. I loved every bit of it. Especially it's small, but many imperfections. Because they are opportunities for improvement. At the heart of it, Bright presents a really enticing universe where so much more is possible than it is here. It is also an interesting social commentary (like Future Man). Yes, it's a bit rough around the edges. But so what? It's a story that leaves me (and many going by other user reviews), wanting for more.

I don't understand why are the critics going so harsh on it? Yeah, it may not be faithful to the traditionalist idealism of this genre, but hey, every genre needs an overhaul. So in trying to do something new, there will be some dissonances. One needs to look beyond that. I personally think the film was fully entertaining. But then, that was probably because the film wasn't very unfamiliar to me, which a lot of these critics reviews sounded like. I mean I can totally imagine this narrative, as a show or a new set of cards in mtg, based on a universe, just like this. I am already dying to read up on each one of the cards.

Sitting all the way up here in Delhi, India, I totally feel entitled to engage in some amateur Hollywood punditry. I think it's a really cool move on Netflix's part, post-Sense8, which could have been so, so big, had they played it strategically. Bright entirely felt like an elaborate pilot in course correction. There are so, so, so many cliffhangers. Biggest of all is, perhaps, why did the wand glow red in Daryl's hand? Who is he? I really do hope they turn it into a show. I would totally watch it. Hashtag nerdgasm. Also, I can simply watch it just to hear Daryl and Nick banter.