Review of Bright (2017) by Brusky — 08 Jan 2018

I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I turned this on, but the trailer got me hooked. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by Bright. Kudos to Netflix for trying something new.

For starters, the movie gets major props for blending Tolkein-like creatures in a modern day big city -- a concept I'd never seen before. As such, there was a surprising amount of world-building that goes on which immerses you in this racial/class dynamic in between Elves, Humans and Orcs and the fallout of a magical war that happened prior to this movie taking place. The characters slowly explain the background plot to the audience in their dialogue with each other, giving you enough of a gist to follow along. There's still a lot more left to explained about this world, particularly the foreshadowing of an upcoming big bad, but it doesn't detract from the plot we see in front of us. If anything, it leaves me both satisfied and wanting more.

The characters themselves are portrayed well, with Jakoby stealing the show hands down. Surprisingly, Will Smith's performance leaves more to be desired, but he doesn't necessarily hurt the story. Noomi Rapace was fierce and I found myself actually feeling tension when she and her posse came after our heroes. All in all, I enjoyed Bright. I am definitely piqued by this realworld-Tolkein situation and I am eager to see more in the upcoming sequel.