Introduction
Bright is a 2017 American movie that blends action and urban fantasy. Max Landis is the writer and David Ayer the director. Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, and Noomi Rapace starred in it. As the first major Netflix attempt at creating a big-budget film, ‘Bright’ was released to the public in the hopes of capturing blockbuster territory. The film is a unique mixture of a modern police drama fused with a Lord of the Rings-like universe. The production budget was over $90 million, and the film quickly rose to become one of the most viewed movies on the streaming platform.
In the movie, the world is set in the modern-day Los Angeles that we know of, however fantastical creatures like elves, orcs, fairies, and centaurs are a part of reality. Bright tells the story of society’s moral ambiguity, tackling racial allegories and imbalance, all while being packaged in a buddy cop action thriller.
Plot Summary
Bright begins in an alternate version of Los Angeles in contemporary times where we find Daryl Ward (Will Smith) a human LAPD officer, and his partner Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton) who is an orc, the first orc police officer in a racially stratified society. In this world, orcs are regarded as a lower oppressed class. Elves dominate wealth and political influence while humans occupy the middle ground. In this society, Nick is on the same legally sanctioned side as Ward. However, he faces prejudice from his fellow officers as well as other orcs for defying societal expectations.
The story begins as Ward is recovering from a gunshot wound he sustained while on patrol with Jakoby. There is still a great deal of tension between the two as Ward is convinced Jakoby is purposefully allowing suspects to escape. Things come to a head in their fractured partnership when they get a call to a disturbance in an abandoned building where they find a mysterious young elf Tikka who is in possession of a powerful magical artifact: a wand.
In this world, Wands are a form of magic that are extremely dangerous, and only a subset of individuals known as “Brights” (of any race) are able to wield them. For an ordinary person, mere contact with a wand will lead to instantaneous death. The existence of a wand draws the ire of the city, bringing in the corrupt cops, ruthless street gangs, government agents, and the Inferni (a deadly elven cult that seeks to resurrect the Dark Lord, an ancient evil long banished).
Jakoby and Ward are accompanied by Tikka, a victim of betrayal and discrimination, alongside an entire city that has turned against them. The trio must brave ancient discrimination and prophecy, alongside systemic discrimination, and race against the clock in a city that has turned against them to keep the wand out of the wrong hands.
Characters and Performances
Jakoby is played by Will Smith, who portrays a cynical hardened human cop in the film that is forced to partner with an orc . Smith is known for his sarcasm and charm, but has to balance that with prejudice and moral struggles in this role.
Joel Edgerton plays Nick Jakoby, the orc cop who serves as the moral core of the story. In heavy prosthetics and makeup, Edgerton succeeds in bringing to life a character who, in the world of the film, is looked down upon and ridiculed. A character who, in his world, is mostly ridiculed and looked down upon. Jakoby is sincere and earnest, and his good intentions often put him at great personal cost.
Noomi Rapace takes on the role of a high-ranked member of the Inferni, Leilah. Leilah serves as the film’s main antagonist. As the film’s main villain, Leilah is cold, powerful, and single-mindedly focused on her mission to revive the Dark Lord. Her performance is powerful but still modest Rapace is intense but understated, allowing her presence and physicality to dominate.
Fry as Tikka, Edgar Ramírez as Kandomere, an elf FBI agent and Ike Barinholtz as a corrupt cop have supporting roles that expand the strange, lively universe of Bright.
Themes and Social Commentary
Bright focuses on racism, inequality, and societal hierarchies. The orcs’ treatment as a despised race serves as an analogy to racism and systemic social exclusion. The conflict between humans, orcs, and elves mirrors issues of classism and prejudice.
Racial stereotypes influence every part of the story: orcs are violent and unintelligent and are stopped and controlled by police, imprisoned in low-income areas. In contrast, elves are wealthy and live in a district separated from the city. Jakoby, the orc police officer, is seen as a joke by the other officers.
Issues of morality and the police’s self-serving nature also stand out. Ward and Jakoby are the two characters who make moral decisions, which is rare in the context of the police force. Their decisions also put them at odds with every institution in the film, and by deciding to defend Tikka and the wand, they turn into unlikely heroes.
The film also explores the themes of power, choice, and destiny with the wand and the legend of the Brights. The notion that anyone, regardless of their race or class, could potentially qualify as a Bright adds to the notion of self-empowerment and the ability to transcend beyond one’s situation.
Visuals and Direction
In terms of style, Bright is visually captivating and immersive. David Ayer is known for urban dramas like End of Watch and Fury, bringing a gritty realism to the fantastical. Los Angeles is portrayed with a dark, gritty, and neon-tinged mixture of urban decay and mythical elegance, depicting out cities in a more fantastical light.
The creativity put into makeup and effects for the orcs and elves is noteworthy. However, the CGI—especially in the fight scenes—sometimes falters due to its ambition. Regardless, the combination of fantasy and urban grime gives “Bright” a distinctive feel in a genre that seldom merges modernity with magic.
The pace is relentless, with key moments strung together to such an extent that viewers hardly have the chance to breathe. “Bright” to some extent mirrors the frantic and aggressive pace of other works in the genre. The film includes dynamic shootouts, combat, and other explosive scenes that straddle the line between cinematic brilliance and utter chaos.
Reception and Legacy
Owing to the film’s stylistic choices, “Bright’s” initial reception proved to be not as favorable. Critics pointed out its “heavy-handed” approach to allegory, uneven pacing, and shoddy world-building. Many slammed it for a generic and lifeless script. However, in spite of critical disapproval, the movie managed to captivate a large audience. Netflix themselves released statements claiming it to be viewed a staggering number of times in a short timespan.
As far as audience reception is concerned, viewers and critics alike were far more forgiving, with narratives praising creativity and the fresh, ambitious approach to genre blending. For those who enjoy well-crafted fantasy and fast-paced action, “Bright” presented an unconventional world filled with exciting and dangerous possibilities.
Given its viewership numbers, Netflix went ahead with a sequel and brought back David Ayer to direct it. However, as of 2024, work on the sequel has been stagnant because of delays from scheduling conflicts and shifts in the creative vision for the film.
Conclusion
Bright is a bold and ambitious fantasy film that aims to blend high fantasy with a police procedural. It definitely struggles to balance its complex thematic and narrative elements, but at least it is different and tries to have its way with the genres. It has a distinctive and gritty tone, and the performances are powerful. The film has a world that begs further exploration, and as such, it has managed to mark its place as a cultural experiment for some genre-blending paving in the streaming age.
For those wanting to see something different, it is a blend of urban combat with orcs, magic and machine guns, and social commentary with a big-budget sensibility. It may not be perfect, but it is certainly a captivating watch.
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