'Bright' should have taken some pointers from its title and lightened up a little. How seriously are we expected to take a film which features orc gangsters, elves using iPhones and a fight between Will Smith and a fairy? *Very* seriously, it seems. Smith is given a few lines that are reminiscent of Alonzo from 'Training Day', but apart from these brief pauses from gloom the film is entirely devoid of humour.
The world-building is far too superficial. There are even references to 'Shrek' in this film. Sometimes allusions to pop culture and the real world work in fantasy (e.g. in Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' books and Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series), but it's a total misfire here. The world of 'Bright' seems to be a carbon copy of our own world, and we're just expected to accept the fact that it happens to feature elves, orcs, magic and the like.
The specifics of the film aren't as bad as its premise: the performances are fairly decent (Edgerton does what he can but is heavily restricted by his character), the soundtrack is forgettable but passable, and the visuals are occasionally impressive.
I can't recommend 'Bright' to anyone in sincerity - the world-building is comparable to something a 13-year-old would produce for a creative-writing project. I was drawn to this film after asking myself the question of how director David Ayer and writer Max Landis make a premise like this work... the answer: they don't.
Review of Bright
