Bright was Netflix's big debut as a potential powerhouse in the field of feature film production and its release on the platform was met with equal parts fascination and revulsion from movie fans that lapped up the opportunity to see a strange blockbuster Will Smith vehicle from the comfort of home and critics who despised its awkward look and even-more-awkward depiction of real-world problems in a fantasy setting.
As there still appears to be no clear consensus as to whether the venture was a success or a failure, let's look at the best and worst qualities of the movie to try and figure out whether it really is as bad as people say that it is.
Is: Too Many Cooks
Bright's most noticeable fault is a general lack of consistency that encomes everything from tone to meaning, and it seems to be the result of having too many strong creative forces driving direction.
The Orcs, for example, are more central to the plot than any other aspect of the story as the lightning rod for the world's racism but the screenwriter, director, and lead star appear to draw from vastly different experiences to paint them as an ultimately homogenous mixture of cultures that have a reduced relevance to the real world as a result.
Isn't: A Fun Mixture of Genres
Though Bright before, the incorporation of the fantasy genre with the gritty cop structure isn't an afterthought or a placeholder for any kind of quirk to make the story stand out.
The idea of honor that's so prevalent in both genres is one of the many factors that cause the two to complement one another quite satisfyingly.
Is: Stereotypes
Even beyond thinly-veiled metaphors with fantasy species, there are stereotypical depictions of ethnic groups within Los Angeles that come off as nothing but antiquated and reductive.
With a story that allows for actual animated characters, it seems doubly unnecessary to be painting real cultures in such broad to make a point or even just form a gag.
Isn't: Chemistry Between the Leads
There can't be a buddy cop movie if there are no buddies and Will Smith's chemistry with Joel Edgerton provides a solid foundation for the movie and any sequel that producers may want further down the line.
Smith has proven himself capable of creating strong chemistry with pretty much anyone or anything in movies but extra credit still has to go to both Edgerton's performance and the makeup that so heavily informs his character. Going the CGI route with the Orcs is something that the movie could have so easily done but the prosthesis really helps sell the humanity of Jakoby in particular.
Is: Action Isn't David Ayer's Strength
David Ayer, despite a number of critical and financial flops, is generally accepted as a pretty great writer and director. Even if he sticks to genres that don't sit comfortably with everyone, there's at least one movie in his back catalog that most people would identify as very well-made.
The problem is that his evident talent is in conversational dialogue between two characters sitting side by side, not the up-close action sequences that so heavily contributed to both Bright's and Suicide Squad's critical maulings.
Isn't: More Directorial Control Than Usual
For all the movie's similarities to Suicide Squad, one thing that Bright has never had is an unshakable reputation as a movie butchered in the editing room against its director's wishes.
Creative decisions that would never fly in the theatrical cut of a big-budget studio movie appear totally unimpeded in Bright and it gives the movie a distinguishing personality.
Is: It's Even More All Over the Place Than Suicide Squad
Bright–at the very least–enables Suicide Squad to make much more sense as a project by showing consistency between the two movies' major faults.
A number of idiosyncrasies in tone and timing are revealed to be just that and not the result of backseat meddling, though you may often wish there had been more.
Isn't: A Menacing Villain
Noomi Rapace is one of the major aspects of the movie that could have benefitted from further fleshing out but what the audience does see of her leaves a distinct impression.
The uncompromising death cult mentality of the Inferni makes them stand out as the clearest threat in a world full of threats and they completely fulfill their role in adding urgency to the story.
Is: It Takes Itself Far Too Seriously
Though there's plenty of comedy throughout the movie, the parts of Bright that take themselves seriously take themselves far too seriously for such a tongue-in-cheek approach to genre filmmaking.
The worst effect of this is that it demands or assumes the emotional commitment of the audience in numerous situations where it doesn't feel anywhere near earned.
Isn't: It Doesn't Overexplain its World
Bearing in mind that Bright quite openly presents itself as a movie that's laying a foundation for something greater in the future, it does a good job of not overexplaining every detail of its fictional world and, instead, allowing the audience to figure certain things out for themselves.
Aside from the always welcome benefit of not treating the audience as idiots, it's a tactic that makes the world more memorable, as the audience's interpretation of events and history is just that and not a litany of specific facts and dates to learn.
