BRIGHT-A Good Movie in a Bad Movie's clothing.

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   What is the significance of BRIGHT? It is NETFLIX'S BIG, BIG budget action movie (with an expensive price tag of $90 Million Dollars) starring Will Smith. It is a major gamble for the streaming service. Normally, a movie like this would go to the theaters. NETFLIX is once again trying to change the game of filmmaking by offering it's subscribers a BIG Hollywood Movie in the comfort of their own home. Maybe that is the reason film critics are hating on this movie.
 Is BRIGHT really deserving of the 30% score it has received on Rotten Tomatoes? My opinion? No.
  At first glance, BRIGHT is a formula buddy cop movie that we have seen hundreds of times over. EWe've seen everything before that is presented in this movie. An angry, misunderstood cop that is disliked by his fellow police-officers partnered with a rookie cop who happens to be an Orc (say what?), who is misunderstood and disliked by his fellow police officers to the point of hazing and racism. We've seen it all before.
  Another thing working against BRIGHT is that the film is attempting to set up yet another cinematic universe at the stories expense. There are characters and story elements that belong in other movies but are presented here, which halts the movie's momentum in regards to the primary story it is attempting to tell. That is what Hollywood calls world building.
  However, it is a gamble that does pay off for BRIGHT in the end. I feel that the filmmakers have succeeded in setting up a new universe, shakey and unstable it maybe be. By the time the credits roll, I was convinced that we have a new cinematic universe laid out before us. One that I would like to visit again. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up and tell you what I liked about BRIGHT.
 Will Smith and the highly unrated Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Gift) have good chemistry that is important to the success of the story. Their witty, back and forth banter works in building a bond withthe characters. Edgerton plays Nick Jacoby, an Orc. The world presented to us is basically our world with fairies, elves and orcs added. For all I know, there could be wizards, witches, and dragons in this universe. But I guess that is another story. Noomi Rapace (The Girl with The Dragon Tatoo, Prometheus) is the villain. At first glance, you would think that her role is wasted. But if you look deeper, her performance is a physical one. And she gives off a menacing presence, crucial to her character.
  BRIGHT is not a perfect movie. It looks and feels like another bad movie. But if you look deeper you might find, like me, a good movie. One minus for me that I must tell my readers. There is extreme pervasive language present in this film. It might not bother some people, but I do have a few of my readers that it might bother. Just a word of warning.
  I give BRIGHT a solid B. Check it out only on NETFLIX, streaming right now.

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