Don’t Believe Everything You Read

I can see it now. “You LOVED ‘The Last Jedi.’ How can we possibly take you seriously?"

Well...

Firstly, I stand by my review of the latest in the Star Wars saga, which I’ve seen five times to date and consider easily the finest film in the series since Empire. Don’t argue with me about Luke’s journey not befitting his character. One can easily argue that Ben Kenobi’s extended sojourn in Tatooine was a result of his becoming reclusive and really not watching over Luke, and we can say the same about Yoda on Dagobah. The characters stretched in Jedi, and we received the unexpected.

Any film will have its detractors, regardless.

Bright, written by Max Landis and directed by Training Day’s David Ayer, was veritably slaughtered by U.S. critics. I attended an industry screening of the film last night, with trepidation. The critics were out for bear, and frankly, as I had no real desire to see the film, I read many of the reviews in advance. Anathema for me—Mr. Spoiler-Free—but I made the exception.

It had me at “hello.” Actually, in the beginning credits, which cleverly utilized graffiti-signage about orcs and other species, all of whom live alongside us in modern-day. The film’s dark Los Angeles trappings were effectively eerie and appropriate, the makeup and FX were top-notch, and the two leads, Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, delivered the performances of their careers.

What’s there not to love? The directing was top-notch and always moving; Max Landis’ screenplay was by far his best in terms of what he’s had produced.

For those without Netflix, or those who just do not care, I’ll tell you this much: Take The Lord of the Rings and shift Tolkien’s themes to the present in the context of a mismatched buddy-cop film. You will have metaphors galore (diversity, acceptance) and a plot that’s akin to a rapid-fire blast of image and sound that passes considerably quicker than its two-hour running time.

And... my wife loved it. She usually LOATHES this type of violent fantasy film.

Make no mistake, it is violent. But its violence is organic as part and parcel of the fictional goings-on.

As I write this, on December 31, 2017, I am revising my Ten Best of the Year list, as Bright is a snug fit. It’s current Rotten Tomatoes score is a sunken Titanic: 28 percent from global critics. However, it’s audience score is an impressive 88 percent, with more fans than this one considering it one of the year’s best.

The disconnect is The Last Jedi in reverse, it appears, where the critics by and large loved it, but the audience response remains polarizing.

The plot of Bright is relatively simple: Two emotionally “broken” cops—an orc and a human—work together to protect an elf and a magic wand. The human (Smith) loathes his orc partner (Edgerton), who is accepted by neither human nor orc. Edgerton’s performance is particularly heart-wrenching here; he wants, it seems, nothing more than Smith’s friendship, and so he will continue his journey proving himself as an extraordinary police officer... and, though inhuman, more of a man than any he has encountered. Through it all, street gangs and supernatural warring factions stop at nothing to take control of the wand, and the officers have no choice but to protect one another to keep the wand from the baddies.

Bright is geek filmmaking at its finest. It's fun, funny, and surprisingly hardcore.

So, in my Top 10 of the Year (genre-heavy), we’re looking at something like this (in order): The Last Jedi, War for the Planet of the Apes, Blade Runner 2049, Logan, Baby Driver, City of Ghosts, The Disaster Artist, The Shape of Water, BRIGHT, The Phantom Thread/Mudbound (tie).

My Bottom 10 is comprised of one film: The Greatest Showman, the most egregiously dishonest movie biography I’ve seen in decades. And the music? To my tin ears, wholly forgettable.

So there you go. Watch Bright on Netflix, truly an original, and then please tell me your thoughts. This one’s just too good to skip.