David Ayer is one of my most hot and cold running directors in the biz. When his scripts are well thought out, there’s a depth to the story that gives power to the characters surrounded by killer action sequences whether in a tank or trapped by gangstas in Los Angeles. However, bad scripts can sink the guy faster than you can say Suicide Squad. Bright puts Ayer as a director for hire to Max Landis’s screenplay. Does Ayer sink or swim with this script? My advice: he better get a life preserver…
Sergeant Daryl Ward (Will Smith) is a beat cop in a supernatural Los Angeles. There are fairies, elves, goblins….and orcs. Ward’s partner is the first/only orc on the police force, Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton). The two are very skeptical of each other as they patrol the streets and slowly learn that an elf named Leilah (Noomi Rapace) has found a magic wand and is trying to resurrect the Dark One (really) from the dead.
Bright’s screenplay thinks its so clever. “Hey, what if orc = black, and we could just replace the world black with the word orc?” SUPER brilliant Max Landis. As such, Bright’s social commentary is in your face and NOT subtle or interesting. Phrases like “Fairy lives matter,” “orcs are gang bangers” and what are clearly orc racial slurs get thrown around to try to show how edgy Bright is. But in between these over the top phrases, we get some witty banter to ease the tension and make us laugh. However, this jarring jump in tone doesn’t match the scenarios around it, thus confusing everyone with why these people in peril and cocking eyebrows and winking at the audience. Plus the LOTR-light magic prophecy heavy story feels jammed into Bright to add significance to the story, but that section is so poorly described that the payoff really doesn’t earn what the movie wants the audience to feel.
Despite all the script issues described above, I can’t say I didn’t find myself intrigued by the concept of beat cops in a fantasy world. As we bounce from section to section of Los Angeles, I feel like Bright missed an opportunity to spend just much of the movie establishing Ward and Jakoby’s relationship while doing their jobs in this world. Why are the elves rich? What does the court system look like? Is magic Bright’s version of religion, and if so, what does magic church look like? Even though I knew the movie I was watching was dumb, it left me with questions that make me think a better script could lead to something special for Bright’s sequel.
Bright will be known to me as a first class idea surrounded by a first pass script. Will Smith has been taking big budget swings for a while now and in recent years, those swings have been hilarious misses (looking at you, Collateral Beauty). Dude might need to partner with a first class director with zero budget to see what he is really capable of. Or just go for the Fresh Prince reboot, people will love that.