Bright (2017)
The fantasy movie we never knew we needed. Bright is daring buddy cop movie in a “modern day” fantasy setting where humans live amongst Orcs, Elves, Fairies, and apparently Dragons.
While many might not have enjoyed this movie, we’re a sucker for most fantasy related content. Regardless of the masses, this movie blew away our expectations, perhaps that’s because they were incredibly low, but the setting, acting, and potential for future stories left us astounded. I specifically remember a scene that showed the landscape around the main characters, and there, off in the distance was a dragon, just flying around! I mean, are you kidding me!?! There’s Dragons and Orcs and Elves and Fairies? I mean how much more of this world don’t we know about? I bet there’s Dwarves running around somewhere and Trolls living up in the mountains, some crazy Warlock off in the distance biding his time. As much as we were captivated watching Will Smith’s Officer Daryl Ward come to terms with being a partner with the unit’s first Orc, Nick Jakoby played by Joel Edgerton, we were lost in the possibilities that this world opens up.
Oddly enough, much like Onward, magic shows it’s face back up in the world. But this isn’t the nice, fun magic in Harry Potter, or Onward, it’s much like the magic of The Lord of the Rings, The Witcher, or The Magicians. What we mean is, there’s Magic in the world and there are certain beings that can use it. If it’s used for good great things can happen, but if it’s used for ill, i.e. Saruman, Sauron, and Melkor then the most terrible things can be imagined. With magic anything is possible, you can be rich, powerful, and famous all with the snap of your fingers. This reality makes magic a coveted tool by some of the most evil people. That’s were Officers Ward and Jakoby come in, they find themselves in the possession of this magical tool that they now have to protect from evil figures in their town.
There were plenty of other themes that the movie touched on, as we alluded to early Officer Jakoby is the first Orc in his precinct and Officer Ward becomes his partner. Together they have to overcome the distrust humans have for Orcs. At the same time the Orcs in the community don’t like the Jakoby joined the police force with the humans. There’s a history here that gets lightly touched on, but it’s a reoccurring challenge throughout the movie. Ultimately, it comes down to Officer Jakoby’s actions as to whether or not he can be trusted.
We don’t want to give to many things away, but, as you can expect the movie is filled with action, some humor, and enough lore to make us intrigued for the future of the Bright franchise. If you’re a fan of the fantasy genre and you’re looking for a fresh new take, we’d recommend this movie. If you like gritty action movies but aren’t afraid of the fantastical, we’d also recommend this movie. Essentially, if you’re just looking for a solid action movie, it’s a good one.
Thank you for your time, if you’ve seen Bright let us know what you thought, and remember, deep roots are not reached by the frost.
– The Wandering One
Of Blades and Kings 