An Alternate Reality #18: I saw Bright...

“Bright” is a new Netflix flick, written Max Landis and directed by David "Suicide Squad" Ayer, which I discovered through word of mouth. It stars imagi-film favorites, Will Smith as Daryl Ward and Joel Edgerton as an Orc named Nick Jakoby, who must team for the sake of social diversity at the L.A.P.D. In addition to Jakoby, there are other fantasy characters who populate this alternate-reality spectacle, such as Elves, Fairies...even a Centaur, but the Orcs are the focus, if only due to Jakoby's groundbreaking inclusion. Orcs aren't so inclined to be officers, you see. 

By its very nature, the film projects an “Alien Nation” vibe (and therefore, a "Planet of the Apes" one, as well), though in this instance, its mystical creatures have always been part of the human experience and the Orcs, wartime adversaries. 

There are unique attributes to each creature culture, and when a tremulous Elf, a “Bright" named Tikki (Lucy Fry), who's hunted by a tenacious counterpart, Leilah (Noomi "Prometheus" Rapace), stumbles into the scene with a magic wand, all hell breaks loose. Anyway, this particular wand isn’t some sissified device for carefree sorcery, but one that can reinstate the reign of a merciless Dark Lord, which radical Elves enormously desire. 

Because of its pugnacious zeal, "Bright" won’t sit well with Disney princess fans or Potterheads, who are more attuned to pacified fare, but J.R.R.Tolkien, Piers Anthony and Thor admirers will find much to enjoy here, even if the story takes place in an alternate L.A., which looks pretty much like regular L.A. 

To offset the latter, we're at least granted a glimpse of ritzy Elf Town, but even that's not very far removed from any number of highfalutin, upstate spots that we average folks may come upon. Nonetheless, the contrast brings out both the similarities and differences to our own reality. This allows one to consider one's own surroundings and the resulting social links that can cause either friction or harmony, depending on how one perceives the proverbial light. 

For fans of buddy movies, “Bright” will also please, fitting the idiosyncratic niche of “Alien Nation”, “I Come in Peace” and of course, Smith's "Men in Black" franchise. On this basis, Smith and Edgerton pull the adventure together with empathetic, everyman heroics; credible tension; sensitivity; and all the accompanying ups and downs that hardworking people face. Often their reactions to obstacles don't brim so much of irony, but realism, including matters of racism; rodent control (okay, Fairy control); debt; and pension funds; in addition to the script’s main focus, crime, which ultimately connects to the magic-wand dilemma.  

But there's also a resounding, ethical angle that figures into Landis' script: Higher-ups want Ward to get rid of Jakoby, and murder isn't off the books. This puts Ward in a sticky situation, since he wants to keep his job and provide for his family, but he's not the sort to resort to such extreme measures. How he gets out of the jam is more accidental than planned, but it ensures his stand-up status and reinforces his bond with an individual he once despised, abetted by a little dose of mystical, prophesied surprise. 

On both a thematic and visual plane, “Bright” is good enough to have played movie houses and concept-wise, is breezier than “Last Jedi” and nowhere near as superfluously jammed. For those who fancy "Blade Runner 2049" and "War for the Planet of the Apes", "Bright" would make a terrific supplement for a double or triple feature.

However, you need Netflix to fulfill that goal, so if you subscribe to some lackluster alternative, maybe it’s time to make the switch. You can always re-enlist what you've abandoned if something intriguing should ever surface, but for now, why not embrace a home-viewing hub which offers a movie that by and far outshines the competition?