Bright Tackling Species Prejudism.

Afternoon, Guys!

So, Joey and took in Netflix’s Bright with Will Smith as officer Daryl Ward and Joel Edgerton as Orc officer Nick Jakoby, the first of his species to become a man of the badge, with Noomi Rapace as Leilah, the elf, Ward and Jakoby are unceremoniously charged with keeping alive to fulfill her mission of making sure the Dark Lord isn’t resurrected.  The thing is, Ward and Jakoby have history that causes Ward to despise working with the orc.

Director David Ayer tackles the subject of prejudism, but takes it to another level by making the prejudism, albeit, melding real world and fantasy, against an entire species as orcs are considered ghetto, and now an orc has made it to be an officer with the LAPD…and, the whole force hates him.  They hate Jakoby to the point of plotting to kill him with Ward, who also has no love for the orc, as collateral damage.

Now, we aren’t used to seeing Will Smith play a dick character with the exception of Hancock, Suicide Squad, and possibly I, Robot.  Smith’s Ward is damaged physically and mentally by a botched arrest that almost kills; yet, deep inside, he still wants to be the good guy cop.  So, for better or worse, when shit hits the fan, Ward has Jakoby’s back, which includes treason to his fellow human officers.

Joel Edgerton’s been making a name for himself in a range of different genres in 68 movies done dating back to ’96.  His turn as an articulate, soft-spoken orc when orcs are considered gruff, stupid beasts throughout film history and in this movie, is sweet and sometimes comical when he spouts off with human-like sarcasm.  He’s the perfect sweet to Smith’s Ward’s dick.

Then, Noomi Rapace’s Leilah has shades of Milla Jovovich’s Leeloo from The Fifth Element in that she’s ultimately what stands between evil taking over the world regardless of species.  She places Leilah scared reserved, but quickly brings out an urgency as the aforementioned shit hits the fan.  She’s come a long way from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Now, the species prejudism storyline’s compelling enough to carry the movie, especially in today’s society, but there’s a side story that really brings the title to light.  I’ve heard references to the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings franchise thrown around at this point, and there definitely are similarities.  In this case, it has to do with wands having specific owners.  This was mentioned in the Harry Potter franchise; HOWEVER, good ol’ Harry’s wands never BLEW up in the wrong hands.  Only Brights can handle wands.  The thing is, there are good and bad Brights, and they all want said wand for whatever their agenda may be.  Also, anybody, who sees a wand, will want it, and will do ANYTHING to possess one.

In this age of #WhateverMatters, Bright’s come at the right time broadening the spectrum.  And, with Bright 2 already greenlit, I’m very curious to see where they could go in this complex and realistically damaged world.

Be good to each other.

-J-