Bright is a great example of a film with an interesting world (magic in the modern day, prophecies), but the execution left much to be desired.
For my two cents, the film needed less David Ayer and Max Landis and more... quality. Flat direction and questionable writing (Landis was not a good choice for an LA-based cop drama about racism) made for an underwhelming experience. A number of scenes were trying to heighten the drama, but just fell completely flat due to bad direction (and cinematography) by Ayer. Had this been Ghostbusters' great blend of horror and comedy meets John Carpenter's auteur style meets fantasy, I'd have been all over it.
Acting was OK, with Joel Edgerton being the highlight, but the rest of the cast was racial stereotypes to an awkward degree. Noomi Rapace was wasted. It'd also be great to know WHY Edgerton's character wanted to be a cop, rather than wanting to be a cop since a kid.
This movie had a budget of $90 million - where did it go? The movie's look alternated between good fantasy (20%), shakey-cam street cop drama (15%) and a TV show (65%). There were some cool shots, but they also looked low-budget, to an extent.
I was hoping it'd be run-of-the-mill with some interesting elements, and it was, but it was also largely a waste of time.
Takeaway: Didn't care for it, but, as always, your mileage may vary.
