I really enjoyed this movie - the story was quite original, with a number of really great concepts brought together seamlessly. The acting and casting was good and the range of characters (some a little stereotyped) was broad. The story wasn't particularly tough to follow but was engaging. The cinematography and some of the characters reminded me a little of Fifth Element.Lots of action, a bit of buddy cop drama, sprinkled with some magic, orcs, elves and fairies but it was a fresh take; a totally different feel to the usual racial stereotypes of the non-humans (well, mostly anyway).Good fun for a couple of hours - entertaining, with a good but easy to follow story line, some good acting, some great lines and good FX. What's not to like?

So, I now have a theory. We were told that Suicide Squad was not a good movie due to studio interference. They forced reshoots and interjected humor and just monkeyed with the entire thing, making it a dumb, muddy mess. They interfered with David Ayer's vision. After sitting through the entirety of Bright, it is now my opinion that all of the studio interference probably made Suicide Squad a better movie and turned it from unwatchable to moderately entertaining. Bright, unfortunately, had no studio interference. How do you take such an original idea and have absolutely nothing original to say with it? Bright is every buddy cop cliche mashed up with every fantasy cliche delivered via a two dimensional plot and corny dialogue. Nothing about this movie was good. The story plays out like a third grade D&D campaign. The characters were cardboard cut-outs from Tolkien meets Lethal Weapon. The acting was wooden (aside for a few brief moments by Edgerton who did his best with what he was given). The pacing was bad. The shots were bad. The stunts were bad. The FX were beyond bad. Seriously, 90 million dollars for rubber orc masks and tattoos that were obviously drawn on with a Sharpie. Noomie Rapace looked great. Everyone else looked like cosplay on the last day of comicon when everyone is tired and hungover and just can't be bothered. Ayers made nothing but bad choices and delivered a terrible movie. I am tempted to insert the words "visionless hack" into this review somewhere but thought that might be bit too harsh. Hopefully, Netflix ignores the obvious shill reviews praising this stinker, takes note of all of the harsh criticism that this flick so richly deserves and interferes a little more in the sequel so the next installment will be at least moderately entertaining.

I enjoyed the movie and thought it could do with follow up and expansions. Many critics claim that there isn't enough world building and that its superficial. If you are a fan of fantasy you will find that, no it isn't. The story line is great and the actors do well. There is enough hints in the movie as to the history and culture of the people and it covers its bases well. If you are expecting a lecture on the histories of that world, then you missed the point that the movie is made for enjoyment not "education".

Although the premise of "Bright" is not entirely original (think of the 1980s movie "Alien Nation", for one thing), I was still willing to give it a chance, because of the great potential the story had. However, in the end the movie, while not the bomb as some people have labeled it to be, isn't terribly successful. It's never boring, and it does bring up some intriguing ideas every now and then. Unfortunately, most of the intriguing ideas that it brings up are not developed to their full potential. There are a lot of things about this hybrid "normal" and magical worlds that remain quite vague and not fully explained, which leads to many moments that are frustrating and/or confusing. The movie's script is not the only thing mystifying about the movie. The direction, primarily with frequent underlit lighting and hard to follow action sequences, also adds some confusion. Personally, I think the movie would have worked better had it used this premise to primarily be a satire on modern day race and culture relations - that would have added a lot more detail to this world. This is not really a BAD movie, but it could have been a lot more than it ultimately is. Maybe the upcoming sequel might improve things, but considering the dire state of most sequels, it probably won't.