Summary
Joel Edgerton reflects onBrightand the negative response to the movie from critics. Directed by David Ayer and released on Netflix in 2017,Brightstars Will Smithas LAPD officer Daryl Ward, with Edgerton playing his partner, Nick Jakoby, an orc. The film, which sees Daryl and Nick attempting to protect a powerful magic wand and its wielder, was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, and currently sports a lackluster 26% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In a recent interview withInverse, Edgerton reflects on the negative reviews forBright, revealing that he thinks the reception was more negative than the film deserved. The actor also points out that audiences, generally, were far more receptive to the fantasy movie. Check out Edgerton’s full comment below:
“I have a lot of feelings aboutBright. In general, I’m fascinated by the critical response versus audience responses of movies. Either the audience score is super low and the critics love it, or the critics hate it, but the audience is like, ‘Actually, we love this.’ Occasionally you get a double win or a double loss. My brother’s TV series,Mr Inbetween,is one of the rare double wins.
“ButBrightwas one of those ones that I think was in the sort of low 30s for the critics, but it struck a chord with people. Netflix would be able to tell you that with their algorithms, but enough people were taking the time to rate the movie high, which meant that there was definitely an appetite for more. And I often thought the critics were a little bit too harsh on that movie.”
Bright’s Negative Reception Explained
The Will Smith Movie Was Still A Hit
While reviews varied, most critics seemed to agree thatBrightdoesn’t come together into a compelling whole. The film has elements ofAyer’s past work, most notablyEnd of Watch, and it attempts to put these gritty, cop drama elements into a fantasy story. In addition, the movie also features themes relating to race, most of which come out through the Jakoby storyline. Unfortunately, none of these disparate elements totally mesh in the end product, and some interesting action scenes aren’t enough to hold everything together.
Ayer’s most recent movie is thewell-reviewedThe Beekeeper, which was a box office hit earlier this year.
Critics, however, don’t tell the whole story forBright. The audience score for the film is currently a respectable 83% onRotten Tomatoes, indicating that general Netflix-watchers found it far more enjoyable. Some of this could be due to Smith who was, especially at the time, a big draw as a movie star.Brightwas also a major viewership hit, with 11 million people watching the movie during its first three days of availability on Netflix (perIndieWire).
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Despite strong viewership figures and a seemingly positive audience reception, a previously plannedBright 2hasn’t moved forward. It was reported in 2022 that the sequel had been scrapped, a decision apparently unrelated to Smith’s infamous Oscars slap that year. It doesn’t look like anotherBrightwill be happening, but it seems that Edgerton believes the first film is worthy of a critical re-evaluation.
Bright
Cast
In an alternate Los Angeles, mystical creatures live side by side with humans. When police officer Daryl Ward is partnered with the division’s first Orc officer, the two must overcome the racism and police corruption in their way, in order to stop a magical artifact and mythical figure from wreaking havoc in the city.
