Friday, December 22, 2017

Bright (2017)

LORD OF THE RINGS MEETS END OF WATCH... YES. AND YES.



So I think its time as a society we just accept that Will Smith... as an actor (say what you will about his singing - Summertime is still my jam) is one of the ultimate root for good guys. Somehow from almost day one he has been able to get an audience to buy him as the down on his luck forced heroic type... and he has played the character many times... but I for one love it every time. Much like I love Arnold blowing up the terrorist group de jour. Or Willis double fisting hand guns... some peeps just got a groove... and Will... he's the lovable-damn why me- hero type.

Your plot... Modern day Los Angeles in a world where Orcs, Elves, and various other creatures are part of society. Think of it as what if after lord of the rings ended society just kept evolving. Cars, and cell phones, and TVs and orcs and magic right along with them. Well here we are Will Smith - WARD, paired with the first ever Orc cop - Nick... They are gunna have to survive a lot of prejudice, some Orc gangsters and Elves... hell bent on resurrecting a Dark Lord with a magic wand... a rare and powerful thing.

Why, do you keep putting up this wall of mistrust Will... why... 

Director David Ayer has had quite the directing (and writing) career so far. Much of it in the gritty "Real world" of crime and police. For me Street Kings will forever rank as one of the greatest of the genre (criminally underrated) and End of watch - though getting a ton of praise as one of the biggest disappointments (sorry that ending still crap)... and while suicide squad split the public... I would put it somewhere between the two for me... That said... the man is an undeniable talent. Having finished this rather large budgeted Netflix offering, I have to note no one other than David could have pulled this off.

The reviews have been mixed at best, and I'm really not too sure why. 1. Good to great acting... 2. Solid effects and directing... 3. One hell of a bat shit crazy plot... mixed up in a cauldron and boom, a little bit of magic. Maybe its that such a grand scale piece of entertainment was offered up on a streaming service... and that is just unsettling to some people. But hey if you don't like your grand fantasy on the small screen - guess you won't be tuning in for the LOTR series coming to a streaming service near you in the next couple of years... its a thing... look it up...

Also when did action films start having to be oscar worthy? haha I mean I have actually read reviews about Bright being overly silly... It's a movie about an Orc cop and Human cop chasing elves with a magic wand... check ya reality dip stick at the ride people. The fact that the material is handled so violently and seriously is nearly unimaginable. I found myself smiling and enjoying every glorious bit of straight faced insanity. Reviews listing this as Garbage, colossal waste... I mean what? An R rated fantasy cop film... which as near as I can tell... is an absolute first... I mean read the tagline to start this review... you ever seen that? I haven't writing it I had a grin... Sometimes I just feel people have forgotten they used to enjoy movies.

And unlike End Of Watch ... and Suicide Squad (to some extent) Ayer really keeps the ball rolling here... with a pretty fun and satisfying ending. To anyone stating that the "Surprise" at the end was seen coming a mile away... Yes... of course it was... in fact I don't think it was ever meant as a surprise... its stated in the first 15 minutes of the movie... so really if you are upset you saw the reveal coming... sounds like a "You" problem.

Explosions. Elves. Orcs. Gun battles. At least two solid throwdowns, and wand destruction... all wrapped up in a gritty cop drama haha if that doesn't intrigue you... you probably are not reading this review... or any of my reviews for that matter. And hey, its on netflix... you all have it already (unless you're saving your quarters for that incoming Disney one... cue evil music)...

ONE LINE REVIEW: Keep your wand loaded, this one has some magic in it!

Movie scale 3.5 out of 5 stars
Fantasy/action scale 4 out of 5 stars

Apparently Netflix has already picked this one up for a sequel... I for one am dialled in... Next time I demand a wizard! Stallone the white! Oh wait... Van Damme the white! Yes!

Overall a great piece of fantasy fun for the older members of the Fam...

#Bright #Netlfix #BrightReview

Till next Booniacs....

-Chuck Boonsweet

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