Having directed the harshly reviewed, but financially successful ‘Suicide Squad’, David Ayer seems to have realized that sometimes reviews aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. His latest film, ‘Bright’ which was made specifically for Netflix, has been pretty ravaged by critics, with a 29% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
David Ehrlich from IndieWire wrote a particularly lengthy, diatribe trashing this film, which stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as, what else mismatched police partners. The twist is that Edgerton’s character Nick Jakoby is an orc, in a world where beings of fantasy are real and treated as lower-class minorities.
Here is just the first paragraph from Ehrlich’s review:
There’s boring, there’s bad, and then there’s “Bright,” a movie so profoundly awful that Republicans will probably try to pass it into law over Christmas break. From the director of “Suicide Squad” and the writer of “Victor Frankenstein” comes a fresh slice of hell that somehow represents new lows for them both — a dull and painfully derivative ordeal that often feels like it was made just to put those earlier misfires into perspective. The only thing more predictable than this high-concept police story is the idea that a year as punishing as 2017 would save the worst for last. At least “The Emoji Movie” owned up to the fact that it was just putting shit on screen; at least “The Emoji Movie” had the courtesy to dress it up in a bowtie.
It goes on for quite a while, but it never lets up. It seems like Ayer took it in stride, though responding via Twitter:
This is going on my fridge. Highest compliment is a strong reaction either way. This is a f*cking epic review. It’s a big fun movie. You can sure string words together Mr. Erlich. I’d love to read any script you’ve written.
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) December 21, 2017
Of course, that last dig amounts to “How many movies have YOU written,” but Ehrich responded cordially, saying “You’re a good man, Mr. Ayer. I’ll be waiting with fresh eyes for whatever comes next.” What else can one ask?
While ‘Suicide Squad’ was “polarizing” as Ayer said, ‘Bright’ seems to have been almost completely trashed by critics. But the good news is that Netflix has already ordered a sequel! That should soothe any hurt feelings that Ayer might get from poor reviews. (But here’s hoping he takes them to heart when crafting the follow up.)
Watch and make up your mind for yourself. ‘Bright’ is available to stream starting today, December 22, 2017.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
