SDCC 2017: Bright looks awesome
Bright was the panel I was honestly most interested in. From the moment it was announced, I’ve been following the production. Anything with director David Ayer has my interest. He’s an absolutely insane director, and when he’s not being held back by studio restrictions, he always delivers something that’s compelling and worth discussing after. I still believe that if we would have seen his original vision of Suicide Squad, we’d be singing a different tune. Bright looks precisely like the film to get the naysayers back on the Ayer train.
This was the second film Netflix brought, after Death Note. Terry Crews once again was having the time of his life, introducing profanity’s number one fan, David Ayer, followed by Eric Newman, Bryan Unkeless, Noomi Rapace, Edgar Ramirez, Lucy Fry, Joel Edgerton, and OF COURSE, Will Smith.
Before we discuss the panel, let’s look at this trailer:
Holy hell, that looks so bizarre and confident and unapologetic, which the panel served to reinforce. Both Fry and Rapace are Brights, which are a type of matured and powerful elf (I think? Some aspects I’m still unclear of). Fry is still young, but gets hold of a magic wand, which belongs to Rapace; something she was growing in her arm. The wand is a part of her body and she wants it back. Probably because it can do something really bad that will make her really powerful. The elves are one-percent, while humans are middle class, and orcs are lowest workers; the ones who are constantly mistreated. Smith joked that it was fun to play his character because “you don’t get that side of racism when you’re black, to say ‘I don’t want that orc in my car.'”
As much as Ayer said that the Suicide Squad version we say was indeed his cut, he went out of his way to say that Bright isn’t some PG-13 studio bulls**t, and that it was great to be able to tell a real story. Believe me, David, we want you to have that opportunity too. He described how even though he never reads scripts, he made an exception with this, and the themes of race relations really struck him and he knew he had to do this. He was very passionate about the project, and there was the impression that he put everything he had into this film. No doubt it was therapeutic after his last film.
Joel Edgerton told a great story of how he was driving in LA with the orc makeup on but no one paid any attention because he was next to Will Smith, which really speaks to his power as a movie star. And it clearly shows on stage. Smith is endlessly charming. When asked why he keeps doing sci-fi films, he discussed seeing Star Wars and the effect it had on him when he was young. Of course, Bright not be a film you show kids, but it looks like it still has that awe and zeal that adults will be mesmerized by.
We saw a clip where Smith, Edgerton, and Fry battle Rapace in a convenient store. Rapace barrels through the store with a car and tons of gunplay ensues. Rapace flips all over the place, throwing the three all over the place. It’s gritty but it’s a blast, a fine line that Bright seems to walk perfectly.
I’m so thankful that Netflix gave Ayer tons of money and freedom to make a film like this. No way would a studio produce this and release into theaters, especially for a December 22nd release, which is when Bright premieres. All the actors look wonderful, and I hope it is the sort of maniacal masterpiece we should expect from Ayer.
