Bright (2017) - David Ayers

David Ayers' Bright is a convoluted mess of a movie, which feels in part a missed opportunity, given the potential of such an inventive idea.  Unfortunately Bright is simply lazy writing, a film that shows little interest in world-building its ambitious blend of socio-political realism and high-fantasy mysticism, opting instead to take the viewer along for a ride which feels simply like the masturbatory fantasies of a pompous writer who just expects everything to congeal to the audience without putting forth the effort necessary.  For at least a healthy percentage of its running time Bright maintains the audiences interest due its singular premise, yet the dialogue and characterizations begin to  wear thin, with nearly every character in the film, outside of the two leads, feeling simplistic, absurdly blunderous, and flat.  It's probably too polite to merely call Bright's thematic assertions heavy-handed, as the whole film's commentary on discrimination is ham-fisted and inelegant.  Bright is the type of film that is worth a watch, just as a great lesson of the importance of effective world-building in high concept fantasy/science fiction, a film that feels like it could have been something special if the screenplay was placed in better hands.