Bright (Netflix Film)

***Bright*** is an American urban fantasy crime film directed by David Ayer and written by Max Landis. *Bright* stars Will Smith as Daryl Ward, a LAPD police officer who teams up Orc cop Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton) in a world of both human and mythical creatures. The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Édgar Ramírez and Ike Barinholtz. It was released worldwide on Netflix on December 22, 2017.

## Premise

In an alternate present where Humans and fantasy creatures – Orcs, Fairies, Elves, Centaurs, etc. – have co-existed since the beginning of time, human LAPD officer Daryl Ward (Will Smith) and Orc Deputy Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton) embark on a routine patrol night, only to discover an ancient – but powerful – artifact: a magic wand, that was thought to be destroyed, and encounter a darkness that will ultimately alter the future and their world as they know it.

### Plot

On a busy-bustling day in the city, Daryl Ward leans against his car while writing a text. His Orc partner, Nick Jakoby asks if he wants anything on his burrito, but Ward shakes his head no. Suddenly, a hooded Orc walks out of a convenience store armed with a shotgun and fires his weapon off at Ward prompting him to reach for his gun. Awakening in his room, Ward realizes his experience was a bad dream and is called by his wife Sherri to get up and get ready.

Entering the kitchen, Ward kisses Sherri who gives him a mug of coffee. Noticing a piece of soggy paper in his cup, Sherri explains a napkin was used as a substitute coffee filter. Alerted by loud noises coming a Fairy messing with their bird feeder, Sherry asks Ward to deal with the Fairy. On the other hand, Ward refuses because of a tramatic event his cousin once faced in the past and would argue over it until they change the subject to about their jobs. From the laptop, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast plays, featuring Joe Rogan interviewing an orc concerning his opinion on the Orc that's a cop. The Orc answers that it's dead to Orcs and Ward closes the laptop's screen. Right before Ward leaves, he talks to pacify Sherry's anxiety about the dangers of his line of work. Before they're able getting one last kiss together, the fairy outside acts up again and Sherry again asks Ward to handle it.

With a broom in hand, Ward sees the Fairy and his neighbor OG Mike approaches him venting the string of problems the fairy had caused and that he'll complain to the city about it. Ward retorts that he is the city and will deal with it. Using his broom, Ward takes out the Fairy as OG Mike and his associates watch.

Back inside his house, Ward has a minor argument with his daughter Sophia regarding his partner Jakoby, who was just outside honking his horn. Jakoby warmly greets Ward leading into a conversation about why Jakoby was there and Jakoby's observations of his partner's dead lawn. Sophia joins them after learning she's off to her grandmother's house, offers to give her a ride there. On the other hand, Ward refuses on Sophia's behalf, but Sophia speks for herself and accepts the offer. Dropped off at her Grandma's apartment, Sophia confesses that she's afraid her father will die on the job because of Jackoby. Attempting to reassure Sophia, Ward promises that he won't, and his answer is retorted with a crude comment by her who slams the door in his face.

Driving back home, Jakoby mentions Ward "smells" of sleep troubles, and offers him some sleeping tips. Curtly, Ward answers reoccuring nightmares, that got him sidelined. Their conversation would be cut short because of Ward's displeasure talking with his partner.

Eventually, the two arrive at the Los Angeles Police Department, where Ward is heckled by his co-workers Brown and Hicks for his Orc partner. Another co-worker, Pollard gets especially contentious with Ward over his partner and threatens to kill Jakoby if gets near him.

Afterward, Ward and Jakoby are assigned to work together again, but Ward tries to negotiate with Sergent Ching to have Jakoby reassigned to someone else. However, Ching refuses to as it's far beyond her capability. On the job, Ward and Jakoby drive by a group of Fogteeth members and give them a warning. This leads to Ward reinforcing Jakob on his job and position while working with him. They then get a notification about an incident in progress and head to the scene. Arriving at the scene, they witness some other cops beating an Orc to the ground, and Ward questions Jakoby on whether he's a cop or an Orc first. Sternly, Jakoby answers that he's a cop first and the importance of being a cop is to him. The dispatcher then notifies them of another incident and Ward notifies the dispatcher that they'll handle it. At the site of the incident, a lone shirtless man wielding a sword. While Ward talks with a fellow police officer named Rodriguez, Jakoby tries to negotiate with the man, but to no avail. Due to the combined effort of Ward and Rodriguez, the man surrenders and Jakoby cuffs him and loads him into the police car. En route back to the Police HQ, the man gives a message to Jakoby in Orkish from the Shield of Light, to remember the old ways and to remember who he is. Following with that he should remember his traditions, only clans can save him, as the prophecy has chosen him, and the man beside him is blessed.

In Police HQ, Ward cleans the vomit out the back of his car, Captain Perez, and two men one named Coleman from Internal Affairs. They notify about the incident about him getting shot and how Jakoby had written it was handled contradicts the investigations made at the scene. Ward is then coerced to get Jakoby to confess to their speculations all while recording it. Just outside, an Elf by the name of Kandomere and his associate Hildebrandt Montehugh arrive at the Police Station. Notably disconcerted, Jakoby asks Ward if they're feds who are planning to arrest him, but is assured by Ward that they aren't.

That evening, while doing their patrols, Ward tries to get a confession out of Jakoby in the guise of a heart-to-heart with Jakoby. But before it could go anywhere, they get a dispatch call and answer it. Meanwhile, the man who was arrested who is named Serling is interrogated by Montehugh and Kandomere who reveal that they're part of the US Department of Magic's Magic Task Force. They then continue the interrogation asking him to identify two members of the group of renegade Elves called Inferni. Serling identifies one of them as Leilah leader of the Inferni and goes on to talk a bit about the history of Brights and the Dark Lord. Montehugh cuts in saying that Leilah is after the other girl Tikka for her Magic Wand and asks for Serling's help. On the other hand, Serling plays coy, noting the futility of their endeavor and that the Shield of Light shall dispose of the Dark Lord.

Returning to Ward and Jakoby, the two of them are caught in a shoot-out with someone and after firing off two rounds of bullets take out the shooter and raid his base. In their investigation, they find a couple of charred bodies, the unconscious body of the shooter, and the scene created by a possible Bright User. From there, an Elven woman escapes the scene, and both Jakoby and Ward pursue her. In the end, Jakoby manages to restrain her, but she sets off the Magic Wand that was in her possession. Speaking in Elvish, the Elven woman begs them to protect her and the wand. Eventually, Brown, Ching, Pollard, and Hicks arrive at the scene take the Magic Wand and try to take it for themselves all while trying to convince Ward to get in on it. Outside of the place, Jakoby learns the name of the woman, Tikka and she warns him of another Elven Bright that's after her. After this, Ward leaves the building and contacts Sherri, and warns her that she and Sophia need to get out of town. He then confronts Jakoby over the incident where he was shot and lets the shooter get away. Jakoby then confesses that he let the supposed shooter go because the Orc he caught wasn't the shooter, but really a tagger. Pollard and the others then exit the building and claim it's time for Ward to make a decision, and Ward then shoots them all dead.

From there, Jakoby and Ward get into a heated standoff between each other, but stop when the Altamira and their wheelchair-bound leader Poison arrive at the scene. Poison demands they hand over the Magic Wand to him, but they refuse and flee the scene and are pursued by them. Once they're finally off their tail, Tikkah warns them about the Inferni and the Magic wand activates causing the car to stop and get totaled in the process.

Elsewhere, Kandomere and Montehugh pick up on the Magic Wand's power and head to the scene of the sight. At the scene where the Magic Wand was first found, Inferni leader Leilah accompanied by two of her cohorts locate the Bright victim whose name was Larika and learns from her that the traitor escaped. Leilah then kills Larika and soon after Pollard. As Ward, Jakoby, and Tikka hide at an undisclosed basement location, while Leilah interrogates a Spanish family about what happened outside of their home. Back to Ward and the others, Jakoby informs Ward about how the Wand cast a Light Spellbinding magic to stop them and Ward gives Jakoby the low-down of their current situation. Without warning, members of the Altamira arrive and ambush them, in their escape, Jakoby drops the wand and when one of the members picks it up, they vaporize along with the others. Jakoby picks up the wand again and they all flee the scene and amid it, Ward is shot in his left arm. From there they enter an underground concert mixed with Humans and Orcs and sequentially the Altamira arrive and cause a scene, forcing Ward and the others to escape.

Both Kandomere and Montehugh investigate where Leilah was last at. Meanwhile, incognito, Ward and the others enter a strip club, and thereafter the Altamira arrive again and shoot the place up. Poison demands that Ward give up the wand, but Tikka warns them that the devil is coming. Disbelieving Tikka's words, Ward prepares himself to go into a shootout with the Altamira along with Jakoby, but the two of them are astounded when the gang members are slaughtered by two Inferni. The LAPD also arrive at the scene and are thereafter slaughtered by the Inferni. Later, Ward tends to his wounds in a bathroom and he and Jakoby have a heart-to-heart and actually bond each other.

Afterward, outside of the store, Rodriguez arrives at the scene and demands that Ward and the others show their hands, until he's shown the wand. Rodriguez then contacts Kandomere and while he talks with Ward, the Inferni wire tap their conversation and cut off their communications with one another. From there, Rodriguez cuffs Ward and Jakoby but is then shot and killed by the Inferni who follow Ward and the others into the store by crash into the place with their car. Some how, Ward and the others manage to escape with their lives, but are soon confronted by the Fogteeth gang and taken to their base. There, the leader of the Fogteeth Dorghu reprimands them for busting up the party they crashed earlier that night. Dorghu demands to know where the wand is and both Ward and Jakoby refuse to say where it is. Because of this, the two of them are sentenced to death, and when Dorghu's son Mikey was ordered to kill them, he refuses. Mikey reveals to his father that Jakoby spared him from being arrested by the police, so Dorghu tells Mikey to go home and when he's out of the picture, Dorghu kills Jakoby. When Dorghu tries to kill Ward, Tikka pulls out the wand from underneath her skin and uses it to retrieve Jakoby's corpse and revive it. The Orc Shamin that was there, proclaims that he's the one from the prophecy and all of the Orcs there kneel in honor of him. Carrying Tikka to a safe location, Tikka reveals that she can speak English and now her body is slowly becoming covered in black lines. She then warns the two of the Inferni's goal to revive the Dark Lord and to not allow Leilah to get her Wand back.

Hot wiring a car to get Tikka medical attention, Tikka tells Ward and Jakoby that only the Shield of Light can help her. When asked where they are at she vaguely answers, they're at a pool of light. Jakoby believes their living a prophecy just like the Orc Hero Jirak and should take her to the building where they found her. On the other hand, Ward dismisses the idea and thinks they should take her to a hospital. However, Ward listens to Jakoby and they return to the building. There they're ambushed by the Inferni and they manage to kill Leilah's cohorts. Initially, Ward deals with Leilah, but she's supposedly finished off by Jakob's big gun as he put it. Ward and Jakoby then take Tikka to the pool of light in the basement of the place only to find out that Leilah is still alive. She incapacitates Jakoby, then retrieves her wand and blows Ward out of the pool, and pulls Tikka from the pool from which she bathed in. Using his gun, Jakoby fires the wand out of Leilah's hand, but is now out of bullets, so in an impromptu move, Ward takes the wand and learns he's a Bright. After learning a spell from Tikka, Ward uses the wand and kills Leilah. Although Leilah's dead, Ward is left distraught that Tikka is gone. The two then try and leave as the building is ablaze, but only Jakoby manages to get out safely. This prompts Jakoby to go back inside the building and rescue Ward. Finally, outside, the members of the Fogteeth recognize Jakoby as a blooded warrior.

Eventually, Ward and Jakoby are in a hospital where, they're visited by Kandomere and Montehugh. Although Ward tries to let them ask the questions, Ward insists on recounting everything that happened that night to them. When given a chance, by Kandomere, Ward gives his side of the story.

Time passes by and a funeral is held for all of the fallen officers along with both Ward and Jakoby being honored for their work. As it turns out, Ward sees Tikka shown to have fully recovered in the crowd.

## Cast

* Will Smith as Daryl Ward, a seasoned human cop and concerned father who is partnered with Nick.
* Joel Edgerton as Nick Jakoby, the first Orc cop who's partnered with Daryl.
* Noomi Rapace as Leilah, a Inferni seeking control of the wand.
* Lucy Fry as Tikka, a young Elf with powers and is in possession of the wand.
* Édgar Ramírez as Kandomere, an elf who works for the US Department of Magic's Magic Task Force.
* Happy Anderson as Hildebrandt Montehugh, a human who works for the US Department of Magic's Magic Task Force.
* Kenneth Choi as Agent Yamahara]] a man apart of the internal affairs department.
* Margaret Cho as Sergeant Ching, a corrupt human police sergeant.
* Ike Barinholtz as Pollard, a corrupt human cop.
* Matt Gerald as Hicks, a corrupt human cop.
* Joseph Piccuirro as Brown, a corrupt human cop.
* Andrea Navedo as Captain Perez, a human cop and Ward’s superior.
* Brad William Henke as Dorghu, the imposing and scary leader of the Fogteeth Orcs gang.
* Dawn Olivieri as Sherri Ward, Daryl's wife.
* Scarlet Spencer as Sophia Ward, Daryl and Sherri’s daughter.
* Brandon Larracuente as Mikey son of Dorghu
* Chris Browning as Serling an agent of the Shield of Light.
* Alex Meraz as Serafin
* Enrique Murciano as Poison the leader of the Altamira.
* Jay Hernandez as Rodriguez
* Veronica Ngo as Tien
* Nadia Gray‏‎ as Larika
* Joe Rogan as Himself
* Cle Sloan as OG Mike Ward's neighbor

## Crew

* Machine Gun Kelly: Music contributer
* Kiiara: Music contributer
* Future: Music contributer
* Ty Dolla Sign: Music contributer

## Production

Described as "a contemporary cop thriller, but with fantastical elements", the film is directed by David Ayer and stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, with a script penned by Max Landis, which Ayer rewrote. Netflix officially picked up the film for a $90 million deal with filming beginning in fall 2016. Noomi Rapace entered talks to join the cast in May 2016. Landis stated in an interview that official production is expected to begin in September 2016, but that they'd already shot a small part in Los Angeles. Ayer's frequent cinematographer, Roman Vasyanov, was confirmed to be working on the project. On October 15, 2016, Lucy Fry was added to the cast. On October 17, 2016, Andrea Navedo was added to the cast. On October 20, 2016, actor Brad William Henke was cast in the film. On November 1, 2016, Kenneth Choi and Dawn Olivieri were cast in an unknown role and the role of Smith's wife, respectively. On November 9, Édgar Ramírez was confirmed to be added to the cast. That same month, Alex Meraz, Matt Gerald, Ike Barinholtz, and Enrique Murciano joined the cast of the film in undisclosed roles.

### Filming

Photos from the set were first published in November 2016. Filming was completed by February 4, 2017.

## Trailers

Bright Official Trailer HD NetflixBright Official Trailer 2 HD NetflixBright Official Trailer 3 HD NetflixBright Featurette Ward and Jakoby HD Netflix
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 David Ayer to Direct Will Smith and Joel Edgerton in Fantastical Cop Flick 'Bright'
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 William Smith, David Ayer Reteaming on Max Landis Spec 'Bright'
3. ↑ Watch the First Teaser for Will Smith's Fantasy Cop Thriller 'Bright'
4. ↑ Netflix Makes Mammoth Deal for David Ayer's 'Bright' Starring Will Smith
5. ↑ Noomi Rapace in Talks to Join Will Smith in David Ayer's Bright
6. ↑ Watch: Max Landis Hopes 'Bright' Will Be His 'Star Wars'
7. ↑ [http://nofilmschool.com/2016/08/cinematographer-roman-vasyanov-shoots-anamorphic-suicide-squad Why DP Roman Vasyanov Chose Anamorphic & More Tales from Shooting 'Suicide Squad'
8. ↑ David Ayer's 'Bright' Lands 'Mr. Church' Actress Lucy Fry
9. ↑ David Ayer-Helmed Thriller 'Bright' Adds Andrea Navedo; Austin Hébert Cast In 'Burden'
10. ↑ 'Orange Is the New Black' Actor Brad William Henke Joins Will Smith in 'Bright'
11. ↑ David Ayer's Fantasy Cop Thriller Bright Adds Two
12. ↑ Edgar Ramirez Joins Will Smith in David Ayer's Fantasy Thriller 'Bright'
13. ↑ Ashley Bell Cast As Lead In 'Next Door'; Alex Meraz Joins David Ayer's 'Bright'
14. ↑ Matt Gerald Boards David Ayer's 'Bright'; Angel Bonanni Cast In 'Entebbe'
15. ↑ Ike Barinholtz Reunites With David Ayer, Will Smith On Netflix Film 'Bright'
16. ↑ Enrique Murciano Cast In Netflix's 'Bright'
17. ↑ Joel Edgerton is unrecognizable in orc make-up as he joins Will Smith on-set of new Netflix fantasy film Bright
18. ↑ First Bright Set Photos Featuring Will Smith in Costume
19. ↑ That's a wrap on #BRIGHT. Even in the darkest times, we can find the light.