Bright feels like an ambitious experiment with a noble subtext, which could easily have been made with entirely human characters. Perhaps then it might have felt less laboured and contrived.

Bright uses barely developed magical elements to tell a barely developed story about racism and prejudice in America. On both fronts, it fails.

Perhaps expecting Bright to ask pertinent questions or think beyond its "Orc is the New Black" conceit was too much. As such, the limited world-building is just window-dressing for a basic survive-the-night thriller that putters along on toxic fumes

Bright is certainly an attractive prospect given the talent involved, but Ayer's aggressive and ultramasculine perspective feels tired and, perhaps, outdated.