Will Smith’s Netflix blockbuster Bright might have had a record breaking eleven million views in its first three days, but that didn’t stop it from being labelled as one of the worst films of 2017. The flawed fantasy currently sits at 26% on Rotten Tomatoes, but with plans for a sequel well underway, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has been speaking out about the critical response to the film.
According to The Wrap, Hastings said “The critics are pretty disconnected from the mass appeal… If people are watching this movie and loving it, that is the measurement of success”. He went on to offer some balance by saying that “Critics are an important part of the kind of artistic process, but they’re pretty disconnected from the commercial prospects of a film.”
Netflix is a different kind of animal upon which to judge the success of a film. You’re not paying for that single-hit, one movie experience, like you would do if you went to the cinema, so you’re more likely to be forgiving of something if you know that a redemptive choice is a five minute browse away. It’d be interesting to see what Bright’s star rating would be had Netflix not replaced that system for the more binary thumbs up/thumps down option.
SEE ALSO: David Ayer on the critical mauling of Suicide Squad and Bright
What do you folks think? Did the critical reaction to Bright align with your own enjoyment of the movie? Did you give it a thumbs up, thumbs down, of the middle-finger? Let us know in the comments below…
Set in an alternate present-day where humans, orcs, elves and fairies have been coexisting since the beginning of time, this action-thriller directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, End of Watch, writer of Training Day) follows two cops from very different backgrounds. Ward, a human (Will Smith), and Jakoby, an orc (Joel Edgerton), embark on a routine night patrol that will alter the future of their world as they know it. Battling both their own personal differences as well as an onslaught of enemies, they must work together to protect a young female elf and a thought-to-be-forgotten relic, which in the wrong hands could destroy everything.
Bright features a cast that includes Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Edgar Ramirez, Ike Barinholtz, Happy Anderson, Kenneth Choi, Brad William Henke, Andrea Navedo, Dawn Olivieri, Veronica Ngo, Alex Meraz and Jay Hernandez.
Originally published January 23, 2018. Updated April 16, 2018.
