During the Oscar telecast on Sunday night Netflix decided to debut a first look trailer for their latest original feature film,
Bright, which is written by Max Landis (
Chronicle, American Ultra), directed by David Ayer (
Fury, Suicide Squad), and stars Will Smith. Yes, Will Smith is in a feature length film that will not be making its premiere theatrically, but rather through the streaming service that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home, on your own TV, on what would typically be a night out at the movies. The pros are obvious: your $10 a month subscription saves you a fair amount in ticket costs, the boxes of candy from Walgreen's are less than one box at the theater, you have a twelve pack of sodas in the fridge that cost less than the smallest drink at your local franchised cinema, and depending on your entertainment set-up your viewing experience might even be comparable to that of what a theater can offer, so what might the cons be? The theatrical-going experience is one of the last standing traditions in the world that can bring people together without much risk of tearing them apart at the same time. The theatrical experience is something you can't re-create in your home no matter how big of a television, projector, or how many people you watch with; there is something singular about sitting in the dark with strangers and experiencing an artists singular vision no matter the genre classification. Whether the purpose is to move us, make us laugh, or frighten us such an experience can only be felt or conveyed when it becomes apparent how a film might not have affected just you, but those from different walks of life who just witnessed the same thing. The last edge the theater chains held over the heads of its competitors was exclusivity in material, but with Netflix now holding the keys to movies with stars such as Will Smith in them the tide suddenly seems to be changing at a much faster rate. All of that said, Landis has called
Bright his
Star Wars as it is set in a modern take on a fantasy world where Smith's human cop is forced to work with an orc partner (Joel Edgerton) in order to find a powerful wand sought after by many.
Bright also stars Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Edgar Ramirez, Margaret Cho, Ike Barinholtz, and debuts globally this December.
