Joel Edgerton Thinks ‘Bright’ Isn’t A Movie to Watch ‘Through the Highbrow Prism of Film Criticism’
Zack Sharf
Joel Edgerton is currently making the press rounds in support of his role in Frances Lawrence’s “Red Sparrow,” but that hasn’t stopped some outlets for talking about “Bright.” Edgerton appeared as an Orc and had some pretty unrecognizable makeup work done for Netflix‘s critical misfire. The actor told Collider that he is well aware of the severe critical beating “Bright” took when it debuted last December (IndieWire called it the worst film of 2017), but he’d rather celebrate the ratings than linger on the bad reviews.
“All I know is what was reported, which was something like—whatever number was reported—something like 11 million that first weekend,” Edgerton said. “Whatever it was, it amounted to a $100 million-plus opening weekend. But, I have to be honest, that’s considering that people don’t have to get in their car, go buy a ticket, go buy the popcorn. There’s a certain age where you can roll over and press play on the remote control. But, according to them, the numbers were there.”
Edgerton said the big turnout for the film is probably why the film landed an 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes despite its very low 27% critical score. The way Edgerton sees it, “Bright” also bombed with critics because it represented a big step forward for Netflix and proved tentpoles can exist when released only to streaming.
“I think there was a little bit of extra critical hate towards it because it’s changing the landscape of the movie business,” he said, “but I think ‘Bright’ is maybe a movie that needs to be reviewed by public opinion rather than viewed through the highbrow prism of film criticism.”
Edgerton will reprise his role opposite Will Smith in the “Bright” sequel, which Netflix confirmed earlier this year. His role in “Red Sparrow” hits theaters nationwide this Friday, March 2.
