History Film / Bright

Less than a month after its release, Netflix [[https://youtu.be/WoFqmF9GHWg confirmed that]] they were working on a sequel, making it the first movie franchise to ever be produced by and for a video-on-demand service.

In 2021, it was announced that that it was getting an animated film spin off, ''Anime/BrightSamuraiSoul''. The film takes place in Japan during the end of the Shogunate and the beginning of the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: According to supplementary backstory, Pharaoh Khufu and Sargon the Great of Akkad were both magicians with the former using his powers to build the Egyptian pyramids and the latter [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence transcended mortality]] and that the Wands were forged out of his body from his executioner, the [[UltimateEvIL Dark Lord]].

** Jirak is the orc equivalent of Jesus Christ, as he shares the same first initial, also lived 2000 years ago and saved the world from the UltimateEvil in this setting. He is the subject of worship in Orc religion, and orcs partly correspond to real-life Jews, since they have been long discriminated and accused of betraying Jesus, even though he was Jewish himself, much like orcs are hated for siding with the Dark Lord when it was an orc that united other races to oppose him.

* KnifeNut: The Inferni, who use them very often and to great effect, usually to slit people's throats. Leilah herself sports a very mean-looking karambit. They're no less comfortable with firearms, hand-to-hand combat, or weaponized magic, but they definitely seem to ''enjoy'' knives.

* AndroclesLion: Jakoby [[spoiler: helped a tagger escape, knowing he would have been made a fall guy for the attempted murder of a cop. He turns up later in the Fogteeth's HQ, and refuses to kill him.]] [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when [[spoiler: his father understands, but simply send his son away and then shoots Jakoby himself.]]

* ThereAreNoGlobalConsequences: Franchise/{{Shrek}} still exists in a world where fantasy creatures exist, LA (started by Catholic Missionaries) still exists in a world that should have wildly different religious beliefs, and the Crips still exist in a world where Orcs are the oppressed minority.

* RealityEnsues:
** The Shield of Light may be all about safeguarding good magic users for the return of the Dark Lord... but if you're an underground society that stockpiles weapons and explosives, not to mention fooling around with magic that is explicitly compared to ''nuclear weapons'', the government is going to slap a "Terrorist Organization" label on you. They're not necessarily wrong, either, given the collateral damage that ensues when the Shield of Light clash with the Inferni (who also happen to be the FBI's Most Wanted).
** Rather than admit that the Dark Lord is coming and a wand was on the loose in L.A., the government [[spoiler: covers up everything, takes the wand, and paints all the cops involved (including the corrupt ones, much to Ward's disgust) as heroes who died fighting an "extremist group". Better to keep TheMasquerade intact and a potential magical WMD under wraps than cause mass panic, after all.]]
** Look closely at [[spoiler:Ward and Jakoby's medal ceremony. The crowd is silent during Jakoby's crowning but not at Ward's. Despite doing the same heroic actions as his partner, many people are still going to see Jakoby as another violent Orc not worthy of respect.]]

** Daryl Ward compares an orc to Shrek as an insult, uttering the line: "So I need you to take your fat Shrek-looking ass back to your vehicle and drive the fuck home to Fiona. A'ight?"

* ShoutOut: During the intro, there's graffiti stating "IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED ALL RACES EQUAL" with "[[CantArgueWithElves but elves]] [[Literature/AnimalFarm are more equal]]" below it.

* BrokenAesop: Some critics have taken issue for the story's heavy-handed "Racism is Bad" message, but while the Orcs are depicted as NotEvilJustMisunderstood and DarkIsNotEvil, it has a huge in-universe ScrewYouElves mentality in how elves are widely hated by most of the humans for being rich Kardashian types obsessed with shopping in the Beverly Hills Expy, but is not presented as a bad thing like the Orcs. Either rendering it a confused metaphor for the upper class (after all they're sadly mostly dominated by white people) or the writers unintentionally invoking a DoubleStandard. Coupled with the unrelated UnfortunateImplications on how they're presented as [[SissyVillain more feminine]] compared to the rugged, stoic orcs and humans.

* BrokenAesop: Some critics have taken issue for the story's heavy-handed "Racism is Bad" message , but while the Orcs are depicted as NotEvilJustMisunderstood and DarkIsNotEvil, it has a huge in-universe ScrewYouElves mentality in how elves are widely hated by most of the humans for being rich Kardashian types obsessed with shopping in the Beverly Hills Expy, but is not presented as a bad thing like the Orcs. Either rendering it a confused metaphor for the upper class (after all they're sadly mostly dominated by white people) or the writers unintentionally invoking a DoubleStandard. Coupled with the unrelated UnfortunateImplications on how they're presented as [[SissyVillain more feminine]] compared to the rugged, stoic orcs and humans.

* AlternateHistory: In this universe, humans have co-existed with fantastical creatures since the dawn of time and over two thousand years ago, a figure known as the Dark Lord nearly took over the world and it took the combined might of nine armies to bring him down. Apart from that major event, history seems to have followed more or less the same path. UsefulNotes/TheAlamo and the [=LAPD's=] Rampart corruption scandal are specifically mentioned.

* RecycledInSpace: ''Film/AlienNation''... WITH FANTASY CREATURES!

** This film has many similarities with the cyberpunk Tabletop Game ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' and the 1988 sci-fi BuddyCopShow film ''Film/AlienNation''.

* OurElvesAreBetter: Long-lived, supremacist snobs that live in gated communities and are considered the elite of society due to having the majority of Brights in the world. At first glance, they look just like normal humans with PointyEars, but upon closer inspection it turns out they have sharp teeth and eyes and hair of unnatural color, such as Kandomere's ''blue'' hair while Tikka, Leila and Tien had silver hair.

* {{Adorkable}}: Jakoby is a walking, living personification of awkwardness. He tries really hard to come across as a friendly, funny guy to Ward, but only manages to annoy his partner with every ill-conceived joke he comes up with.

* AlternateHistory: In this universe, humans have co-existed with fantastical creatures since the dawn of time and over two thousand years ago, a figure known as the Dark Lord nearly took over the world and it took the combined might of nine armies to bring him down. Apart from that major event, history seems to have mostly followed more or less the same path. UsefulNotes/TheAlamo and the [=LAPD's=] Rampart corruption scandal are specifically mentioned.

** Also of [[BeautyEqualsGoodness beauty equaling goodness]], or at least people tending to believe such. The Dark Lord was an incredibly evil elf heading an army of mostly orcs, against some other orcs mixed with the other races. This could have resulted in elves being hated, and orcs being viewed neutrally. But elves are beautiful and orcs are ugly, which amplifies the issue of elven physical superiority, so the ultimate result is that orcs are viewed as the villains while the elves rule the world. Made more blatant by the hero who rallied the joint resistance against the Dark Lord having been an orc. And yet this does not seem buy his race any credibility.

* DramaticThunder: Multiple times, mostly when the Inferni are on screen.

** Crime is much higher in this universe than ours. The LAPD ride around in MRAP vehicles with .50-caliber machine guns on top, and even the regular patrol cars have bulletproof windows.

** Crime is much higher in this universe than ours. LAPD patrol around in MRAPs with .50-caliber machine guns on top, and even the regular patrol cars have bulletproof windows.
* CriticalDissonance: Audiences tended to like the film more than critics did.

* SpiritualSuccessor: This film has many similarities with the cyberpunk Tabletop Game ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' and the 1988 sci-fi BuddyCopShow film ''Film/AlienNation''.

* NeverLiveItDown: In-Universe. When the Dark Lord tried to conquer the world, most of the orcs sided with him. The other races still hold it against them, despite the fact that this happened ''two thousand years ago''. FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you remember it's probably thanks to the long-lived and [[CantArgueWithElves supremely petty]] ''Elves'' that are responsible for this attitude.

* AlternateHistory: In this universe, humans have co-existed with fantastical creatures since the dawn of time and over two thousand years ago, a figure known as the Dark Lord nearly took over the world and it took the combined might of nine armies to bring him down. Apart from that major event, history seems to have mostly followed more or less the same path. UsefulNotes/TheAlamo and the [=LAPD's=] rampant corruption scandal are specifically mentioned.