David Ayer responds to the awful reviews of new Will Smith movie Bright

It must be pretty sore for a director to put months, sometimes years into a project only for it to be pilloried mercilessly.

But director David Ayer appears to be taking the shocking notices of his latest movie, Bright, starring Will Smith, remarkably well.

The fantasy actioner, which finds Joel Edgerton playing the first orc to serve in the LAPD – yes, some suspension of disbelief is required – has been panned by critics ahead of its release on Netflix today.

But it was one review, by David Ehrlich on IndieWire, who called it ‘the single worst movie of 2017’ that caught Ayer’s attention in particular.

And he’s taken it rather well, all things considered.

“This is going on my fridge. Highest compliment is a strong reaction either way. This is a f*cking epic review. It’s a big fun movie. You can sure string words together Mr. Erlich. I’d love to read any script you’ve written,” Ayer tweeted in response to it.

Ehrlich replied, saying that he’d be looking forward to Ayer’s next project.

“I really appreciate that. Every movie is a labor of love for me. I’ve never chased the audience, and I know my work can be polarizing. I’ve lived a crazy love (sic) and I guess my movies reflect that,” he said.

To be fair, not everyone hated it wholesale. Steve Rose in The Guardian writes: ‘For all its flaws, Bright is still a headlong leap into a bracingly different new world. Cinema could do with more of that.”

And Netflix seems pretty chuffed – having confirmed that it’s going to make a sequel.

Bright is out now on Netflix.

Read more
Meryl Streep targeted in sinister poster campaign
T.J. Miller accused of sexual assault
Movies you may have missed in 2017