Imagine if you will, that you lived in a part of the world where everyone loved the same things. Where a town and its people lived and died around one idea or ideal. Where lives were changed and futures decided all around that concept. It sounds pretty incredible, but there are places where such a lifestyle exists. 

If you were to head to the south, to the smaller towns in Texas for example, you would discover a world where football is life. Where playing high school football is tradition for families and where nothing matters more than the hometown team winning it all. This kind of fascinating world makes for a great story and one such film encapsulated everything about this lifestyle perfectly in Friday Night Lights. 

Now this is a motion picture that actually takes us back in time to 1988 to the town of Odessa, Texas to chronicle an incredibly important season for the Permian High Panthers and that's really all that I am going to say on the plot, because there is so much more to this film that captivates you, specifically the characters and what the game means to them.

​We are witness to players who see this game as their ticket to a better life, like Mike Winchell. We are witness to how the game becomes a generational badge of honor for Don Billingsley as he struggles to emerge from his father's shadow and the state title dear old dad won with the Permian Panthers so many years ago. But perhaps the toughest story to watch is that of James 'Boobie' Miles who is so freakishly talented that he firmly believes he will be a star in college and eventually the NFL before he sees his career come to an end with a horrific injury. 

But with all of those characters comes one specific theme for the film; In this part of the world where life is simpler and options for the future appear limited, these young men are treated like gods and for them...football means nothing but hope. This sport puts them on a pedestal and gives them something more in this life and that's just incredible. This is a side of football rarely seen and while it may be a story from the past, it is still relevant today. 

This is one of those films that draws you in instantly with its honesty, courtesy of Peter Berg's sublime direction and it's a story you have to see to its end because you want the best for these young men, you want to see a father and son reconcile, you want to see a running back without hope find it again and that's the trick to Friday Night Lights. You start off as an outside observer, but by the end of the film you're a part of Odessa and nothing else matters to you but the Panthers and football and whether or not these boys can win it all.

When one takes the time to think about or talk about Netflix, one thing quickly comes to mind; a bevy of amazing original television shows that we can binge to our heart’s desire. These are the shows that we recommend others watch immediately or that we discuss with our friends for days on end, but there is an inherent problem for Netflix when it comes to this…few of us ever take the time the time to discuss their original motion pictures.
 
Which in its own right is odd, seeing as to how there are plenty of original movies on this service to watch, in fact they’re beginning to feature quite the incredible library when it comes to original films and some of these unique stories feature some of our favorites actors as well. But there is a clear-cut reason as to why we aren’t talking about these movies, a fair chunk of them are simply not good. However, Netflix isn’t keen on churning out mediocre movie after mediocre movie, and they are most certainly trying to up their game, as is evident with their most recent release, Bright.
 
Now this motion picture, is quite the big-time departure for Netflix in just about every single way imaginable. For starters, it features an A-List name when it comes to the cast, with Will Smith headlining as Daryl Ward, and it’s clear that the ninety million dollars that Netflix sunk into the budget paid off in spades because holy cow, this is a visual feast for the ages. But while it is nice to see a big Hollywood name in this film and a budget to rival any studio in the business, there is a million-dollar question hanging over this movie…is it any good? 

​Well, the answer to that all-important question is…kinda. Because sadly, Bright is hands down a mixed bag. On the plus side, it features a beautiful and believable world filled to the brim with magical wonders and quite frankly, the movie starts out strong with some surprisingly powerful social commentary when it comes to racial relations in America, and this part of the film is downright brilliant. Simply due to the fact that it is poignant and timely and thoughtful in its presentation and sadly, had the story placed a heavier focus on this, I would be raving about this movie through and through.
 
But unfortunately, the second half of the story completely abandons these wonderful concepts to instead transform itself into an action/adventure flick, one involving magic and a fight to save the world and well, this change up is supremely disappointing, since everything found here is contrived, cliché and unoriginal. Case in point, while the film spends some of its time paying homage to the amazing motion picture, Training Day, at one point in the story it flat out lifts an important plot twist from that film and well, it makes the back half of the movie difficult to watch because everything is so derivative.
 
However, all flaws aside, Bright is quite the entertaining film. There are also plenty of humorous moments to work with, the acting is solid and honestly, that fascinating first half makes the entire experience worth your while, it’s just a shame that Max Landis’ script didn’t stick with that magnificent commentary the whole way through. But what matters most about this film, is that it signals a true paradigm shift for Netflix’s original content. This looks like a polished studio film, not a bunch of friends hastily putting together a story to collect a paycheck, as is the case with Adam Sandler’s offerings. If anything, Bright sends quite the signal that Netflix is ready to evolve as a motion picture studio and I’m looking forward to the day when this film will be looked upon fondly as the moment that everything changed for Netflix, and I cannot wait to see what bold offerings await us from this unique service in the future.