Lightyear
Director: Angus MacLane
Writer: Angus MacLane, Jason Headley, Matthew Aldrich, Pete Doctor (creator), Andrew Stanton (creator), Joe Ranft (creator)
Starring: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waiti, James Brolin, Uzo Aduba, Dale Soules, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Bill Hader
Reason for watching: New Pixar release, plus it’s the weirdest spinoff movie ever
Number of times I’ve watched it: First time viewing
***
Pixar used to make original work only. For a solid run in the 2000s they only made original content. Monster’s Inc., The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille, Up, and Wall-E all were new content. It was an incredible time to be a fan of their work. Each new entry felt like a spectacle, and like you needed to be there opening weekend to see the movie or you were missing out. Then in 2010 Pixar released Toy Story 3, and the very next year they put out Cars 2. While the former is still excellent work, the latter is proof that they were not going to be sticking with their previous model of only original content. In the 2010s, seven of their eleven movies were sequels or prequels to their previously existing IP. Some of them were good, some were fine, some were even great. But then the 2020’s started and the first four movies for Pixar were original stories, and it felt refreshing to watch those movies. Turning Red and Luca are so unique that they felt almost holy unrelated to Pixar entirely. But with the release of Lightyear, it feels as if we are crashing back to the reality that even the whimsical works of Pixar can be compromised by the almighty dollars that sequels bring.
In probably the most baffling spinoff ever, Lightyear follows the titular space ranger Buzz (Chris Evans) on one of his interplanetary adventures. After accidentally marooning his team on a strange new world, Buzz leads several test flights with manufactured hypercrystals to try and get his team off this planet and back to their home. However, his travels end up separating him from his teammates for a long period of time. Returning only with lovable robot cat assistant SOX (Peter Sohn), Buzz learns the planet and his base is being seiged by a robot known as Zurg (James Brolin). However, help arrives in the form of trainee rangers Izzy (Keke Palmer), Mo (Taika Waiti), and Darby (Dale Soules). Together they will have to help the sieged base defeat the robot and get them back to the stars.
Now, just because cynically I find the existence of this movie to be a terrible thing, that does not mean there are good parts. The cast is filled with exciting actors who do good work here. Chris Evans turns everything he touches to gold with this great energy that he has. Keke Palmer may not be on the same level of fame, but she matches that positivity that Evans brings. Sohn absolutely steals the movie as SOX the cat. His character is almost the sole comedic relief. SOX essentially turns out to be a swiss army knife of a robot, capable of sending transmissions, knocking out enemies, and keeping his owner in tip-top shape. It’s like if R2-D2 was cute and could talk with a sense of humor. Without him this movie would fall flat on its face.
Normally I am okay with a movie being under two hours, but it felt as if there was more here for us to learn about the characters and for the story to expand. A lot of exposition is dumped on the audience throughout the entire movie. A kid’s movie does not need to meet the same standards as an adult action movie, but getting to know the characters better would have improved the experience. For instance, Izzy is essentially the second lead of this movie, but she has no personality other than being inexperienced and peppy. There is no motivation for her to help Buzz on his mission. The same goes for the entirety of Buzz’s team as well. A large part of his conflict with them is his decision to leave their marooned planet to try and help them escape. They prefer to stay on this planet, but we are never given a reason as to why. More timing needed to be spent on giving reasons for everyone doing what they are doing.
My final criticism of this movie boils down to its failure to meet a standard Pixar expectation: it is not deep enough. Is this nitpick? Yes. But it is the same reason every NFL fan and analyst talks about the Dallas Cowboys when they are a 500 team or worse. We expect more of them. Part of what made Incredibles great was the commentary on what a family is supposed to be. Inside Out discusses the validity and importance of each emotion. Coco reminds us of the importance of connecting with family and becoming your own person. What is Lightyear about? Honestly, I cannot tell. It is just an adventure movie as far as I can tell. That is fine, but Pixar does not do fine. They do great. This was not great.
6/10
Until I see another one.