Lightyear (2022)

[Eric Duncan]

To infinity and discuss!

[CaptainJackSparrow]

So from what I read, Zurg isn't even technically in the movie?!

[poweranimals]

2 hours ago, CaptainJackSparrow said:

So from what I read, Zurg isn't even technically in the movie?!

You read incorrectly.

[Menor the Destroyer]

I liked it, didn't love it. Needed more emotional scenes to balance out the action. Zurg twist was fine for me. Low-tier Pixar, but still good. 

Edited June 18, 2022 by Menor Reborn

[filmlover]

An enjoyable, if ultimately completely unnecessary, addition to the Toy Story universe that adds a backstory to everyone's favorite space ranger. Abetted with the Pixar standard stellar animation and a solid voice performance from Chris Evans (putting his own spin on Buzz while wisely making no attempt at channeling Tim Allen). Hard to believe this would've been "Andy's Star Wars" (or anyone's Star Wars, really) but such is the nature of the "movie within movie" concept. It's a fun time that's worth the price of admission. It's just too bad that it's lacking the heart of any of the Toy Story movies or the very best that Pixar has to offer. B-

[Cap]

On 6/19/2022 at 9:41 AM, filmlover said:

a solid voice performance from Chris Evans (putting his own spin on Buzz while wisely making no attempt at channeling Tim Allen).

 

I looooooooved how he went Tim Allen-esque when doing his "Narrating"/Logs, but didn't talk like that in normal conversation.  Very much how he did Steve in First Avenger when Steve was doing the USO Tours.

[SLAM!]

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Pixar has just mastered the craft of storytelling and they’re obviously going to nail that aspect of it. I just appreciate how air-tight this script is and how much everything works. The film may not have been necessary, but the animation sure was. They went hard on it and showed Buzz and Zurg in this very well-presented way that really brought them to life. Pixar has a very high bar that the film doesn’t quite reach, but my B score is closer to an A than a C. Very well done.

Edited June 21, 2022 by SLAM!

[Webslinger]

I actually did see this theatrically - the Disney+ release was basically just a reminder to finally get around to it. 

 

First, let’s be real: Lightyear exists as part of Hollywood’s inescapable obsession with milking IP until it’s dry. The fact that it got a theatrical release while more artistically fulfilling Pixar non-spinoffs Soul, Turning Red, and Luca were sent straight to streaming for financial concerns is also annoying. With those qualifications stated, Lightyear is a noticeably flawed but also solidly entertaining outing from Pixar. Though the film misses a big creative opportunity by not fully embracing the tone of big, dumb, cheesy mid-‘90s sci-fi schlock like its opening title cards suggest it could, it takes some big swings and connects on enough of them to justify its existence and provide entertainment value for a wide audience. The tone is curiously serious for a family film and it often feels like it has more in common with the likes of Interstellar than with the Toy Story series (or anything that would have appealed to a five-year-old in the mid-‘90s as the opening title cards suggest – though maybe that Andy just had unusually sophisticated film taste for a little kid?), but the film ultimately has a big heart and finds ways to deliver on Pixar’s usual promise of balancing funny, kid-appealing humor with complex, resonant emotional power. I don’t imagine that kids will get much out of the montage depicting the passage of time in Buzz’s hyperspeed test runs nor the moral quandary that forms the backbone of the film’s narrative, but both are delivered with enough thoughtfulness that they will keep adults present for accompaniment or Toy Story nostalgia invested on a deeper level. There’s also plenty of stellar humor, especially in the droll stylings of Peter Sohn’s robotic cat SOX. Stepping into Tim Allen’s boots as the title character, Chris Evans does nice vocal work. Evans obviously takes a different tonal approach than Allen, but he apes Allen’s cadence and vocal mannerisms in a way that makes plenty of sense for this film’s context. The rest of Buzz’s ragtag team is also fun, and the characters that exist on either end of the film’s long timeline also work well. Ultimately, the film’s biggest shortcoming is that it doesn’t live up to its potential because it feels like it is trying to have its cake and eat it too by trying to be a thoughtful piece of family-friendly sci-fi while also fitting into the mold set forth for it as a spinoff of a hugely popular franchise whose protagonist already has a set place in the established continuity. Unfortunately, it also bears a poor reputation thanks to its box office performance and overblown reactionary controversy about the positive and normal depiction of a relationship between women. With all factors considered, Lightyear is a better and more ambitious film than its reputation might suggest, and worth a look for anyone who might be interested in seeing the title character taken in a noticeably different direction.

 

B