Worth: $14.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Chris Evans, Uzo Aduba, Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Peter Sohn, James Brolin [voices)
Intro:
… dialled down complexity for the sake of broader appeal.
A film that explains the backstory of a fictional piece of merchandise, Pixar’s breezy sci-fi adventurer shows the figure behind the plastic. We are no longer in the toy chest.
Marooned on an inhospitable planet, partly the result of its titular character’s stubborn refusal to accept assistance, the world’s favourite round-jawed spaceman Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans, the perfect successor to Tim Allen) goes to infinity and beyond to save humankind.
In his escapades, Buzz faces hostile critters, strangulating vines, and laser-ready robots, all the while training a rag-tag crew of unlikely space rangers who prove more clumsy than adept. The likes of these unique candidates include Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer, a standout), Mo (Taika Waititi) and Darby (Dale Soules). The role of scene-stealing side character, a Pixar staple, exists in the robotic emotional support cat Sox (Peter Sohn, affable).
As is the case in Pixar, the message at the centre of Lightyear – the importance of believing in others and not allowing your mistakes to haunt you – reads loud and true. Director Angus MacLane (Finding Dory) captures this theme with poignancy, utilising the story’s time travel aspects to express the moments lost to critical self-reflection.
Errors are okay, beating yourself up over them is not.
While these values radiate throughout the film, they don’t entirely make up for the subdued storytelling. In its ambition to tell a fast-moving romp, Lightyear defaults to conventional methods of getting from A to Z, jarringly imposing a heavy-handedness to establish emotional stakes. The big reveal, coming in the form of the film’s antagonist Emperor Zurg (James Brolin), doesn’t quite hit the Star Wars level of delicious surprise it is inspired by, sitting so hard on the nose that you might confuse it for a pair of reading glasses.
By no measure is Lightyear a bad film, and to judge it based on the success of other Pixar entries would be unfair. That said, it feels as if the filmmakers – the same studio who made uniquely thought-provoking creations such as Inside Out and Soul, challenging the conventions on what animated films can be – have dialled down the complexity for the sake of broader appeal.
In the spirit of sci-fi romps of yesteryear, Michael Giacchino’s horn-heavy score channels both adventure and tribulation. Visuals are most elegant following Buzz’s antics in space, with the film’s cinematography embracing a Kubrickian flare. If only this beauty were matched in grandeur with the efforts on the ground, with the indistinguishable barren landscapes – not to mention the rubbery appearance of the human characters – lacking vitality.
In Evans, Buzz is perfectly cast, with the Captain America actor serving bravado in equal measure to vulnerability. His superior commander, the astute Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), offers many of the film’s most touching moments, with her same-sex relationship representing a breakthrough in Disney-Pixar storytelling. Though, that is not to say it is perfectly executed (nor should a studio be celebrated for it).
Great review!