Pixar has dropped its movie of the summer, revisiting its most recognizable franchise, Toy Story.
Lightyear is a spinoff (sort of) about space ranger and pilot Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans). Lightyear is on a scientific expedition to discover a habitable planet. He sets out on the mission with his best friend, Commander Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), and an entire science team under stasis.
Lightyear and Hawthorne are exploring a planet when their ship is attacked by threatening life forms in the area. During the attack, the ship’s fuel cell is irreparably damaged, marooning Lightyear, Hawthorne, and the rest of the team on the planet.
After reverse-engineering the fuel crystal, Buzz Lightyear tests it in a shuttle. If the shuttle can reach hypersonic speed, they know it would be powerful enough to fly the crew off the marooned planet. Lightyear goes on his 4-minute flight test… and fails. To further complicate things, time folds on itself as he reaches certain speeds. So when he returns to the planet, he is shocked that years have passed.
The marooned colony was attacked by Emperor Zurg (Josh Brolin) and his army while Lightyear was away. Lightyear must put a ragtag team together to save the colony from Zurg and get everyone home.
As a life-long Star Trek fan, I appreciate the many themes and elements borrowed from the show. The similar science jargon, the focus on discovery and innovation, and even the film’s score, with its exciting trumpets and roaring French horns, create nostalgia for those properties.
You can also see elements of other classic sci-fi properties. (It was hard not to see I.V.A.N. as a more benevolent version of H.A.L. from 2001: A Space Odyssey). But you do not have to be familiar with those properties to enjoy and understand the movie. Lightyear successfully takes bits and pieces of what has made other space science fiction great and makes it it’s own.
There is some good voice work in Lightyear. Chris Evans does a terrific Lightyear. He sounds like the Buzz Lightyear we are familiar with, but the nuance he gives to his cadence seems more human. Peter Sohn’s take on S.O.X. is also excellent, and it helps that character steal many scenes. Also, props to Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, and Dale Soules for voicing the junior space rangers. The group adds much-needed comic relief and heart to the film.
I was invested in that part of the story, but I am also in my mid-thirties. I question if an eight-year-old would find the exploration of these ideas boring.
Even though I enjoyed the science/adventure elements and the cast of Lightyear, I still find it slightly underwhelming as a Pixar film. The animation is good but isn’t breaking any real barriers. Also, Lightyear is missing the emotional weight that we have become accustomed to when it comes to Pixar. You do not get the emotional payoff you experience with the upper-level pantheon of Pixar, such as Inside Out and Toy Story 3.
The life lesson of the film could also be lost on younger audiences, as it seems to be geared more toward older individuals who may have experienced regret or unmet expectations. I was invested in that part of the story, but I am also in my mid-thirties. I question if an eight-year-old would find the exploration of these ideas boring.
However, what will save the film is the final twenty minutes of action. The climax delivers on the action better than any other Pixar movie, minus The Incredibles. Although you are fully expecting a happy ending and for our protagonists to be victorious, you allow yourself to let your guard down and root for this team trying to outwit and outmaneuver the much more powerful villain.
In conclusion, Lightyear is a good Pixar movie but lacks the heart we’ve come to expect from the film studio. Still, you will like these characters and hope that you get to hang out with them again in the future.
