Lightyear

Lightyear (2022)

76% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 270 reviews)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Angus MacLane

Starring: Various famous voices, such as Chris Evans and Keke Palmer

From: Disney/Pixar

This made me want to rewatch Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Before I saw this movie, I had no idea what to expect. As I've watched all the other Toy Story films theatrically, might as well do the same with this one which at least did not SEEM as much of a cashgrab as it was at least a different idea to present a movie of a fictional character within another universe. But some people are mad that Chris Evans replaced Tim Allen as the voice of the titular Lightyear (no matter the excuse that Disney provided, Allen's political beliefs as the reason why at least seems to be part of the issue; politics now playing such a role in Hollywood and the major United States based studios seemingly having a blatant slant towards one side is not something I'm entirely comfortable w/ but that's another topic for another time); this and there being out LGBTQ+ characters in the film has to be why the overall score on IMDb (in addition, the user rating on Google) is only average when the opinions of everyone else-whether here or on the Rotten Tomatoes audience score or the A- CinemaScore rating-is quite a bit higher. Then there is this receiving a theatrical release when the more niche Turning Red was relegated to Disney +; some are up in arms about that decision, especially after Lightyear hasn't been a box office success.

A disadvantage of waiting a week to see a new release of a popular movie is that by this point I couldn't help but develop opinions or at least impressions from the hearsay I come across on Letterboxd and other sites. By the time this was watched, I already heard some negative opinions and developed the general impression that the movie did not have the most elaborate plot. A story on the simplistic side is not an automatic demerit from me; after all, Top Gun: Maverick doesn't reinvent the wheel; that said, Maverick successfully presenting a tale full of cliché is more the exception rather than the norm in Hollywood. Turns out, this movie does present its generic story in a way that did not aggravate, even if I do have quibbles.

The movie wasn't what I was expecting given the trailers I saw beforehand. Chiefly, Buzz Lightyear is kind of a putz in the first half, failing often at a task (albeit one that is quite difficult) and also acting like a jerk at times. I know the character in the OG Toy Story was a fool at first, but... he then teams up with the standard ragtag group and they are also bad at first. That noted, I should be relieved that Buzz wasn't a Mary Sue-or Marty Stu, in this case-and there are some important life lessons for the kids. Instead of everything going perfect for our hero or heroes, they have to go through an ordeal; furthermore, there are messages for such ideas as “teamwork” and “you have to work hard to succeed.” I just wish that the movie wouldn't have been so hit and miss w/ the comedy-more than a few jokes & gags fell flat for me.

As the action was fine, the animation looked as nice as expected, all the obvious nods to great science fiction pictures of the past at least gave me something to capture my attention when I wasn't jiving w/ the movie at first, and Sox the cat was far more entertaining than expected. Thus, even if the story was not a gem like the Pixar of the past (perhaps the distant past...), at least this wasn't a mess or a disaster like Jurassic World Dominion and is not meme-worthy like Morbius apparently is.