IR Film Review: LIGHTYEAR [Pixar/Disney]
"Lightyear" knows what it wants to be and it has it down pat. It needs to be something different from the "Toy Story" movies and that is clear from the outset. It is a film about inspiration and forming a found family, warts and all. That is what "Toy Story" was about. The reasoning makes sense, as does the reasoning for Chris Evans taking on Buzz Lightyear thus replacing Tim Allen. It is not a perfect scenario but it does make sense in a Sartre sort of way. The Lightyear here is inherently flawed and the film takes more influence from "Interstellar" at many times than anything else. Granted the story is not as heavy handed by far as that but little moments (like one that brings to mind a similar one in "Up") really grounds the entire film. The plot progressions are necessary and beautifully realized. The storytelling is clear and yet complex. This however is not "Wall-E". The tone is more "Star Wars" 1.0 if that makes sense.
This is about transformation of self, even when the one transforming cannot see it unless he looks at himself. Keke Palmer plays Hawthorne in different incarnations along with a rag tag squad and their failings specifically during one sequence again reflects back to Andy's group of toys in the nursery. It is like a very expensive reference chapter in the Toy Story franchise, external and yet undeniably part of the mythology. The Zurg thing makes so much sense now and actually has such a deeper context (it will be interesting to go back and watch Allen as Buzz now in the Toy Story movies).
There are also those deep cut elements that you can see a young kid like Andy embellishing to make his own story. This is obvious and subtle filmmaking by Pixar at the exact same time. The character that completely bridges it beautifully giving the right sense of humor, heart and gravitas to motivate the right moments is actually Sox, a therapy robot of sorts that helps Buzz with adjustments, It sounds so simple but Sox sees things that Buzz can't and voices them in a particular way, like an angel of sorts on Lightyear's shoulder. Giving away any more of the plot would ruin it. It is not so much about where the story ends up but more about how the characters evolve through it. And that is the biggest strength of "Lightyear". A-
By Tim Wassberg
