Lightyear (2022)

 

My head is still "buzzing" after just finishing the Disney/Pixar film Lightyear. A great deal works in this movie, but there are also scenes that feel weirdly off, plot holes, very questionable physics, time-travel shenanigans, and alternate realities. It is a little too convoluted for a Disney kids' film, and I'm pretty sure I didn't understand all of it.

The first half of the film made me feel like I was watching a B-movie science fiction story disguised as an animated kids' film. It wasn't very funny and felt like a half-hearted effort by Pixar. However, the real meat of the story comes in the second half, which has enough action to make a Transformers movie proud. The end result is a somewhat entertaining movie that is also quite messy.

There is no doubt that the movie looks gorgeous. The level of animation is almost too detailed for objects that are on screen for only a couple of seconds, making me want to see more of the things that just fly by.

The movie has one big Twilight Zone-like twist that doesn't quite make sense.

The story starts out fairly routine before eventually venturing into Twilight Zone territory. Buzz Lightyear is a Space Ranger who accidentally gets his fellow crew members stranded on a hostile world. However, they make the best of their situation by building a habitat that eventually grows into a thriving community. They defend themselves against the indigenous life forms while constructing an experimental ship in an effort to leave the planet.

Because Lightyear feels responsible for stranding everyone, he makes multiple failed attempts to break the light-speed barrier in the experimental ship. Each attempt sends him about four years into the future, which, as portrayed in the movie, makes little sense. As he continues trying, he watches his shipmates grow old and die. When he finally succeeds, he finds himself much farther into the future than expected, with the community under attack by extraterrestrial robots. He must band together with the descendants of his former shipmates to face this new threat.

Initially, Lightyear trusts only himself and has little confidence in the new recruits. However, he eventually comes to recognize his own shortcomings. Circumstances force him to work alongside a team of inexperienced rookies, something he resists at first, but he ultimately realizes that he cannot accomplish everything on his own.

Rating: B

Lightyear is available for streaming on Disney+.

The initial reviews for Lightyear claimed that it was not only a good Pixar film but also a very good science fiction movie. I think both assertions are debatable. Nevertheless, the positive reviews made me want to see it, although I wasn't yet ready to return to theaters because of COVID.

The movie performed poorly at the box office and arrived on Disney+ relatively quickly, but not because of COVID. Many conservative voices worked hard to organize a boycott of the film, and those efforts met with some success. The controversy centered on a brief same-sex kiss in what is presumably a children's film. However, the scene lasts only about a second and is handled tastefully, involving a married same-sex couple.

I fail to see why this is an issue in 2022, since it reflects the world we live in today. Most children are already aware that same-sex couples exist. Nevertheless, a number of prominent conservative commentators vowed not to let their children see the movie, which is perhaps their loss.

When it comes to controversial issues, science fiction has often been among the first genres to break new ground. As far back as 1995, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine featured a passionate woman-to-woman kiss, although it made sense within the context of the story. Other series, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Orville, and the animated series Final Space, have featured alien species with only one gender or species capable of changing gender.