Lightyear Review
Summary: While spending years attempting to return home, marooned Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear encounters an army of ruthless robots commanded by Zurg who are attempting to steal his fuel source.
- Starring: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn
- Director: Angus MacLane
- Writers: Angus MacLane, Matthew Aldrich, Jason Headley
- Rating: PG
- Runtime: 1h 45m
- 3D Type: Native
Story:
Lightyear is the movie that inspired Andy to add Buzz Lightyear to his toy collection back in 1995, which it tells us at the start. It is an interesting way to bridge both films together, even if the animation is drastically different between the two.
Here Chris Evans replaces Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear, with Pixar opting for a fresh new voice, which is understandable seeing as Tim Allen is now in his late 60s. Chris Evans does a great job and sounded very similar to me.
There are a lot of jokes I enjoyed that will humour both the younger audience and those who grew up with Toy Story and Toy Story 2. For example, Buzz blowing on I.V.A.N.’s (the virtual assistant) chips before reinserting is a funny reference to Nintendo cartridges. Then there’s Sox the robotic cat who is funny throughout. There are a couple of jokes that were silly and unnecessary though, such as ‘Junior Zap Patrol’ member Mo repeatedly asking if the others need a pen throughout. Why a pen?
I found the story to be both sad and heart-warming at the same time. With each failed attempt Buzz has at his mission, everyone else has aged four years until they grow old, as Buzz is attempting to reach hyperspeed. Heartwarming is the underlying message; friendship is key, which Buzz learns. Overall, it’s a little slow-paced but enjoyable nonetheless.
Picture:
The CGI in Lightyear looks photo-realistic at times, especially with how the lighting is used, which showcases how far computer animation has come. It is definitely the film’s strongest suit. The colours are warm and pop with vibrancy. Shadows are rich and deep. Pixar has done an excellent job here and continues to push animation forward.
Sound:
The IMAX version of Lightyear consists of a Dolby Atmos track that sounds decent. Disney movies usually have a lower volume mix compared to other films and this one is no different. It means that the bass doesn’t hit as hard as it normally would, but it is a children’s film after all.
3D
It does feel a bit like 3D was an afterthought as many scenes do not appear to have consistently planned layering of objects. There are quite a lot of 2D scenes. I’d say that Lightyear is one of the weaker 3D films by Pixar, but it does have its moments.
Pop:
A lack of pop-out effects is noticeable throughout this film. In the fight scenes, some laser beams and blow darts pop a little, though it is hardly noticeable.
Depth:
The added depth in some scenes looks incredible when they deliberately push it. Space flight particularly stands out. The ships, planets, and space have an immense scope, and it looks great as Buzz attempts to reach hyperspeed time and time again. Corridors and environments separate characters and objects with decent depth.
Verdict:
Lightyear is a good spin-off of the Toy Story series. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the Toy Story franchise but is fairly enjoyable in its own right. I wouldn’t call this one a must-see in 3D as I feel it doesn’t benefit the movie too much.
Category | Scores |
---|---|
Story: | ★★★★ |
Picture: | ★★★★★ |
Sound: | ★★★★★ |
Pop: | ★ |
Depth: | ★★★★ |
TOTAL SCORE: | 19/25 |