Lightyear Review
Lightyear (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Angus MacLane, written by Angus MacLane, Jason Headley and Matthew Aldrich and starring Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, James Brolin, Uzo Aduba, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Bill Hader and Efren Ramirez. Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear was half of the dream team pair that was showcased in the Toy Story movies. Now, without Woody, a new animated movie has made its way to the screen and it’s simply called Lightyear. For those who always wondered where the phrase “To infinity and beyond” got its origins, this film will help shed some light on those details behind the popular expression the toy Buzz used to use in the older pictures.
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Tim Allen isn’t voicing Buzz anymore. Chris Evans is. Evans does surprisingly live up to the expectations set by Allen in the old Toy Story films. Without Woody (he’s not even in a post credit sequence), Buzz feels a bit lost on screen (especially not being a toy and all) so it’s only appropriate Lightyear gets lost himself as the movie’s main story line begins. As the plot develops, however, the picture gives him some new friends to hold him over for a bit. This film demonstrates the importance of teamwork and has some exciting scenes that will please young audiences looking for some suspenseful adventure while learning of Buzz’s origin story. Early on, we meet Buzz and his friend Captain Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), a woman who is strong and determined. This friendship sets the stage for future happenings in the script. Time passes four years at a time as Buzz investigates hyperspace fuel. A lot happens but it’s when Buzz, later on, meets her granddaughter Izzy (Keke Palmer) that the plot gets more involved. To try to explain the science behind all the story developments would be unnecessary as it all plays in a way that is much less complicated than it would sound. All this would be a lot less entertaining without the robotic cat named Sox (voice of Peter Sohn) who is technically proficient and can get Buzz and company out of hot water whenever need be. Well, for the most part anyway. In one scene late in the movie, Sox is in space floating away from Izzy and the idea of Buzz and company losing Sox is so heartbreaking that one will definitely be on the edge of his or her seat awaiting to see if Izzy can save Sox. This robot cat has a lot of personality! Besides Sox, there are some other memorable characters. One is called Mo (the always terrific voice of Taika Waititi), a slacker who is ready to prove himself, and there’s also a tough, paroled character named Darby (Dale Soules) who has a past and once tried to take a rocket ship. The central villain in the story is a big robot called Zurg (James Brolin) and Lightyear comes in contact with what appears to be his future self as well as more twists and turns in the plot are revealed. The question then becomes: Should Buzz trust his future self or his friends? A very funny part of the movie involves the whole futuristic concept of a sandwich being eaten with the bread in between the meat as opposed to the meat being eaten in between the bread. Though this is all quite amusing, the movie also has some splendid narrow escape scenes as our heroes find themselves caught in a trap at one point and need to push some buttons outside their enclosure to escape. The only way they can set themselves free is through acting as a team, a concept that is nobly and nicely portrayed. Lightyear is a bit flawed as a movie. It does have a lot happening throughout the picture but some of it is needlessly complicated and hard to follow. If you don’t look too closely, maybe you can just see it as the good guys vs. the bad robots and enjoy it on a more simplistic level which is what I did. I would have liked the story to bring Woody into it at some point and link this tale to Toy Story more than it does but, judging from the after credits scenes, Disney/Pixar looks like they want to make this a franchise of its own which means it could be a long time before this Buzz ever meets Woody. But, Buzz is not a toy here so maybe this picture is just presenting a real life Buzz from which the toy in Toy Story was based and we’ll have to see a Woody origin story of its own before “real life” Buzz would meet “real life” Woody. I’m not sure what Disney/Pixar has in store for the future of this new franchise but Lightyear works as a standalone movie that will entertain younger viewers and has enough entertainment value at its core to involve older viewers too. Just don’t examine all the science behind everything in the movie too closely (unless you want to) and you’ll enjoy the ride. Rating: 7/10 Leave your thoughts on this Lightyear review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flipboard.
