This movie was rather... pedestrian.
Curious what it looks like in the IMAX ratio and if it makes any difference in feel. I guess I'll find out when they showcase it that was on Disney+.
EDIT: Got a couple of PM's. Guess I'll post my review as I had for previous recent movies. Spoiled for length, not content.
[Show spoiler]
This movie had quite a bit to live up to. Not because of Toy Story, since this is technically no more in the universe than fictional films are within our universe. No, rather because (1) Pixar and (2) this was supposedly Andy's favorite film and his reason for loving Buzz Lightyear in the first place. Personally, I don't think it lived up to either.
I'm kind of surprised by this being Andy's favorite movie and the character that brought the toy he so desired. I'm having trouble tapping into the nine-year-old within myself to formulate how much I would have enjoyed this movie. I think I would have had a lot of fun with it, but I'm also thinking about how much more fun I can have. I look at a film like The Incredibles, and honestly Pixar didn't have to do too much with it other than make an animated superhero movie (sure there was the family dynamic, but this wasn't the first of its kind to do that), and it turned out very excellent and fun. When they made the decision for this movie to be more generic than the Pixar magic they tend to bring light with, along the way I think they tied themselves down a bit and forgot to hash out the excellently fun elements.
In a sense, I'm actually waiting for the sequel to this movie. I think that is the one where they would be able to get it off the ground and make it the exhilarating sci-fi adventure that Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger is meant to be. I think the sequel to this movie is the one that Andy would've fallen in love with. Pixar has an interesting opportunity here in that they can spinoff a franchise from this individual character and have it be completely of its own accord in science fiction if they want to, and I want them to. This first entry, if you will, is very much a character study. I just don't see this as the toy that I would want to rush out and purchase (though there is another one I think a lot of people will want to buy, more on that later).
Lightyear heavily borrows from Star Wars, Star Trek, Interstellar, and throws in Toy Story Easter eggs here and there (some quotes and mannerisms you've seen from Buzz). Sadly, I think it's only all for the best if you haven't seen those movies before. When I see something it pays homage to, I know that in other films I have either seen it better, can't be caught by surprise with it, or it can't tug at my heartstrings again. This is all especially true of Toy Story, because although it has nothing to do with the toys, this is supposed to mold into Andy's toy, and again I just have yet to see that. This mostly has to do with the fact that Buzz is a different character here than Andy portrays him as (and I think his character here is better since he is flawed), and this is especially problematic with how they changed Zurg. Again, these things aren't a problem if you've seen these other films, so either a sequel can choose to tie it all closer or distance itself all more. Either way, there is this middle ground they decided to hit which left me scratching my head.
Overall, this movie becomes a bit too pedestrian by playing safe against the material that it likens itself with and decides against being the all-out fun sci-fi adventure that it can be (though I feel a sequel can remedy that). There is one pretty intense scene, but it was the only time that I felt any actual peril for any characters. The comedy falls flat for my age group, especially with Taika Waititi's character... with the exception of Sox. And yes, I'm saving the best for last. Sox saves this film. He is adorable, hilarious, a scene-stealer, and will obviously be a big toy-seller. He alone might have brought this movie up a full point or two, especially because he brings the comedy that I think the other characters fail to (EDIT: IVAN is also great).
I don't think this movie is bad at all, but in all that it is good in it falls short of delivering the Pixar magic, the adventure, the consistency with the character we believed Andy fell in love with (which is fine on its face if you decide to separate that), and the changes to the Zurg villain were bothersome. In all, I still very much want this to be a franchise and want the sequel that I know Andy truly would've loved with Buzz Lightyear, and I think Pixar has a chance at giving us the Incredibles parallel in this franchise.
There are three credits scenes. None are necessarily groundbreaking, but I just want you to know that they're there.
Also, I didn't see any trailers before watching this movie, so I wanted to search up a trailer before leaving impressions to see what I should and shouldn't say content-wise. Sadly, in just typing "lightyear," the predictive search options brought up five or six hits that frankly should not be the focus of this movie. It is so 2022 that this movie is probably going to be known for a controversial talking point, when really I thought it was part of the best written aspect of the movie and it was done really well. Perhaps if the rest of the movie was written as well, people wouldn't draw their focus to this.
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