Lightyear Review

[Westside Steve]

Lightyear

Disney/Pixar

Pg.         105 min

First of all I don't think there's anyone in the business that does modern-day animated features any better than Pixar. The old school champion Disney and Company realized that years ago and made the wise business decision “if you can't beat ‘em by ‘em.”  This Powerhouse combination has produced the finest CGI presentations of the new era with the possibility of DreamWorks coming in a distant second. One could make the argument that TOY STORY is the best movie of its type ever and has produced one of the most iconic characters of all time; Buzz Lightyear voiced originally by Tim Allen. I wonder why Disney decided to abandon its role as the world's finest family film producer and pivot toward the woke generation. But they did and that choice has resulted in a stunning box office bomb. And frankly I'm not really opposed to a little bit of an inclusion in entertainment, unless that attitude completely overshadows any semblance of a good story. And that's kind of what happened here albeit more through the hype than the actual film. No doubt somebody thought that spreading rumors of a gay kiss would focus attention on the film thereby increasing ticket sales. I think that was a bad idea especially for a kids movie. And frankly the theme that Buzz Lightyears commander as a homosexual black woman in a gay marriage really has nothing to do with why the movie sucks. But, suck it does. First of all, the plot is nearly incomprehensible for an adult let alone a kid. Light year and his commander and crew are trapped on a planet (now under siege from a bunch of evil robots) after suffering damage to the spaceship. The only way to save themselves is for the maverick Space Ranger to find a way to attain hyperspeed. Flying by the seat of his pants Buzz makes an attempt and almost achieves his goal. The problem is that in his 4-minute flight time takes four years back at the base. Still, he keeps trying but that means racking up years which turn into decades as he watches his friends and loved ones age and die. One could certainly wonder why this problem hadn't been solved over many decades but apparently everybody seems happy to have been living under a dome. Along the way Lightyears friend and Commander, her partner, and her child grows old and die leaving her granddaughter Izzy as his new partner and confidant. I won't give away the ending but when it finally arrives what was meant to be a moral statement is just confusing and a little bit stupid. None of the action sequences are exciting none of the dialogue clever and none of the revelations are the slightest bit interesting. That means the movie won't be interesting for children or adults. If in fact families are avoiding this one because of the adult themes, relax, they exist but they are relatively minor. Probably the box office problems are that it stinks and everyone is going to see Jurassic and top gun maverick. It really isn't offensive it just really isn't good.

D

WSS