Lightyear

 It's been ages since Pixar had a movie in theaters. Yes, two years does feel like infinity and beyond. It's perhaps fitting that its return feature stars the space ranger who goes there. Lightyear sees Chris Evans take on the role Tim Allen played four times already. 

Sort of...

The opening text tells us that this movie is what the Buzz Lightyear toy from the Toy Story films was based on. The movie itself shows Buzz and his fellow Space Rangers crash-land on T'Kani Prime, a planet full of living vines and giant bugs. They set up a colony where they research hyperspeed crystals that'll help them get off. Buzz flies each test, not quite making hyperspeed, and losing four years each time. During which, his partner Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) makes a family, grows old and dies. His robot cat Sox (Peter Sohn) perfects the hyperspeed crystal mix and they head off, again...

They land twenty-two years later, where the colony is under attack from the evil Zurg (James Brolin) and his robots. Alisha's granddaughter Izzy (Keke Palmer) leads a ragtag bunch of misfits, including clutzy Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi) and trigger-happy parolee Darby Steel (Dale Soules) to resist them. Buzz and Sox join them on their mission. Zurg takes special interest in Buzz for temporal reasons.

This marks the full directorial debut of Angus MacLane, who, among his other Pixar work, co-directed Finding Dory. The story he conceived with Matthew Aldrich and Jason Headley is emotionally simple, barring a montage highlighting the time dilation in Buzz's flights, but it's highly entertaining. Izzy and her misfits are a great ragtag bunch, including a robot (whose name I forgot) who sidelines himself with an overlong gag. Zurg is a formidable foe, even if his secret is relatively nothing new. Let's not forget Sox, whose cuddly personality and appearance almost make me want a robot cat.

It's fun to recognize elements from Toy Story in this "realistic" incarnation. This Buzz Lightyear is a likable, though stubborn hero. His comradery with Alisha is pretty good in spite of their short time together. Him bonding with Izzy's crew leads to a few nice moments. One of the best is the climactic moment he finally uses his wings. His rejection of Zurg's deal seems rushed, but it's a minor nitpick. 

Its visual style does a good job emulating live-action sci-fi films from 1995 and beyond. You're sure to recognize 2001, Interstellar and (at least for me) Enemy Mine in the mixture. Its cinematography and production design easily lets one imagine these intergalactic locales in live action. Zurg's bots, however, look too advanced for the time (but I digress). The space travel and space battles are amplified by Michael Giacchino's heroic score; its most emotional theme comes, of course, from the time dilation montage. 

Lightyear is a fun adventure film for anyone lamenting no Toy Story 5. It's a fun adventure film for anyone who wants those. It's a good way to spend a summer afternoon indoors. Its story isn't that groundbreaking, but it's sure to keep your attention for 105 minutes. It's a technically appealing film that might just send you to infinity and beyond. Let's just hope this won't be Pixar's last theatrical film...