Lightyear
With Pixar’s usual blend of beautiful visuals and clever storytelling, Lightyear is a fun sci-fi adventure. It’s also the first Pixar film Disney has opened in theaters in over two years. Director Angus MacLane (Finding Dory) balances humor and character growth via action sequences beautifully. There are plenty of space ranger shenanigans, including a dizzy chase sequence, but in typical Pixar fashion, all that fun comes with a message that both adults and children can benefit from. Buzz must deal with himself and learn how to ask for help before he has any chance of breaking the very literal cycle he’s repeating.
At the heart of the film is a great performance from Evans, who’s certainly had experience playing all-American heroes. While he gets a few of the classic Toy Story lines in, this is not the Buzz from that franchise. Instead of a brash but loveable idiot, Evans’ Buzz is more stubbornly competent. There’s a sense that he believes he’s doing the best thing for everyone, even when he’s refusing the help of those around him. Evans makes that trait both Buzz’s greatest strength and crippling weakness. It’s interesting to compare that to the Tim Allen-voiced Buzz, who is more than willing to draw the other toys into his crazy schemes.
Verdict: Evans gives a great performance in a Pixar film that offers sci-fi thrills and a lesson about letting go. Worth a look in theaters and definitely worth streaming.
