THE FILM CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When Pixar released their animation phenomenon that was Toy Story, we noticed the excitement young Andy had when getting the Buzz Lightyear action figure for his birthday. We knew that the toy was based on a film he had seen, but I never thought we would ever see that said film.
PLOT
2022's Lightyear takes in a dystopian future, showing a ship known as the 'Turnip' making a pitstop during its route to an unknown destination, carrying a human colony. Space Rangers Buzz Lightyear and Alisha Hawthorne scout the planet T'Kani Prime for resources. Along with their rookie Featheringhamstam (Bill Hader), they get attacked by creatures of the forest that include living vines and giant insects. When they try to retreat, Buzz accidentally crashes into a cliff, which wastes their crystalic fusion energy needed for hyperspeed. This inspires a new mission for the ranger to make a new source to get everyone off the planet. After one year, the colony had developed civilization in T’Kani Prime. Buzz tests his new energy source for the first time and he is able to fly off the planet and loop around it, including it’s son, but the first test backfires as he damages his ship so badly he must eject. When he returns to T’Kani Prime, he discovers that he was able to jump four years of time when the test was only four minutes, as a result of time dilation. When reuniting with Alisha, she would begin her own life by having her only son Avery with her wife Kiko. She even gives him a feline designed companion bot named Sox to help him cope with the time he missed. Still determined to complete his personal mission, Buzz assigns Sox to find a suitable formula as he keeps running his own tests. All of the tests added up to missing 62 years in life. With such time gone by, an elderly Alisha would pass away and her son Avery would conceive his daughter Izzy. With his friend gone, Commander Burnside (Isiah Whitlock Jr) takes command and decides to cancel the mission and stay in the planet, protecting their home with laser shield to block the jungle life from attacking. This does upset Buzz, but is satisfied to know that Sox had succeeded in finding a suitable formula. With the new formula, he creates the perfect fusion and succeeds creating hyperspace when leaving T’Kani Prime. When he returns again, another 22 years have gone by and the planet is much different than before. He meets an adult Izzy and explains that robots with a ship from above have recently invaded and have been attacking constantly, cornering them in their own laser shield. The mother ship contains their leader known as 'Zurg' and if they can destroy the leader and its ship, they can destroy the remaining forces with ease. Aside from Izzy who has astraphobia, Buzz & Sox are also accompanied by paroled convict Darby Steel and fresh recruit Mo Morrison. Although they don't have the best experiences in comparison to another, Buzz chooses to stay with them to accomplish the new mission. He does get attacked by one of the robots, but with thanks to Sox and Mo, they're able to put it out of commission. In order to get to Zurg's ship, they need their own to fly. So they head to an abandoned hangar that has a spare ship and avert giant insects nesting inside. Despite escaping, they blow out a fuel cell, which leads to looking for new parts. After finding some near a mining facility, Buzz gets abducted by Zurg himself who takes him back to his ship. When he demands his identity, it is revealed that Zurg is not a robot, but a mecha suit. The man in the suit turns out to be a future Buzz. It is further proven so when he shares the same dog tags and has his own Sox that's deteriorating. Future Buzz explains that when he succeeded with the hyperspace test, Burnside wanted to arrest him for going against command. Refusing to be a prisoner, he retreated and got into hyperspeed again, only to find himself in a much further future with advanced technology and an abandoned vessel. Accepting the identity of Zurg, he's been trying to go back in time to prevent Turnip from ever going to T'Kani Prime. But he doesn't have enough of his own hyperspace fuel to pull it off and with the young Buzz around, he can pull it off. The young Buzz is completely against this because if it happens, Alisha will never have her happy life and Izzy would likely never exist. Future Sox defies Zurg with a tranquilizer and gives Buzz a head start on attempting to destroy the mother ship. Zurg eventually reemerges and destroys his own companion, challenging his younger counterpart to fight him. As this happens, Buzz's team boards the ship to rescue him. When Mo and Steel set up traps on the other robots, Sox and Izzy help Buzz overpower Zurg. All are able to avoid the ship's destruction as they retreat. Buzz uses his crystal to catch up with them, but Zurg reemerges and tries to take it from them. Buzz then decides to eject himself to destroy the crystal, which appears to kill Zurg. With new wings for his suit, he helps his friends land safely. When reuniting with Burnside, he accepts that T'Kani Prime is his new home, resulting in the commander to congratulate him for saving the colony. He is even awarded with his own Space Ranger program, recruiting only Sox, Izzy, Mo & Steel to be the core of his new organization. As they set off in a new adventure, the film ends in a post credits scene where Zurg reveals to still be alive as his helmet's eyes suddenly light up.
THOUGHTS
If there is one thing you know about Walt Disney is that it will milk their owned franchises until the quality declines. Since they own Pixar, you already know we'll continue seeing Toy Story content. Little did I expect that I would be so entertained of a movie within a movie. Since this is Pixar we're talking about, you're already expecting incredible animation to be shown. In a new decade, this studio still ain't skipping a beat since every time we get a look at space or take a look at each uniquely designed character, you already know you're in for something special without even thinking about the nostalgia that ensues. To me, what kept me onboard more than the many laughs I had and exciting action in between was the way Director Angus MacLane makes it feel more than a superhero movie by showing such a layer of depth you wouldn't expect from a protagonist that inspired an action figure. The best way to create distance from Toy Story was to recast the lead that was voiced greatly by Tim Allen for years. And while no one could ever top him, Chris Evans was the right choice to create the atmosphere this movie was going for. It appears that Andy fell in love with this character because he is an overconfident man who destines for perfection. This would be his greatest flaw because while he is trying to be selfless with his actions, he unintentionally pushes away those who care about him. The entire journey he puts himself through creates his long awaited realization that changing things up is good. He always played it close to the chest and preferred only Alisha as his partner because she was the only one who understood him. The chemistry he then builds with the junior patrol truly taught him the value of teamwork. Again, he was so blinded by such a pure goal that it was slowly turning him into a selfish figure until he met Zurg. The revelation of Zurg's identity really made the movie unpredictable because there was no way we could've predicted he and Buzz were one and the same. Voiced masterfully by James Brolin, this character proved to be the true villain by being Buzz's reflection. He became so self absorbed with what he wanted to do, that he only became so cruel and careless with his actions the more impatient he got. Zurg was the wakeup call for Buzz as his actions taught him to not throw your life away for something that can't happen overnight. It doesn't surprise me that his rival survived because that gives an excuse for this spinoff to be its own franchise, but it does speak volumes as it points out that it'll never be easy to put aside the past. Although this dynamic is what makes the movie memorable, it was cool to see a whole new set of supporting characters that put smiles on our faces. It was pretty easy to enjoy the presence of Alisha as Uzo Aduba portrayed her as a true hero of her own right by being the one to teach Buzz to not give up, but to also live life while you can. She lived her life while Buzz missed out on his because she knew that was more than being stuck in the same chapter. And she earned her own statue because she tool care of the colony when no one else was able to, making her just as selfless as her friend in the best way imaginable. “To infinity and beyond” has the iconic catchphrase of Toy Story everyone knows, yet this movie helped me understand exactly what that meant. Every time Alisha and Buzz say it to each other, it’s about to surpassing their limits and when they say it, they motivate each other to do that. We all know Izzy isn't perfect, but Keke Palmer teaches viewers that it's never too late for improvement. Seeing her overcome her fear of space only proves the benefit of facing fears head on. She has the best role models at her disposal and as long as she is in a great mindset, then she will continue her path as a great hero as well. Of course Alisha would be proud of Izzy living up to the name, but she'll definitely be proud of Buzz for finally being open minded. Taika Waititi was a treat when playing Mo because despite being naive, he always found a way to have a good time and I think he had the best time when helping Buzz save the day. Because of him, I got an extra set of pens on me incase anyone wants/needs one. Even Dale Soules made Darby Steel a delight because of how she unintentionally comes off childish when she's trying to be the gruffest of the bunch. She wasn't planning on being a hero either, but that doesn't mean it's bad to help. Last but not least, I originally though Baymax was the cutest robot to be seen in the animated genre, but then Sox easily takes the mantle. Peter Sohn makes him a standout character for actually being more helpful than Buzz anticipates. It just comes to show how great it is when help comes from unexpected places. The irony on how he has feline traits for a robot has me laughing like crazy. I'm pretty sure if Andy was rich, he'd have his own Sox as well. With a colorful array of people around Buzz, it's safe to say that Buzz is gonna be having a whole lotta fun with his following adventures. This movie was pretty fun to get through, but even one as fun as this had its moments I couldn't help but question. I get that Buzz's curiosity in the opening leads to the plot going into motion, but he could've saved the colony by having a smaller shuttle to scout the planet. If they don't have that, than that is a massive design flaw. Another example, how come the space ranger suits never had the wings unless ejecting? I know they save it for dramatic effect, which works, but it kinda doesn't make sense for rangers that are supposed to explore space. Another flaw would be how Space Ranger suits don't confirm when areas are breathable. That is top tier information to know and I'm in shock that the planet was when it couldn't have been. And how come the colony never upgraded their IVANs? Someone other than Alisha had to know Buzz had his irritation of them, so somebody should've designed modifications every four years. Also, how is Buzz always caught off guard when the vines get to him? He should be quipped with his blade every time he takes flight. That was honestly dumber than him not telling the others of the stealth timer. I like Izzy like everyone else that enjoyed this movie, but there were two things about her that bothered me deeply. One, she should've told Buzz immediately that she was a junior patrol volunteer and two, I'm baffled that she didn't know the saying "To infinity and beyond". If she's reading her grandma's journals, then she should've spotted that at least once. I actually respect Zurg for actually pursuing Buzz himself, but why the hell did it take so long? It seems like he can travel quickly on foot when no one sees him coming, so it's crazy that he never has a legit head start. It is smart for the colony to build fences and eventually laser shields to protect themselves from the bugs, but I find it sadly hilarious that the bugs choose to fly higher than the fences. And how the hell did no one tell Buzz of Alisha's passing by the time he landed? The fact that he had to wait until he saw the goodbye message is messed up. I did briefly freak out that the new formula technically became lost when Buzz fell on the tablet by accident, but can't Sox pull it back up in a log/flash drive? If that's not possible, then that sucks. It is smart of Buzz to keep the core with him when he leaves the ship after the successful hyper jump, but he couldn't have known the ship would be taken. In any case, it's surprising that Sox didn't encourage him to leave it behind when they were unaware of the new threat. If I'm gonna say the biggest mistake Buzz makes, it ain't becoming Zurg, it's gonna be forgetting to tell his team that camouflage has a timer. That is beyond ridiculous on his end. And lastly, how come the crystal never got destroyed when the mother ship exploded? It didn't look like it went all the way in Buzz's ship, so it's crazy that it appeared completely unharmed until Buzz destroyed it himself. Other than that, I still enjoyed what was given. In short, Lightyear is a fun superhero movie for giving us the exciting feeling Andy had as a kid, reemerging the kid spirit in all of us. As a fan of Toy Story and superheroes as a whole, this is totally worth the time.
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