Lightyear, the review: Buzz does not reach infinity
Lightyear, the review
Lightyear - The true story of Buzz has reached our homes thanks to Disney Plus, giving us some moments of great depth but also presenting us with defects. The film was born from a basic idea: to give fans the true story of the character who inspired Andy's toy, the space ranger Buzz, in the animated film series that began in 1995 with Toy Story. It is therefore not a story of the origins of the object that has now entered our hearts. The goal is to show people who grew up with Buzz and Woody who the space hero who brought the character into the child's life at the beginning of the first film in the franchise is. On the other hand, as many will remember, it was Andy's mother who gave him the Buzz puppet, but only in the incipit of the new production do we discover that the toy is the protagonist of his favorite film: the Lightyear which we will talk about in our review.Subscribe now to Disney + for € 8.99 per month or € 89.90 per year
Buzz Lightyear
Lightyear, the review
The plot Time matters The characterization of the characters Lightyear, the review: the themesThe plot
Lightyear - The true story of Buzz is set in 3901, the year in which the space ranger Buzz and his commanding officer and best friend Alisha Hawthorne explore the habitable planet Tikana Prime with new recruit Featheringhamstan. When they discover that the place is inhabited by hostile creatures, the entire crew returns to the spaceship to leave the planet, but a miscalculation made by Buzz forces them to stay there and build a safe environment to live in: a colony with lots of it. of infrastructure needed to repair damage to the spacecraft.| ); }Time is important
We loved and saw the toy from which the film is based in all sorts of ways: from when he wanted to excel over everyone, feeling like a God who came down to earth, to when he evolved and matured over the course weather ; a word, the latter, which is fundamental in Lightyear, as much as the concept of "teaming up", which we have discovered to be relevant in this universe already from the Toy Story films. Here, however, it is not a game, it is "real life": that of the space hero to whom we owe the creation of Buzz's toy. We can define it "a film within a film", as the story told is precisely that of the film that Andy defines as "his favorite".Evident is in fact Pixar's desire to make Lightyear - The true story of Buzz as realistic as possible, even if there are small gaffes in this sense. If the basic idea is to humanize Buzz and give a convincing shape to his story, then everything should follow the same wave. This is not the case: although we would like to say that every element told is entirely plausible, we must take into account the fact that certain dynamics and situations will never occur in reality. Let's talk about trifles, this is true. On the other hand, it is an animated film, a sci-fi with which Pixar has dared to go further, beyond space and time, and we can only be happy about this.
The characterization of the characters
In short, a greater balance between action and romance would have greatly benefited the film, and instead we often see unpleasant setbacks. It is therefore good that there is the will to deepen relevant themes and to characterize Buzz as best as possible (to the detriment, however, of his fellow adventurers), a little less well that there is a lack of balance between the two components mentioned above.
A careful script That said, what strikes in a positive way is mostly the script, as well as the special effects and the themes that we will talk about later in the Lightyear review. The film starts well, indeed very well, giving us moments of pure enjoyment and nostalgia, with Buzz who is ready to update his logbook just as we saw him do in Toy Story, and Alisha who teases him as only the true friends can afford to do. Although initially lacking in incisiveness both visually and narratively, the film directed and co-written by Angus MacLane has its own why and is suitable for all ages, even if the little ones will struggle to understand the scientific language and all that. it concerns the mission itself.
There is a moment, after the first act of the story, in which the script changes trajectory and passes from a simplistic to a more courtly level, hitting the user straight to the heart , who probably did not expect such attention in dialogues, especially in relational dynamics; intimate moments, the latter, which underline how much in life there is a need to accept oneself for what one is and allow oneself the opportunity to make a mistake and, if possible, make up for it. We would go directly to the themes that have always distinguished Pixar productions, even before Disney / Pixar ones, but now let's take a few minutes to talk about its characters.
Buzz Lightyear Buzz Lightyear (the voice is by Alberto Boubakar Malanchino) is the protagonist of the story, as we all know. Unlike the Toy Story toy, here we see a completely new version of the character: more human, full of doubts and uncertainties, but facing life, and in this case also the first mission, alone. From the previous animated films we note another point in common: the evolution of Buzz. In Lightyear too, the latter will understand the importance of team play: it is not he who has to save everyone, but he can help - and get help - to achieve this goal. From a solo, therefore, it becomes a group mission, where each member will have a role of him. Among the other characters stand out the robot cat Sox (Ludovico Tersigni), a figure created by Alisha to psychologically support Buzz in his misadventures. We partly owe the most exciting jokes to the sweet Sox, and this creates a problem: its strong presence often puts the protagonist of the story in the background.
Finally, speaking of the characters, we can say that everyone plays the own part in the animated film, but few are properly characterized. Even one of the main themes, which we will talk about shortly, becomes more and more redundant with the passage of time, since in the film each character faces his own limits, but does so with the same mood and the same conclusions. >
Lightyear, the review: the themes
As we have already mentioned in our review of Lightyear - The true story of Buzz, the conception of time is very different in this context, and brings with it a reflection even more "dilated" and connected to the importance of living in the moment, accepting compromises, so as not to lose the good that life offers us, whether it is a dear friend, a family, a love. From here, a thousand other themes take hold in which viewers will certainly be able to identify, a goal that Pixar is keen to achieve in each of its projects. Among these, the need to understand that determination is indeed a good starting point to bring home victory, but it is also important to understand when to stop, reflect, and start a new life, accepting personal failure. br>The film also introduced the relationship between two women into the story, including the birth of a child, which only enhances the struggle for inclusion that Disney has been pursuing for years. But the love relationship to which most of the emotions are owed is another, that between Buzz and Alisha; a friendly relationship that flies higher and higher with each passing minute and thanks to which the phrase "towards infinity and beyond" will acquire an even deeper meaning.
Read also: Where and how to see Lightyear - Buzz's True Story streaming
Buzz Lightyear Another pungent reflection is given by the character of Zurg, introduced in the Toy Story film series (on Amazon you can find the original in Blu-ray) and resumed in Lightyear. The idea of bringing Buzz's nemesis back to the screen with a completely original identity is excellent, as is the design that recalls the Dart Vader from Star Wars (his spaceship is also inspired by the saga). We certainly cannot complain about the graphics and special effects - which have always been Pixar's flagship - which, while paying homage to the 80s, are moving away from it to make room for modernity and advanced technology, starting with the Sox cat. Returning to the themes, the plot relating to Zurg leads us to ask ourselves whether it is more important to live what remains of life without wasting any more time, or to continue thinking about the possibility of going back, risking to sacrifice the existence of others and once again the most precious asset: love. Because this is what we talk about in Lightyear - The true story of Buzz, of love.
