Review of LIGHTYEAR: Tougher in Time

June 14, 2022

Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) was a dedicated space ranger under his leader and close friend Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba). In one mission, Buzz miscalculated in the maneuvering of their Turnip spacecraft which ruined its hyperdrive mode. This accident caused their entire team to be marooned on that alien planet. Meanwhile, the guilty Buzz persevered in figuring out how to get the damaged hyperdrive functioning normally again. 

However, every unsuccessful attempt of Buzz to fix the hyperdrive (which only took a few minutes) would cost him four years of actual time. Every time he returned to home base failure after failure, all his colleagues have been moving on in their lives -- getting older, getting married, having families. One the day when his missions were to be terminated, Buzz's pet robot cat Sox (Peter Sohn) finally figured out the correct solution to the problem. 

The movie starts with a frame stating how it related to the original "Toy Story" film where we first met the character of Buzz Lightyear. In 1995, a little boy named Andy received a Buzz Lightyear action figure for his birthday. Buzz was a character in Andy's favorite film that year, and this was that very film. Aside from giving us a sentimental connection, this little preface also explained the retro stylings of the this film's story and art work.

Chris Evans voiced Buzz Lightyear as he played Captain America before. His voice gave Buzz that pure innocent heroic idealism that made us sympathize with his consuming guilt and root him on his quest for redemption. Always self-reliant, Buzz initially resisted the A.I. of Sox or his onboard computer I.V.A.N. (Mary McDonald-Lewis). However, his self-confronting experience here ultimately teaching him humility and the value of teamwork.

The showdown between Buzz and villain Zurg (James Brolin) brought back memories of their confrontation scene in "Toy Story 2". The plucky Junior Zap Patrol member Izzy (Keke Palmer) fit into the Disney-Pixar formula for heroines, as she faced her fears and learned her life lessons along with Buzz. However, the awkward humor of her more senior sidekicks Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi) and Darby Steel (Dale Soules) did not fly too well for me. 

The vagaries of time were central elements of this story, so certain plot concepts could just fly over our heads. Time stood still for one character while everyone else was growing older and living their lives. Later on, one character at two different ages in life coexisted at the same time. These key points of the plot regarding time were very well-developed for all their dramatic worth, so just enjoy the ride instead of nitpicking for scientific accuracy. 7/10.