Lightyear: A Decent Buzzkill

Lightyear (2022)

Running Time: 1h 45m

Age Rating: PG

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi

My Rating: 👨🏻‍🚀👨🏻‍🚀💫

All the fuss about Lightyear made me curious enough to watch it, so I decided to see for myself if the movie was really controversial or not. I was also excited about it because the Toy Story movies are part of my childhood. The fact that Lightyear is banned in around 14 countries and faced backlash for featuring a same-sex kiss is beyond ridiculous.

Hence, the question is: Was it actually controversial for any reason? Absolutely not!

To be fair, it was a decent movie, but pretty unnecessary as a spin-off of Toy Story. I didn’t feel nostalgic at all while watching it. It had nothing to do with Toy Story other than having Buzz Lightyear and Zurg as characters, but with a different story. I didn’t feel a spark while watching Lightyear; however, it might be directed to younger generation audiences… Who knows?

Lightyear is an animated sci-fi adventure movie that tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the space ranger toy from Toy Story. Starring Chris Evans, who I absolutely adore, Buzz works for Star Command, a space exploration agency, and embarks on a dangerous mission to save the galaxy from the evil Zurg.

The storyline felt a bit bland most of the time, but it wasn’t that bad as many claim. While the plot was okay, the animation was a top-notch work. The characters looked stunning, yet they’re not memorable enough, except for Sox. I loved Sox, and part of me wished for a movie about this adorable robotic cat. As for the weird twist with Buzz and Zurg, I didn’t like it at all and I wish it wasn’t depicted that way.

To be honest, Lightyear was not good or bad; it was just an okay movie, but you’ll enjoy your time watching it anyway. It’s a flawed movie with plot holes and boring moments, yet it’s decent with some funny moments that manage to entertain audiences of all ages.

Lightyear is definitely not for Toy Story fans who look for nostalgia as they may feel betrayed or confused by this inconsistent spin-off. It’s not for sci-fi fans either. It’s simply a light-watch movie if you have nothing to do. Overall, I give it 2.5 stars out of 5.