Lightyear Review - Pixar's Toy Story Spin-Off Gives An Entertaining Fresh Start To Buzz Lightyear's Story

"To Infinity and Beyond.." These words are printed on the hearts of millions of people by Pixar's Toy Story franchise. Buzz Lightyear is undoubtedly the most loved character from those four classic animated films after our cowboy Woody. Pixar knows how to make a sequel, and they also know how to make a spin-off. Lightyear is the first spin-off in the Toy Story franchise, and it starts with this note: "In 1995, Andy got a toy from his favourite movie. This is that movie." Now you can guess the pre-event scenario. The film takes you on a new adventure as a space ranger, Lightyear, and leaves you smiling by the end with lots of fun and courageous segments. The only missing element is the emotional quotient, which I believe is Pixar's trademark, and shouldn't have been missed.Lightyear is based on Buzz (Christ Evans), whose life gets turned upside down when he gets marooned on a hostile planet. His constant attempts to take everyone back home create new challenges. He receives help from recruits and robots, Izzy (Keke Palmer) and Sox (Peter Sohn), respectively, to fight off Emperor Zurg (James Brolin). But will Buzz be able to travel back home? From his strengths and weaknesses to his struggles and motivation, the adventure drama takes you on an entertaining ride filled with adventures and thrills. Lightyear is by far the weakest script for any Pixar film recently, but let me make this clear here: even Pixar's weakest is far better than others.Lightyear's voice cast has done a fine job, especially Peter Sohn as a robotic cat. The lead, Chris Evans, sounds good as Buzz and makes it funny with added nuances. Keke Palmer, James Brolin, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez and Isiah Whitlock Jr. add good support. Lightyear is a funny film with timeless jokes that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.Even the adventure part seems new and exciting because Lightyear is not set in Andy's world of toys like previous films. It's more like a space action adventure drama, very different from Toy Story or any other Pixar film. Lightyear's visual spectacle is truly eye-pleasing, with every next conflict introducing you to something new. There are new features to the characters, to the atmosphere of everything you see in the film. The cinematography and background score make things look adventurous, just as they deserve, while the space action keeps pumping you up. The film is written by Angus MacLane, Matthew Aldrich and Jason Headley, whose trio finds the right balance between the new fictional world of Buzz and 90s nostalgia. I only wish they could have worked more on the emotions because missing that seems to have made a big difference here. Jason Headley assists MacLane in screenwriting, and the pair has produced an engaging screenplay. More than MacLane's direction, it's the writing I would blame, and as I mentioned earlier, even Pixar's weakest stands tall against others, but it is surprisingly sad to see Pixar going downhill. The bar is set too high, and it is not possible to match it every time. Therefore, it's not a thing to be laid down totally, but yes, even a little downward trend hurts. Nevertheless, Lightyear is a fun movie for old as well as new audiences, even though it doesn't reach Pixar's usual heights. Pixar can continue making films to Infinity and beyond, and we will continue watching them all.