Review of Lightyear (2022) by Checkgameslist — 26 Jun 2022

A spinoff of a towering franchise that exceeded my modest expectations. It could just be me, but I get the impression that, in an absolute sense, movies today really are better than those we have understandable nostalgia for. The graphical experience being leaps and bounds better goes without saying. But just as importantly, writers and directors can’t just do more of the same — they have to take every well-worn trope and somehow put a fresh spin on them, or invent new ones altogether. And I swear the dialogue is getting more realistic and dynamic, with characters breaking their own train of thought (or others’ train of thought); the arguments seem so much more raw and genuine, and it’s harder to visualize voice actors just reading off pieces of paper.

Oh: and even though I was waiting for it, I missed the kiss. Probably blinked or turned my head for a moment — it was so brief. I especially like how Commander Hawthorn and her wife were depicted as just another ordinary family, seen raising their children and then grandchildren in an brief, supercut sequence in which Lightyear repeatedly returns to visit at the end of each of his time-dilated journeys around the local star. I struggle to see how those without an agenda coming in would see it as age-inappropriate.