Early Reviews for Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn
The world of animation just got a fascinating, if polarizing, new entry. Netflix recently debuted the Skydance Animation feature Ray Gunn, a project spearheaded by Pixar legend Brad Bird. This is a film steeped in the rich cinematic history of Bird, drawing on the DNA of beloved works like The Incredibles and The Iron Giant, offering a vision that has sparked considerable discussion, even if the reviews are sharply divided.
While the film has managed to capture the imagination with its sprawling worldbuilding, the story itself has been met with a much more mixed reception. Critics are grappling with a dichotomy: acknowledging the impeccable construction of the world while finding the narrative and characters to be less than fully realized.
Despite the critical division, the film stands strong, holding a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, its average rating of 7.4/10 suggests that while it is critically respected for its craft, it has not yet achieved universal adoration.
Those who praise the production often point to the masterful details. Reviewers have highlighted how Bird and co-screenwriter Matthew Robbins crafted an impeccable script where every element, no matter how small, pays off by the finale. Some see the film as a brilliant tapestry of genre tropes, suggesting that its strong animation and nods to classic cinema will serve as a foundation for future cinephiles.
The narrative itself plunges viewers into the invented city of Metropia, a gigantic metropolis viewed through the lens of 1939. Here, the story follows Private Eye Raymond Gunn, the last human detective in a futuristic landscape, as he navigates a complex case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova. The cast is stacked with talent, featuring Oscar winner Sam Rockwell as Gunn, alongside Scarlett Johansson as Nova and Tom Waits as Eyera.
However, not every review found this blend of sci-fi and neo-noir sufficiently soulful. Some critics felt the narrative, while visually striking, suffered from a lack of emotional specificity, describing it as a bland jumble of clichés. Others noted that while the blending of human and alien elements works to make the story entertaining for both adults and children, it ultimately lacks the deep emotional resonance that Bird is known for.
Ultimately, Ray Gunn is a visually inventive proposition. It is a movie that leans into imaginative action and confounding plotting, resulting in a drama that some find clunky, yet many others find delightfully entertaining. With the film slated to arrive on Netflix in mid-December, it stands as a compelling, if imperfect, cinematic achievement.
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