In his first animation since 2018’s The Incredibles 2, animation visionary Brad Bird returns to the not-so big screen with a fresh take on an old genre.
Produced for Netflix under ex-Pixar head John Lasseter’s Skydance Animation, Ray Gunn follows down on his luck private eye Raymond Gunn (Sam Rockwell) and his one-eyed alien sidekick Eye-Ra (Tom Waits) in a futuristic utopia, as they tasked with protecting the scandalous superstar Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson) when she finds herself in hot water. Ray Gunn also contains an ensemble voice cast of Bobby Cannavale, Matt Berry, Alan Tudyk and Michelle Rodriguez in supporting roles.
Having had the pleasure of seeing this film’s premiere as part of the London Film Festival, what I immediately singled out for praise was Bird’s blend of genre. Playing like Blade Runner meets The Big Heat, Ray Gunn perfectly blends the genres of science fiction and film noir to create an immensely entertaining visual delight. Bird’s vibrant direction and Michael Giacchino’s retro yet classic score do well to fit the aesthetic, keeping you intrigued as the mystery surrounding Venus Nova unfolds. The voice acting, particularly from Rockwell and Waits, are equally enthralling, with Matt Berry’s signature British accent and intense pronunciation on full display as the alien mob boss Slugsy.
Where Ray Gunn fails though is in its screenplay and its conventionality. From the opening twenty minutes, you can already pinpoint its plot beat for beat, making the final twist at the end not so much a surprise, but incredibly expected and formulaic. Bird also introduces a twist villain towards the conclusion of his narrative, a trope he has tried before and failed with The Incredibles 2’s Screenslaver. Whilst the villain is not as bad as Screenslaver, you can immediately pinpoint who it is within minutes of meeting their character, which I guess is also a trope of film noir, so perhaps Bird is playing to the conventionality of film noir narratives.
There is also an underlying theme of xenophobia with Gunn’s sidekick Eye-Ra and the treatment of aliens within this futuristic society, which is an evident stand-in for historical discrimination of races and religion. Whilst this theme shows promise, it is in no way developed enough to be impactful and simply remains a mere footnote when compared to the blossoming romance between Gunn and Nova Bird opts to focus his narrative on.
Overall, whilst Bird’s return to animation might seem triumphant in concept, it is in actuality incredibly formulaic and lacklustre when compared to his other masterpieces like The Iron Giant and Ratatouille. This film is also hurt by the lack of wide theatrical release under Netflix’s streaming-based model, a fact Bird has made his disdain towards more than apparent as his hopes for an IMAX release slot was given to David Fincher’s The Further Misadventures of Cliff Booth. Whilst Ray Gunn might be entertaining towards animation fans and younger viewers, to the general audiences you cannot help but wish you were watching one of his better films.
3 ½ Stars
Ray Gunn has a limited theatrical release on 4th December before releasing on Netflix December 18th
