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Ray Gunn Review
Image Credit: Skydance Animation/Netflix
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Directed By: Brad Bird
Written By: Brad Bird and Matthew Robbins
Runtime: 119 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG for violence, action, language, some suggestive material, and thematic elements.
Sam Rockwell – Ray Gunn
Scarlett Johansson – Venus Nova
Tom Waits – Eye-Ra Kadok
Alan Tudyk – Barry Vogel
Matt Berry – Francis Xavier
Bobby Canvale – Arnold Dom
Michael Chernus – Sam Stelfreeze
Michelle Rodriguez – Roz Dexler
Aasif Mandvi – Emory Lutz
Matt Jones – Fazelli
Kathryn Hunter – Vanzine Kaluta
Brad Bird – Gunsel
Visionary director Brad Bird presents a new CG-animated movie that mixes retro sci-fi with a film noir mystery in Ray Gunn. For Ray Gunn, Bird effortlessly combines his incomparable storytelling with immaculate world-building and a genre-mashup setting.
Ray Gunn proves Bird’s mission statement that “animation is not a genre.” It’s a medium. It’s an art form for telling a story, and Bird’s new motion picture proves the art form is limited only by one’s imagination.
Ray Gunn‘s plot unfolds in the retro-futurist city of Metropia in an alternate futuristic version of 1939. It’s a world where intelligent alien species have made contact and live among humans. Bird intriguingly crafts Metropia as more of a utopian city rather than focusing on sci-fi dystopia, and in this gleaming utopia, the cracks begin to show.
Although Metropia features wondrous technology, flying cars, jet packs for easy travel, and towering skylines, not all is well in this gleaming, sprawling urban metropolis. Humans and aliens are segregated, with many aliens treated like second-class citizens, and of course, the criminal underbelly endures.
It’s in this underbelly where Bird introduces the movie’s eponymous hero: the hard-boiled gumshoe Ray Gunn (Rockwell). A disgraced police officer-turned-private detective, Gunn and his loyal alien partner, Eye-Ra Kadok (Waits), take the tough jobs in the city, seeking truth. However, Gunn and Eye-Ra can barely keep the power on and possession of the furniture in their office.
Despite the investigators’ profession, Gunn maintains a strict moral code. Integrity and the truth mean everything to Ray, despite Eye-Ra’s pleas that they are too poor to “afford ethics.” It’s tough for gumshoes to make ends meet in a job where they’re called to wade in the muck and uncover unsavory secrets no one wants getting out.
After Gunn realizes one of his clients attempted a diabolical ruse, the detective crash-lands in the orbit of Metropia’s biggest star, Venus Nova (Johansson). Gunn receives a lucrative offer of a new case that could answer all of his money problems, but it also risks shaking the very foundations of Metropia.
Bird’s special sauce for Ray Gunn comes from the plot’s indelible mix of sci-fi and an old-fashioned mystery. Metropia looks meticulously designed, and the narrative world-building works effortlessly. Bird and co-writer Matthew Robbins dive right into the story, and the world feels highly textured and lived in.
Brad Bird’s movies always strive for a level of sophistication mainstream animated movies do not always have, and Ray Gunn is no exception. As a storyteller, Bird never talks down to his audience, which is part of what makes Ray Gunn so appealing. He treats the dark thematic material with a grounded style, despite the sci-fi setting and concepts, which enhances the story’s immersion.
Ray Gunn also delivers Bird’s pure, unencumbered vision. From start to finish, this looks and feels like a Brad Bird movie. The feature’s only drawback involves an action sequence depicting a unique weapon Gunn acquires in the first half. The sequence runs too long and becomes overwrought.
It’s the only major sequence where the story shows some flab. However, even the movie’s imperfection has a slight appeal because it means a master craftsman and artisan like Bird brought his unfettered vision to the screen, without dissenting voices or executives advising him to cut this or that.
Composer Michael Giacchino delivers a fantastic score for the feature, embracing the film noir vibe with jazzy theme. Giacchino and Bird continue to pair incredibly well together, as Giacchino’s music beautifully captures the mood of the pulpy story.
The vocal performances are fantastic. Rockwell is impeccably cast as the gumshoe with a heart of gold, and Scarlett Johansson’s husky tones are right at home in Metropia. Tom Waits’ trademark gravelly tone imbues Eye-ra with an amusing style and intergalactic worldview.
Bird also clearly has fun showcasing Gunn and Eye-ra’s unique relationship. Although Eye-ra routinely argues against his friend taking the high road and doing the right thing, he stands by him regardless.
Alan Tudyk, a veteran of animation, also gets a fun role as Barry Vogel, the newly anointed CEO of Venus Nova’s studio and music label, who also happens to be Venus’ manager and first husband. It’s initially difficult to recognize Tudyk’s voice as Vogel, but as the story progresses, some of his familiar verbal tics and tones start seeping through.
Another one of Bird’s longtime collaborators, Tony Fucile, the movie’s character art director, deserves mention as well. Fucile, who worked with Bird going back to The Iron Giant, brings an interesting visual continuity for the character models and visual style across Bird’s animated features.
However, what’s also interesting about the character models in the movie is that they all look different. The aliens not only come in various shapes and sizes, but the human characters do as well, which makes the character models look more visually striking and memorable. No two characters in Ray Gunn ever look the same. It proves that no corners were cut by reusing various character models to save money.
Ray Gunn delivers a compelling story featuring an old-fashioned cinematic style with vibrant CG animation. It proves that when given a blank canvas, Brad Bird’s craftsmanship is second to none, and animation never shackles his vision. Animation is simply a vehicle to deliver his exceptional storytelling, and Ray Gunn puts it on full display.
Where To Watch Ray Gunn
Ray Gunn arrives in select theaters on December 4. It will then debut on Netflix on December 18.
