It has taken literally decades for Brad Bird to make Ray Gunn. First developed by Bird in the 1990s, even before The Iron Giantthe animated film is finally coming out this year, having bounced around in Bird’s mind for most of his professional life. You see that immediately, too, as the movie is densely packed with ideas and visuals, some of which clearly have been there from the first brainstorming sessions, while others have been added along the way. It’s a bit too long and sometimes a bit busy for its own good, but this one really hooked me in a way I wasn’t expected.
Ray Gunn is a fun science fiction adventure that also functions as a pretty high level film noir. Mixing sci-fi and noir is clever, as is the racial element that’s depicted here in regards to aliens and humans. Bird takes advantage of not having to exclusively make this for children in order to follow a lot of the beats of a neo noir. It’s not strictly adult fare, to be sure, but there is an actual body count and stakes here.
Taking place in an alternate future in the city of Metropia, we’re introduced to Raymond Gunn (voice of Sam Rockwell), a human private detective in a world that mixes aliens and humans. The former are second class citizens, leading to some tension for Ray as his partner and friend, Eye-Ra Kadok (voice of Tom Waits), is an alien. We meet them in the midst of a case that goes sideways, resulting in a lack of payment. They’re pretty close to insolvency, in part due to Ray being what seems like the only honest person in the city. Then, MegaMax studio head Barry Vogel (voice of Alan Tudyk) offers a lifeline: quick money keeping an eye on self destructive superstar musician Venus Nova (voice of Scarlett Johansson) in the short time before her latest album drops.
Ray takes the highly profitable case and immediately sees Venus’ shady husband Arnold Dom (voice of Bobby Cannavale) as someone to follow. Before long, he’s also encountering alien mob boss Slugsy (voice of Matt Berry), as well as a dead body. Sensing that something is off, the private eye and his partner go down a rabbit hole that threatens to expose a massive conspiracy, as is often the case in a noir like this.
Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson turn in very strong voice work, though the best performance in the film belongs to Tom Waits. Waits has the funniest lines, as well as the deepest pathos. Plus, putting his voice in such a unique looking and world weary alien is just a hoot. His casting pays immediate dividends and every moment he’s on the screen is great. Johansson gets to do some interesting things with her voice here, which you’ll understand when you see the film. It’s not quite her work in Herto be fair, but it’s quite a strong turn. Rockwell is just doing his own voice, largely, but he gives this honest detective in a dishonest world a real personality. His chemistry with both Johansson and Waits is another highlight. Matt Berry, Bobby Cannavale, and Alan Tudyk turn in solid work playing the sort of roles you know almost every noir needs, just with this sci-fi spin. Supporting voices here include Michael Chernus, Kether Donohue, Kathryn Hunter, Asif Mandvi, Patton Oswalt, John Ratzenberger, Michelle Rodriguezand more.
Brad Bird directs a screenplay he co-wrote with Matthew Robbinsone that is clearly trying to create a bustling world, all while telling an effective noir tale. There are times where Bird and Robbins put in an extra action sequence or two, seemingly to keep younger audience members engaged, but they largely lean in to the noir trappings. Their alien/human dynamics are interesting enough that I’d have seen even more of that put forward. Some of the action beats are a bit more generic than you’d like, but there’s an elevator sequence that absolutely rules. The score from composer Michael Giacchino is reliably good, fitting both the noir and sci-fi elements of Ray Gunn rather well.
Ray Gunn took decades to get across the finish line and it shows. At the same time, while these long in development passion projects can often turn into boondoggles for auteurs, Brad Bird has managed to avoid that fate. This film is fun, rich, and surprisingly effective. Could it have stood to have been about ten minutes shorter? Sure, but if that’s my main complaint about this movie, Bird and company have done something very right.
SCORE: ★★★1/2
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Source: awardsradar.com
