Lightyear
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: June 17, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 57 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
26
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJun 16, 2022
Nostalgia rarely factors into Lightyear, which makes the franchise connection feel almost like a bit of window dressing slapped on to an entirely unrelated sci-fi story. Maybe that’s the only way to get butts in seats these days. Especially to watch what is, at the end of the day, a film that does the job it needs to do but without a crumb of anything more. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJun 15, 2022
Lightyear, directed by Angus MacLane from a script by Jason Headley, aims to please by pandering, to be good-enough entertainment. As such, it succeeds in a manner more in line with second-tier Disney animation than with top-shelf Pixar. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonJun 13, 2022
One of Pixar’s most beloved characters gets an origin story with Lightyear, a lacklustre sci-fi adventure which misses the wit and wonder that have been the studio’s hallmarks for decades. Read full review
60
Rolling StoneDavid FearJun 13, 2022
It is, in essence, a light, breezy, better-than-average Disney movie that just happens to feature a most-valuable Pixar player, while barely feeling like a Pixar movie at all. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJun 13, 2022
It’s a film of modest charms and secondhand pleasures, enough to help pass a summer afternoon, if not to quell the sense that it was made for less-than-creative reasons. Read full review
60
Total FilmJamie GrahamJun 13, 2022
Andy’s favourite sci-fi movie won’t be yours. But it’s a fun adventure with animation that sucks your eyeballs from their sockets. Read full review
60
EmpireSophie ButcherJun 13, 2022
Despite its messy plot and underwhelming villain, the strong voice performances and stunning visuals — and, of course, Sox the cat — make Lightyear a solid space adventure. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 13, 2022
“Lightyear” is an OK movie. Chris Evans as the voice of this version of Buzz is a nice touch. But there’s just no magic here. Read full review
58
The PlaylistCarlos AguilarJun 13, 2022
Following Pixar’s two most refreshing releases in years, “Luca” and “Turning Red,” both of which were deemed unworthy of a full theatrical release, it’s difficult not to perceive “Lightyear” as a far less compelling and safe bet. How tiresome it is that most studio productions must now exist as part of a larger multiverse in order to merit exposure. In the end, “Lightyear” reveals that today, given Disney’s business model, “to infinity and beyond” really only means to the inevitable sequel. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubTomris LafflyJun 13, 2022
What ultimately waters down Lightyear, an otherwise polished, gorgeous-looking entry into the Pixar oeuvre, is an absence of the excitement and disciplined storytelling spirit that made Toy Story such a pioneering hit. Read full review
50
The AtlanticDavid SimsJun 21, 2022
While all of the film’s visual excitement is handled with Pixar’s usual polish, the intrigue is only surface-level. Read full review
50
SlateDana StevensJun 17, 2022
There’s a rueful irony to the fact that it’s this supposedly human inspiration for the beloved toy who feels more like a plastic action figure. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleJun 16, 2022
Whatever magic Lightyear musters onscreen is undermined by the unfulfilled potential of the narrative. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreJun 16, 2022
While the movie feels empty and pointless overall, it’s not without its scattered interesting elements. Read full review
50
Washington PostAlan ZilbermanJun 14, 2022
If the film is aspirational, showing Andy what it means to be a dependable ally, then MacLane sacrifices pure entertainment for a loftier purpose. A more straightforward clash between good and evil might have touched on the same themes, without sacrificing the action kids could mimic with toys. Read full review
50
TimeStephanie ZacharekJun 14, 2022
While Buzz strides through every scene with plodding virility, Sox pads along breezily, minding his own business unless he’s called upon to save the day, which is often. Sox is the secret star of Lightyear. But not even he is a great enough creation to warrant his own spinoff. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJake CoyleJun 13, 2022
A dead-end wrong turn in the usually boundless Pixar universe. Buzz, himself, is a bit of a bore, too. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 13, 2022
Impressive as it looks, it’s emotionally lacking, humorless and kind of dull. Read full review
50
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJun 13, 2022
Rather than play like a significant departure from the “Toy Story” films that spawned it, Lightyear instead emerges as a disappointing runner-up, capturing but a fraction of the comedy, thrills and poignancy of its predecessors. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJun 13, 2022
Lightyear is the first movie that Pixar has released in theaters since the start of the pandemic, a return to normal that would probably feel more exciting if Lightyear wasn’t also the first Pixar movie since the start of the pandemic that feels like it only belongs on Disney Plus. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonJun 13, 2022
The film is a slickly produced but soulless spectacle whose jokey banter and space-opera action drowns out the story’s emotional beats. Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJun 20, 2022
The aspect that’s traditionally elevated Pixar animations, the dizzy wit and inventiveness of the screenplay, is missing from this dispiriting trudge through outer space, via some box-ticking messaging along the way. Read full review
40
Vanity FairRichard LawsonJun 17, 2022
What they’ve visually pulled off in Lightyear is stunning stuff. The story, sadly, does not rise up to meet that work. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesTara BradyJun 17, 2022
Lightyear may well feature the studio’s best opening gambit since Wall-E and Up, but the film quickly falls into, well, adequacy. Read full review
40
Time OutKaleem AftabJun 14, 2022
For Pixar, which must surely have a Woody western in mind, it’s a wake-up call. Let’s hope they’re soon back on more fertile ground, because Lightyear feels like that horrible moment when you broke a much-loved toy. Read full review
40
BBCNicholas BarberJun 13, 2022
The story is thin, repetitive, and almost entirely dependent on the heroes being clumsy. Read full review
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