When you hear about a director with a passion project that takes 10+ years to get out, it usually ends with a product that unfortunately was not worth all that wait and time. There are many films that could fall under this, but Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn isn’t one of them. Ray Gunn is a movie that Bird conceptualised in the late 80s. While people like to say that this movie has been in the works for 30+ years, Bird has come off and on the project until recently, when Skydance Animation agreed to make a deal with him and have it made under them.
Ray Gunn follows a private detective by the name of Raymond Gunn (Sam Rockwell) and his alien partner Eyera (Tom Waits) as they are pulled into a case at the heart of the retro-futuristic city of Metropia, where they end up in the mix of conspiracies which involve aliens, murder, and the highly acclaimed pop star, Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson), all at the centre.
The retro-futuristic setting of Ray Gunn isn’t unfamiliar territory for Bird, as he’s now worked on two The Incredibles films, and despite that, both films feel drastically different. Metropia is full of life and isn’t too far from our own world, except for the presence of aliens. It’s the future that was imagined all those years ago with the flying cars, holograms, and blasters. When someone says that a location is also a character within a film, it can sound ridiculous to most, but with Ray Gunn, Metropia is very much its own character. The city is alive, and it’s because of that we have these dodgy characters and specific themes that the movie tackles.
Another common factor with The Incredibles is that Ray Gunn has the magnificent Michael Giacchino working on it. He showcases his raw talent, as he’s able to make a distinctive score for the film which complements its world and characters so much. It elevates this world and puts you in the shoes of a private eye. The combination of the world-building, story, and score makes the world of Ray Gunn one that I’d love to visit relatively soon. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t take another 30 years.
The biggest surprise of Ray Gunn is its underlying themes of xenophobia and segregation. Early on in the film, a client refuses to allow Eyera into his house simply because he’s an alien. If you pay close enough attention, you’ll notice that the janitorial jobs are seemingly left for the aliens. While what Bird touches on is quite surface level with these themes, the fact that it does at all deserves to be commended.
Unlike most animated films that deal with these very persistent real-life issues, they don’t shy away from saying out loud exactly what it is. Gunn calls his client xenophobic straight up. We witness the segregation as a hospital refuses to help an alien. It plays such a vital role in the film’s third act that highlights how ridiculous the idea of being xenophobic really is.
Another theme Ray Gunn touches on is the usage of AI, but most importantly, how exploitative and controlling the media can be. It gets to a point where the stars that entertain us stop being treated like they’re actual human beings. You see it on the red carpets from how the media shout at them, and you see it from how they’re spoken about on the news. At the end of the day, it’s all about ratings, but the angle Ray Gunn tackles this from is the safety of our privacy. These celebs in Metropia don’t have any safety, and it feels scary when compared to how SAG-AFTRA members continue trying to get protection from AI.
Throughout Metropia, there are holographic ads being played around that shape their needs for you. Whether this is on the streets, in your office, or your home, they know exactly what you need. It feels like something that’s pulled out of Black Mirror, but we already live in a world where ads on our phone cater to subject matters we’ve been talking about or what we’ve recently been searching for. Ray Gunn goes the extra mile with it, and despite being in a fictional, retro-futristic world, all of this still feels incredibly timely with our world. For as long as it took Bird to bring this vision to life, it highlights that the world unfortunately doesn’t change.
An animated film isn’t complete without its voice cast, and Ray Gunn bolsters a stunning cast that brings out some of the best vocal performances from these actors. With most main characters, it’s expected for them to have a flaw that likely becomes the cause of the inciting incident in the second act that they overcome in the third act. Raymond Gunn feels so unique because from head to toe, he’s a genuinely great guy with morals that we all should be living by.
If anything, this is his greatest flaw. Sam Rockwell slips into the role of Raymond Gunn with his charm. Gunn is a good man down to his core, but he’s not the most successful detective, and Rockwell is able to play around with these various emotions. It’s an outstanding performance that just feels like a culmination of Rockwell’s previous performances and the man he is overall.
Scarlett Johansson is not new to voice acting, but her performance as Venus Nova is out of this world. She delivers such a strong, moving, and stunning performance that reveals different layers of the character and keeps the plot twists surrounding the mystery alive. Johansson commits to the sexiness and elusiveness of Nova that makes her such a vixen. The most impressive part about Johansson’s performance comes from the three original songs that she gets to sing. Her voice is radiating, and each song is as great as the last. It might not get them nominees, but they’re songs I could listen to on an average day.
Ray Gunn is a more timely movie than we could’ve expected, as art imitates life. Brad Bird delivers once again with a passion project that’s engaging, a blast to watch, and that overall transports you to the bustling city of Metropia. The mystery itself can be quite predictable early on, but the direction and the outstanding voice performances from the likes of Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson allow Brad Bird’s latest film to thrive. It might not be his best film, but he has for sure delivered Skydance Animation their first success.
