Review: ‘Ray Gunn’ Does Marvelous Things With Animation, Noir Tropes, And Vocal Performances

Ray Gunn just debuted at the London Film Festival, but Comicon.com Editor-in-Chief Erik Amaya had the opportunity to see the movie early and offers a few thoughts on Netflix’s new animated picture from the legendary Brad Bird:

Set in an alternate future as dreamed up by 1939, Ray Gunn follows the titular private eye as his latest case forces him to confront some unkind truths about his world even as he learns something important about himself. Sure, that sounds like a stock film noir plot, but impressive animation, voice work, and a few narrative swerves make it rise above its seemingly simple premise to become a truly enjoyable animated noir-lite tale.

As a premise, the film predates director Brad Bird‘s feature debut, The Iron Giant, but took nearly 30 years to arrive on screen as circumstances always led him to other ideas. That wait certainly improved the work. Sam Rockwell stars a Ray, a struggling ex-cop turned private detective. His business is trouble, in part, because he employs an alien named Eye-Ra Kadok (Tom Waits) and although millions of extraterrestrials live in the city of Metropia, there is a mostly unofficial system of segregation in place. But Ray’s devotion to Eye-Ra (and vice-versa) gives the audience an early glimpse into the title character’s good heart, a key thing to establish before the case truly unfolds.

Curiously, this is where the film is at its most precarious. Starting with Ray and Eye-Ra’s previous assignement — which turns out to be tangentially connected to the film’s main investigation — and slowly building up to his next task is the correct structure for this sort of story, but it may leave some viewers wanting to get to the case quickly. At the same time, character, setting, and tone are firmly established before Ray is hired to protect superstar Venus Nova (Scarlett Johannson) seemingly from herself. Then, after she publicly calls out her current husband Barry Vogel (Alan Tudyk) for his infidelities and scheming, Barry is found murdered. Still technically on the clock, Ray must determine if she did it, why, and who else might benefit from the death. Complicating matters: Ray and Venus have a legitimate rapport that could grow into something.

Again, some of this might seem rote if not for some expert deployment of the vocal talent and some unexpected narrative choices.

For one thing: Johansson is really good as Venus. Whether telling off Barry, sharing witty banter with Ray, or finally coming clean about her real secret, Johannson brings depth and humanity to Venus. Her performance also underscores a genuinely great aspect of the film — Venus is not a classic femme fatale. Considering the actor’s smokey voice, it would be so easy to cast her in the same mold as Barbra Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. But the film smartly avoids that to give audiences a chance to know Venus as a person. That choice opens up a lot of options and makes certain developments more heartening or tragic as a consequence. It’s solid character work backed up by impressive voice performance.

Ray is similarly realized. Although Bird admitted he once envisioned Ray Liotta as the character, Rockwell is perfect with a welcome sense of optimism and energy to the part. Like Venus, it would so easy for Ray to present as the beaten-down, grizzled detective. Instead, there is a youthful vigor emanating from the character, which underscores his devotion to Eye-Ra and, ultimately, his dedication to solving the case. All the while, the city tries to break him down, but he quietly resists nearly everything it throws out him.

Then, of course, there’s the third act reversal. But his perseverance even in that situation proves Ray is genuinely heroic in a world that, while pretty and bright, seems bereft of a true heroism.

But the film would be incomplete without some world-weariness, so enter Eye-Ra. Waits does a remarkable job as an alien with an organic film camera in his body and a hope that Ray will never falter. Curiously, though, Eye-Ra always presents Ray with the more cynical view or option. At first, it might seem like temptation, but it’s clear Eye-Ra trusts his partner to do the right thing even when confronted with a quick or easier option. This friendship completes the spine of the film and is as satisfying as Ray’s story with Venus.

Meanwhile, Tudyk, Bobby Cannavale, Matt Berry, and Michael Chernus add to the excellent voices populating Metropia. From crime boss to cop to high-power executive, the characters shimmer and feel alive. Beyond excellent voicing, the animation is also … well, superb. The work is so exemplary that it’s difficult to explain just why. Once settled into the world, the character models feel natural. They move with a classic sense of momentum, even when one remembers this is computer-generated animation. And the landscape they inhabit is beautiful and detailed — even if there will be some unavoidable comparisons to Star Wars‘s infamous city-planet. Then there’s the late ’30/early ’40s aesthetics setting it apart. Bird was clearly always looking to marry something like Double Indemnity with Amazing Stories cover art and he definitely succeeds with that aesthetic.

And all of it is in service to a really life-affirming idea. To go into it any further would mean spoiling some key plot details, but establishing Ray’s matter-of-fact acceptance of aliens is part of the ultimate theme. It resolves in way that feels earned and hopeful, which is nice to see after so many dystopic sci-fi films in the last 20+ years.

Although not expressly for young children, there is little in the way of graphic violence or sex. A lot is implied in dialogue, though, to prove the more mature themes. That level of sophistication may make a child under 10 less inclined to watch the movie, but a tween or teenager may find a lot to like in the film. Adults of any age, meanwhile, will find a truly satisfying movie bursting with ideas, craft, and quality.

Ray Gunn arrives in select US theaters on December 8th before its Netflix debut on December 18th