Ray Gunn review – Brad Bird’s animated film-noir sci-fi caper is an old-school family classic

Sam Rockwell lends his voice to the detective who finds himself entangled with Scarlett Johansson's seductive and dangerous woman in this warm-hearted, beautifully crafted fantasy spectacle.

Brad Bird, often hailed as the Spielberg of animation, brings his expert directorial vision to a delightful family film that rescues the genre from the uninspired realm of dull, AI-driven narratives and imagery. This animated work is clever, witty, and deeply human: a fantasy extravaganza that embraces old-fashioned entertainment values, paired with stunning cityscapes that frame an enchanting and tender love story.

The story unfolds in a wondrous city of the future, a retro-futuristic urban setting reminiscent of Metropolis and Blade Runner. It features the usual moving walkways, flying cars, and eerie holographic billboards, but with a lighthearted touch that breathes life back into what might otherwise feel tired. This is where a classic noir thriller plays out, starring weary private eyes and villains armed with cutting-edge laser-particle weapons (which explains the title, though I had hoped for a nod to 1980s Republican politics). There are world-weary cops, cynical nightclub owners, and alluring women with shady pasts, evoking Lana Turner and Veronica Lake. The flying cars retain the bulbous designs of an earlier era, while television sets display black-and-white images—plasma flat-screens seem to have been uninvented.