Brad Bird’s “Ray Gunn” has made its debut, and the early verdict is split. The Netflix animated neo-noir, with Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell in the lead voice roles, had its world premiere on Saturday at the London Film Festival. Critics are not in agreement, and that is why Johansson’s name is trending again.
Premiere night in London
Variety reports that the screening at Royal Festival Hall fell on composer Michael Giacchino’s birthday. Bird invited Johansson and Rockwell to sing a quick “Happy Birthday” to him, and Giacchino took a selfie with the group. Johansson said she joined the film because of Bird. “It was a dream of mine to collaborate with him on anything,” she said.
Bird said the idea came “idiotically after misunderstanding a song,” the B-52’s “Planet Claire.” He first heard it as a new take on Henry Mancini’s “Theme From Peter Gunn.”
What the film is about
Rockwell voices Ray Gunn, a former cop turned private detective in Metropia, a world that mixes film noir with retro-futurism. Tom Waits voices his one-eyed alien partner, Eye-Ra. Johansson plays Venus Nova, a huge pop star whose husband, voiced by Bobby Cannavale, is blackmailing her before he turns up dead, according to Gizmodo. Matt Berry, Alan Tudyk and Kathryn Hunter are also in the cast, Screen Rant notes.
Early reviews
Screen Rant says the film held a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score from 12 reviews as of October 10, with one of those reviews rated Rotten. Its own critic gave it a 6/10. Gizmodo called it “highly entertaining and lovely to look at” but said it lacks the emotional pull of Bird’s earlier films. World of Reel’s roundup of festival reviews describes the response as mixed to positive, with The Guardian giving it five stars and other outlets lukewarm.
“Ray Gunn” opens in select theaters, including some 70mm screenings, on December 4. It starts streaming on Netflix on December 18.
Sources: Variety, Gizmodo, Screen Rant, World of Reel. Featured image is an editorial illustration and is not artwork from the film.
