Eight years since The Incredibles 2 and more than a decade since his last original animated film, Ratatouille, renowned animated movie Director Brad Bird has gifted moviegoers patience with his new film, Ray Gunn. A witty neo-noir mystery thriller set in a retro-future where humans and aliens cohabit a sci-fi Earth called Metropia.

From the start, flying cars and jetpacks zip around a bustling Jetsons-style city – brought to life with the typical flair and reverence for spectacle that is expected from a Brad Bird film. It likens comparisons to his vision for Tomorrowland, except here those aesthetics are rendered a lot darker with a greater emphasis on the shadows given Ray Gunn’s film noir story. 

We follow private investigator Raymond Gunn, voiced by Sam Rockwell; he’s a sharp-talking, snaggletoothed do-gooder, but chronically down on his luck. His one-eyed alien business partner and friend for life, Eyera, voiced by Tom Waits, blames their luck problem on Gunn’s habit of being an honest man in a dishonest world. Right off the bat, the film promises a hard-boiled story wherein our protagonist navigates a mystery that exposes a corrupt world. That promise of excitement is backed up immediately; in less than ten minutes we’re treated to our first flashy action sequence. As ray guns and all manner of sci-fi weaponry fire off blasts, following another case of Gunn’s bad luck.

As the dust settles, we return to Gunn and Eyera’s office building that’s under attack by Bailiffs. It’s at this moment, while Eyera hilariously fights to save the office desk, that a man walks in with a job that may turn their situation around. A case involving entertainment superstar Venus Nova, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

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As the film’s story fully kicks into gear, it becomes strikingly apparent that this is an aesthetic project. The emphasis always seems to be on grand extended sequences that lead to nowhere but a cheap laugh. Most notably, a lengthy gag where Gunn gets mixed up, literally, with some henchmen after his weapon malfunctions and combines their bodies. This scene of twee-animation body horror would normally be fine, but it’s the way Bird refuses to end the joke. It’s made even more egregious because it does very little to move the story forward. It also undermines Ray Gunn’s sharp dialogue that suggested a smarter film, that could be enjoyed by the whole family, not just the kids.

Ray Gunn rarely lives up to its hard-boiled noir mystery. There are moments that are certainly evocative of that genre of storytelling, but it’s mostly in archetypes and iconography. Venetian blinds and duster jackets. Femme fatales and speakeasies. You never quite get the satisfaction of a well-constructed story. The red herrings are so obvious that they throw off the pace of the film and slow everything down to a standstill. Which makes the initial pacing promise feel like a falsehood. And when we do get to the inevitable mystery reveal, it’s more relief than shock. Relief that we don’t have to pretend that we already knew the answer. A dramatic irony that I don’t think was intended by the filmmakers.

Storytelling issues aside, the film is wonderfully imaginative. Michael Giacchino contributes a sweeping score that fully envelopes you in the world of Metropia. As much as the film’s story frustrates me, I can’t help but be in awe of how beautifully this fictional world is rendered. It’s quite possibly one of Director Brad Bird’s best fictional settings, so much so I’d love for him to revisit it. I’d even love to see a return from Raymond Gunn, as Sam Rockwell’s voice acting is phenomenal.

The glitz and glamour of Ray Gunn’s stunning visuals isn’t enough to distract from its disappointing storytelling. Bird saves face with a clever ending that buttons up the film’s central conflict, but it’s something you see coming a mile away. Frankly, for a film that spent more than thirty years in the incubator of Bird’s mind, gorgeous vistas and beautiful animation aren’t enough to satisfy. Especially when his other films, The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, have shown he can bring more to the table than just eye candy.

★★★

In cinemas from December 4th and on Netflix December 18th / Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits / Dir: Brad Bird / Netflix / PG