Middleburg Review : Ray Gunn

Brad Bird returns to animation with “Ray Gunn,” a detective adventure that provided me with plenty to enjoy at this year’s Middleburg Film Festival.  The filmmaker behind “The Iron Giant” and “The Incredibles” brings his imagination to a world where an old-fashioned private eye still has work to do, despite futuristic technology everywhere.

Sam Rockwell voices Ray Gunn, a detective who works alongside his alien partner, Eyera (voiced by Tom Waits), in the city of Metropia.  A case involving music superstar Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson) draws them into a mystery that quickly becomes more trouble than either partner anticipated, and a promising payday that turns into a headache.

The best aspect of “Ray Gunn” is how it feels like a love letter to gumshoe detective films while also evoking the classic 1980s movie “Alien Nation.” Bird has fun incorporating familiar detective-story elements into a world shared by humans and aliens.  That combination gives the film an identity that goes beyond simply showcasing a private investigator solving another case.

I also appreciated the allegories about the music industry’s dangers and celebrity culture.  Venus’s role lets Bird explore what happens when a person becomes a product and when powerful people have something to protect.  Beneath the colorful surface, an undercurrent of ugliness feels all too familiar.

One plot twist genuinely caught me off guard.  Of course, I won’t reveal that discovery, because a mystery earns points with me when it surprises viewers without needing a review to explain its biggest twist. However, Bird’s animated action sequences made me long for another live-action film from him.

He takes full advantage of the animation medium, staging action that makes the futuristic setting part of the excitement.  It has been eleven years since “Tomorrowland,” and watching this reminded me how much I enjoyed his work on “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” Someone should get this man another live-action assignment.

My biggest gripe is that the film runs a bit long.  There were stretches where I wanted it to move along more quickly.  Fairness, this was my first screening of the day at Middleburg, and I may have been a little tired, which could have affected my perception.  Still, I believe a tighter cut would enhance the film.

“Ray Gunn” arrives on Netflix in December, but I hope cinephiles with families will check it out during its limited theatrical release beginning December 4, 2026.

Bird’s imagination and those action sequences deserve to be experienced on the big screen.  Despite its length, I thoroughly enjoyed getting immersed in this mystery from the very beginning.

Final Grade: B+

Ray Gunn will have a limited theatrical and 70mm release on December 4, 2026, followed by its official streaming debut on Netflix on December 18, 2026