Ray Gunn

Saturday 10^th October, 2:15pm – Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall

Saturday 17^th October, 11am – BFI IMAX

Brad Bird, the brains behind animated masterpieces such as The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Ratatouille, first conceived the premise for his latest feature Ray Gunn over 30 years ago. The idea ultimately was shelved as he focused on his work at Pixar as well as directing live-action films such as Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Tomorrowland. Now, three decades on and with the production support of Skydance Animation, Bird’s passion project has come to life in what is an undeniably fun ride.

Ray Gunn is set in a vibrant futuristic metropolis where flying cars, pay as you go jet packs and guns that can manipulate matter are part of everyday life. The titular character (Sam Rockwell) is a former cop turned private eye who conducts investigations alongside his alien partner Eyera (Tom Waits). Strapped for cash and fighting bailiffs who are incrementally removing their office furniture, the duo accept a lucrative “babysitting” job from the manager of Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson), a popular singer and multimedia megastar with a habit for getting into trouble. The job proves less than straightforward for Gunn as murders, gangsters and secrets cause complications; further confounded by his budding romance with Nova.

Rockwell, Waits and Johansson all contribute stellar vocal performances. Ray and Eyera’s companionable teasing and riffing is akin to the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson and is brilliantly brought to life by the actors. Matt Berry is wonderfully comical as Slugsy, the slimy club owner slash mob boss who relies on blackmail and duplicitous business ventures to facilitate profit. The director himself voices the parts of the mob boss’s sleazy lackeys Gunsol and Musker, ensuring that these secondary characters become memorable. The success of the voice acting, its timing and delivery, is grounded in the dialogue. The screenplay, written by Bird and Matthew Robbins, is incredibly funny and sharp and no joke falls flat. The script also touches on serious issues such as xenophobia through the combination of humans and aliens coexisting in society, and with the way Venus Nova is handled by her management team, there is a subtle examination of the toxicity of fame, corporate greed and the exploitation of stars. Indeed, one of the reasons for the film’s production delay was due to Bird’s confessed reluctance to pitch the feature at Pixar due to the typical age of the studio’s target audience. But Ray Gunn manages to strike the right balance and capably explores more mature themes without alienating a younger viewership.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given Bird’s track record, the film is excellently animated. The sci-fi urban cityscape design is fantastically retro and a respectful homage to Blade Runner. From the delightfully unique gaits and movements of the alien characters to a standout dance sequence in which “zero gravity” allows Gunn and Nova to float and blissfully twirl around one another, the animation thrives with creative and imaginative freedom. Tying everything together is the score composed by Michael Giacchino, which combines elements of jazz and blues and perfectly captures the smooth but mysterious mood of the film.

Some may find the plot to be a tad predictable but that takes nothing away from the ingenuity of the execution. Ray Gunn is an utterly stylish and entertaining tribute to film noir and also a reminder that an exciting concept paired with patience and perseverance can, in the long run, create something wonderful.

Sunny Morgan

Ray Gunn is released in select cinemas on 4^th December 2026.

Read more reviews from our London Film Festival 2026 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the London Film Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for Ray Gunn here: