• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Luca (2021, Pixar) | Review Thread (91% Certified Fresh)

Schlorgan

Schlorgan

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,932
Salt Lake City, Utah
www.rottentomatoes.com

Luca

Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Disney and Pixar's original feature film
www.rottentomatoes.com www.rottentomatoes.com

Screenshot_20210616-202457.jpg


Vanity Fair (Fresh)
The film is lovely and funny, but it operates on a more minor key than some of Pixar's true classics.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Slate (Fresh)
There are worse things a family summer movie can be than sweet, kind, and affirming of interspecies friendship in all its forms.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Boston Globe (Fresh)
"Luca" is middle-drawer Pixar, a dreamily animated bit of whimsy with a great setting, not much of a story, and a concept that's a rehash.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The Wrap (Fresh)
Sweet and affecting, capturing the bond that strangers can build over a summer, and how that friendship can endure. And like its shape-shifting protagonists, it's got plenty going on beneath the surface.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Chicago Sun-Times (Fresh)
Director Enrico Casarosa is making his feature-length debut here, and he and the vast Pixar animation army have delivered a gorgeous and lovely coming-of-age fantasy...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

USA Today (Fresh)
"Luca" doesn't drown in the usual Pixar profundity yet still navigates coming-of-age themes quite swimmingly with some appealing animated youngsters
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The Guardian (Fresh)
Another reliably slick combination of the Pixar playbook elements we've come to know so well, it's a gentle, calming whisper that grows faint once it's over.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Ithil

Ithil

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,385
Seems like it's one of their low key affairs like Ratatouille, which is fine by me.
 
janusff

janusff

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,132
Austin, TX
Read the local review from a critic I trust and she didn't love it. Still pumped to check it out this weekend though
 
Tavernade

Tavernade

Tavernade
Moderator
Sep 18, 2018
8,628
I'm more interested in the animation and art design (that looks INCREDIBLE) than the story, which seems ho hum. 'Middle of the road Pixar' is kind of what I was anticipating, which is fine because that's still 'pretty' good. Every Pixar movie since Coco has been 'pretty' good (Coco being amazing) with one thing or another that distracted me (Incredibles 2 was good but a rehash, Toy Story 4 was good but was too short and had a bizarre climax, Onward's first half was too slight, and Soul had that unnecessary body switch plot). I'm sure Luca will be good but the merman twist doesn't seem super interesting.
 
Ithil

Ithil

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,385
Huey said:
This puts it in Cars/Brave range. Which is fine, but was hoping for better.


? Literally their most critically acclaimed film (and imo also their best)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Low key as in setting and story. While there's plenty of visual energy in Ratatouille, it's still a story about a rat that likes cooking and a restaurant, it's not some big adventure or action film.
 

Deleted member 85465

User-requested account closure
Banned
Nov 12, 2020
976
The last above average Pixar movie for me was Inside Out.

Soul was kinda mediocre, if this is a "rehash" I wonder how many more mediocre movies Pixar has to release until critics start to not give Pixar soft criticisms.
 
touchfuzzy

touchfuzzy

Banned
Jul 27, 2019
1,706
This always vibed as a middle of the road Pixar to me (which is still a pretty good movie, especially compared to other animated stuff). I'm sure the kids will love it, will watch on the weekend.
 
BasilZero

BasilZero

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
36,343
Omni
Can't wait to see this in the weekend

Pixar has been amazing with all the releases recently.

I wonder if this will beat how I look at Coco which is currently my most favorite Pixar film
 
RatskyWatsky

RatskyWatsky

Are we human or are we dancer?
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,931
A new Pixar film is out tomorrow and almost no one is talking about it 😲
 
shaneo632

shaneo632

Weekend Planner
Member
Oct 29, 2017
28,996
Wrexham, Wales
Good film. Probably lower-tier Pixar but still beautifully animated (4K!) and a sweet story with great voice acting. Did the main theme remind anyone else of Final Fantasy VII? lol.

Unpopular opinion but I think this was a good fit for D+. Shame it wasn't available in cinemas too though, as I can understand some wanting to see it that way.

EDIT: I would rank it above Cars 2, Brave, The Good Dinosaur, and Onward.
 
Snarfington

Snarfington

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,929
Looking forward to watching this, it feels like with Soul & this, Pixar are going less down the crazy-high stakes exciting kid movie route with some of their films and more in the cosy, interesting, artful route that I always thought they excelled at.
 

Deleted member 11976

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,585
Silly Q but do movies on D+ ever make it to other platforms? I'd love to buy this on iTunes and watch it on my Apple TV without subbing to D+, if possible.
 
Kain-Nosgoth

Kain-Nosgoth

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,560
Switzerland
Man, i knew nothing about the movie, just the title (i always go blind on pixar, disney and so on since i know i'll watch them anyway)

Watching it right now and really nice surprise to see where it's taking place, knowing my family from there too and my village looks really similar

EDIT :
oh gawd, that poor kid getting thrown into the water with his icecream... i just absolutely hate when a poor kid lost something they had paid for, it breaks my heart everytime, even though it's super minor, lol
 
Last edited:
AniHawk

AniHawk

No Fear, Only Math
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,157
wait what the hell? this one really snuck up on me. i was at least aware of soul and raya before they came out.
 
Mik2121

Mik2121

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,943
Japan
I just got home from work and the whole train was wrapped from head to toes, both inside and outside, with Luca advertising.
 
GMM

GMM

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,482
mentha said:
Silly Q but do movies on D+ ever make it to other platforms? I'd love to buy this on iTunes and watch it on my Apple TV without subbing to D+, if possible.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

They do, I think there might be a small delay but I have seen movies D+ like Raya and Mulan on iTunes.
 
Kain-Nosgoth

Kain-Nosgoth

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,560
Switzerland
Just finished!

The movie didn't had much to say, but it was a really charming kid adventure, and goddamn the movie is gorgeous, probably the most beautiful CG animated movie i've seen, so full of details everywhere
 
BadWolf

BadWolf

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,148
Felt like a nice film for kids.

Very been-there-done-that though, yet another one of those takes on trying to make normal/everyday things feel "special".
 
Huey

Huey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,185
King Kingo said:
I'll gladly take another original Pixar property over a mediocre Pixar sequel like Finding Dory or Cars 3.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I hear you. I really enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) Cars fwiw too (Brave not so much, definitely felt off brand). I thought finding dory was great, but I agree that I'd love to get back to the amazing run of the 90s-2000s Pixar originals. Seems like they're pretty much gone though.
 
VPplaya

VPplaya

Member
Nov 20, 2018
1,966
Totally fine with this being a more low key kind of movie from them, tbh I was getting a bit tired of their more recent conceptual stuff anyway. Outside of Coco, all of their newer originals have been a little underwhelming to me. It's almost like they had an idea for a wacky, more abstract concept and then built a movie around that concept, versus coming up with an interesting story and then slotting that into a cool concept (aka the Good Dinosaur problem). Soul especially seemed pretty underbaked in its ideas and points despite looking really nice visually.

EDIT: Was actually really hoping to see this in theaters now that I am fully vaxxed, but its D+ only? But its not a $30 premiere access movie?
 
Oneiros

Oneiros

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,957
Tavernade said:
I'm more interested in the animation and art design (that looks INCREDIBLE) than the story, which seems ho hum. 'Middle of the road Pixar' is kind of what I was anticipating, which is fine because that's still 'pretty' good. Every Pixar movie since Coco has been 'pretty' good (Coco being amazing) with one thing or another that distracted me (Incredibles 2 was good but a rehash, Toy Story 4 was good but was too short and had a bizarre climax, Onward's first half was too slight, and Soul had that unnecessary body switch plot). I'm sure Luca will be good but the merman twist doesn't seem super interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The whole story hinges on the main character seeing their life from someone else's perspective, so it was far from unnecessary.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.