Brad Bird’s ‘Ray Gunn’ Rotten Tomatoes Score Has Been Revealed

Few projects in modern animation have had as long a runway as Brad Bird’s ‘Ray Gunn‘. The two-time Oscar winner behind ‘The Incredibles’ and ‘Ratatouille’ has carried the idea in his head for more than 30 years. After decades of false starts, the retro-futuristic noir finally reached an audience this weekend.

The film had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on Saturday, October 10, with Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits leading its voice cast. Netflix and Skydance Animation have been building anticipation for months, with a first look at Annecy and a trailer ahead of the festival. Now the first verdicts are in.

‘Ray Gunn’ has opened with a 93% Tomatometer score based on 15 reviews, while its audience Popcornmeter has not yet been populated. That is a strong start on paper, and some critics have gone as far as calling it one of the year’s best films. Reviewers have singled out the retro-futuristic production design and action set pieces for praise.

The score is based on a small number of reviews, so it may shift as more critics weigh in. Other review roundups show a more divided picture, with the reception described as mixed overall. That gap makes the early reaction one of the more interesting to watch.

The most glowing reviews treat ‘Ray Gunn’ as a triumph. TheWrap’s review called it a “visually stunning, thematically rich masterpiece” and praised how it blends the daytime noir of ‘Chinatown’ with the rapid-fire dialogue of ‘His Girl Friday’ and the world-building of ‘Blade Runner’. Other positive reviews highlighted the jazzy score by Michael Giacchino, the world of Metropia, and the swagger Rockwell brings to the lead.

One review from The Nerds of Color said the artwork, production design and sound, from sound designer Ben Burtt, transport viewers into a world where anything seems possible. The same piece praised Waits’ gravelly voice as Ray’s gruffer, long-suffering partner Eyera. Several critics also noted that the film feels timely, with its themes of technology and autonomy.

Not everyone has been won over. The Hollywood Reporter’s review called the film a “blandly palatable jumble” of sci-fi and neo-noir clichés and described it as underwhelming rather than awful. It argued that the script gestures at themes such as xenophobia, corporate corruption and artificial intelligence without saying much about them.

Other mixed reviews echoed a similar point. Variety found the film energetic but short on charm, while a few outlets pointed to a predictable plot and thin characters. Tallies of the festival reaction show scores ranging from a perfect 5 out of 5 at The Guardian to a C at The AV Club and The Playlist, with ScreenRant at 6 out of 10 and IndieWire at a B-.

The story is set in Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939. Private eye Raymond Gunn, voiced by Rockwell, is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova, voiced by Johansson. The film is written by Bird and Matthew Robbins, with Bird’s story at its core.

Bird has said the film relies entirely on pure keyframe animation, a point of pride for a director who has long defended the craft. The project began as an idea he developed in the mid-1990s and finally got the go-ahead when Skydance Animation stepped in. It is his first film in eight years.

First trailer for ‘RAY GUNN’, directed by Brad Bird (‘The Incredibles’). The film follows a private detective who is drawn into a case involving aliens & murder in the alternate futuristic city Metropia. Releasing December 18 on Netflix. https://t.co/SiV84ap0Tu

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 23, 2026

Festival audiences will get another chance to catch the film at the BFI IMAX on October 17, the same day it screens at the Montclair Film Festival. ‘Ray Gunn’ then opens in select theaters and limited 70mm on December 4, before arriving on Netflix on December 18. That date puts it on the same day as ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Dune: Part Three’.

For now, the split reaction suggests viewers should keep their expectations open. A passion project this long in the making carries unusually high expectations, and critics clearly disagree on whether it meets them. The final verdict will be decided by audiences in December.

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