Movie Review: Soul

Soul is a nearly perfect film, though that perfection comes with a caveat. I was engrossed in this movie start to finish, but when it ended, I found it hadn't hit me as hard as most Pixar movies do. In other words, it's more an experience than a journey. Despite its premise, there aren't a lot of twists and turns, and the emotional rollercoaster employed in every Pixar production is a relatively smooth ride. I'd describe the experience as akin to listening to a really good concert, which is what they were going for, anyway.

I want to stress that I believe this was largely a choice. The movie opted to keep the anxiety to a minimum, possibly to avoid traumatizing young viewers or maybe just to contrast the macabre subject matter. It presents the cycle of life and death in a surprisingly relaxed manner: the stakes here feel lower than any other Pixar movie I can think of, despite quite literally being a matter of life and death. The only antagonist is basically just a slightly overzealous bureaucrat presented as doing his job. He's not even that bad of a guy.

None of this is necessarily a complaint, mind you. It's kind of nice to watch one of these without being reduced to tears. Still, it left me without as strong an impression as I had after, say, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Inside Out... I could honestly go on to list about two-thirds of Pixar's catalog, including several titles nowhere near as good as Soul.

Visually (and auditorily) the movie is a sensory delight. Every second is awesome to behold. The design for the universal beings is phenomenal, as is the visual representation of spaces without space. Everything is evocative and beautiful.

While the movie is almost perfect, I do have one complaint. The ending felt a bit underwhelming to me. I think they kind of wrote themselves into a corner thematically, and for understandable reasons went with the happiest resolution they could think of. I appreciate why they went that way, but I feel like it might have carried a bit more of a punch if they'd been willing to not grant the main character a mulligan. I'm not lobbying for a tragic ending, mind you, just one where he accepts his fate and moves on, satisfied with his experiences.

This is at most a minor criticism; it might just be personal preference. Ultimately, Soul is another phenomenal achievement from Pixar.