Disney just love to adapt theme park attractions and rides into movies, with the Pirates of the Caribbean ride spawning the Johnny Depp led franchise and a Haunted Mansion movie in 2003 and a remake in production. So they decided to go an extra mile and turn a whole area of the Magic Kingdom into a movie, and thus the Tomorrowland movie came into existence. Right, so what do they do to make this successful? Well, hiring director Brad Bird who has barely set a foot wrong in his career so far is a pretty good start. What could possibly go wrong? Well, apparently a whole lot.
So, the plot of Tomorrowland revolves around a young, optimistic girl Casey (Britt Robertson) and a middle-aged genius (George Clooney) who travel to Tomorrowland, which is....in the future, or another dimension, or....something. Therein lies one of the primary issues of Tomorrowland and that is that the plot makes no sense and tries so hard to build up the mystery behind this world that it turns the final 20 minutes of the film into one big anti-climax (and that's while ignoring all of the other plot holes along the way). The main body of the film is taken up with the journey to reach Tomorrowland. But the biggest insult to injury is that this portion of the film is extremely enjoyable, filled with intrigue, comedy and good action sequences (including one scene with a hilarious amount of Star Wars product placement). The plot falls apart as soon as the characters reach Tomorrowland and the villain is revealed. The climax is so...Disney. What I mean is that it is very predictable and is simply a clichéd, optimistic look at the future.
While the writers may not have produced a spectacular story on the level I was expecting, where they do succeed is coming up with a group of likeable and fun people to follow on their journey. George Clooney is as watchable and as charismatic as ever. However, the real star of the show is relative newcomer Britt Robertson. Her optimistic and comedic personality contrasts with the way Clooney's character is written, leading to some great interactions between the two as the film goes on. Where the quality of the film begins to plummet is when the main villain, played by Hugh Laurie, comes to the forefront. Laurie isn't the best actor in the movie but, to be fair, the script did not give him much to work with. His plan (if you can even call it that) is ridiculous and does not make any sense whatsoever.
However, as per usual with director Brad Bird's films, Tomorrowland is a technical triumph. Lasers, explosions, a whole futuristic city, Paris being blacked out with an EMP. The film tackles a wide variety of effects and excels in the execution of them all. It was crucial for this to be done to perfection as a sci-fi action flick (like pretty much all of Bird's work). Suffice to say, if you can ignore some plot holes and simply enjoy the guaranteed visual spectacle, you're going to have a great time watching this movie.
Tomorrowland's production design and sound are also very well done. The movie's sets, whether CGI or physical all look extremely realistic, a crucial feature if you want to create a truly immersive cinematic experience for the audience, as Bird always does. You could spend hours dissecting the scenery of the fully populated Tomorrowland, studying the incredibly detailed environments, people and hidden references to Disney history and areas (similar to the theme park, I suppose).
I had such high hopes for this movie. In a sea of sequels, reboots and films recycling the same ideas over and over again, Tomorrowland seemed to offer something completely original. But an idea alone cannot carry a whole movie. It's unfortunate then that a weak plot and message plague an otherwise well-acted and visually stunning film. If the movie had been called "Journey to Tomorrowland," I, along with the rest of the world, may be a bit more forgiving of the errors. I suppose I'm a bit let down that this was not the original classic I hoped it would be.
Pros
- Visual effects and set design
- Well-acted, likeable characters
- The first two acts
Cons
- Nonsensical plot
- Poor villain reveal
- Clichéd message
- The last 20 minutes
Original Release Date: May 9th, 2015
Starring: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy, Judy Greer, Tim McGraw
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