3/5 Tomorrowland So far, 2015 has given us movies both good and bad. We have reached the highs of Mad Max and the lows of Taken 3, but we have yet to have a movie that is truly disappointing. The wait is over; that movie is Tomorrowland. With such an esteemed pedigree, it was virtually impossible to not get excited. Sporting an explosive and intriguing mixture of talent, this film gives us the creative union of one of my favorite directors, Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille), and one of my favorite writers of science fiction, Damon Lindelof (Lost). Add to the mixture George Clooney, and I begin to get excited just by typing it. Turns out, this mix might be a bit TOO explosive. I am going to be scant on plot details, because learning as you go is half the fun. (Aside: That was a lie. The real reason is because I only understood about half of it. End of aside.) The story begins with a bit of jokey (awkward) exposition/introduction to our two main characters. The first time we see Frank Walker (Clooney), he is sweeping us back to the 1964 World’s Fair, where a young Frank is trying to sell his makeshift jetpack to Dr. House - Hugh Laurie’s character is really named Nix, but let’s be honest here. He is rejected, but out of the deal he meets a charming, all-business girl named Athena (Raffey Cassidy, superb). Athena then takes Frank to Tomorrowland, a futuristic alternate universe where only the most creative people are free to make awesome things like flying trams, twirly skyscrapers, and more jetpacks. | Director: Brad Bird Starring: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key Writers: Damon Lindelof, Brad Bird |
Then we meet Casey (Britt Robertson, The Longest Ride), a whiz kid and daughter of a NASA engineer (Tim McGraw). Disheartened by the shutdown of the space program, Casey is doing anything she can to slow down the destructive machine threatening both her dreams and her father’s job. Such destruction gets Casey thrown in jail, where she somehow comes into possession of a pin that whisks her away to Tomorrowland. This happens, then that happen, Frank and Casey team up, they travel to Tomorrowland via an Eiffel Tower rocket, and they fight to save the world.
The film’s first half, set on the Earth we know, is by far the most entertaining half of the bloated 130 minute film. It is not because the whizzing, twirling action sequences grow dull, Brad Bird has proven with Mission Impossible 4 that he slays at action. Frank, Casey, and Athena’s mid-film journey to Tomorrowland marks the moment when the film ceases to make sense in any form or fashion. Lindelof has always loved confounding the audience with audacious and overcomplicated plotting (4 8 15 16 23 42), but Tomorrowland finds him heading in a direction that I just can’t follow.
Your best bet is to ignore the specific details of the narrative and focus on the fun set pieces Bird creates. This, however, presents another problem. Even if you shun the specifics, there is no getting around the film’s preachy message. It isn’t that I completely disagree with everything Bird is saying, though his view that some people are more special than others makes me pause, but he could used a bit more subtly in his delivery. By film’s end, I was feeling the “OK, we get it” blues. America used to be a place where the sky was the limit in terms of creative and scientific ingenuity. It’s hard to pinpoint a point when the world made a u-turn. The take-off explosion of the Challenger and the war-machine's fascination with making bigger and better bombs sure did not help. In this regard, Bird’s message is noble: where did all the dreamers go? But he could have used a smaller megaphone to preach it.
One thing you cannot say, though, is that his actors lack commitment. Clooney specifically seems made for these type of roles, and he does not disappoint. While Robertson is commendable, it becomes increasingly clear that Tomorrowland belongs to Clooney and Cassidy. It should be creepy to watch Clooney have a romantically heated fight with a child, and it kind of is, but I’ll be damned if the two actors do not make it work - if you’re wondering, Frank grows up and Athena remains the same age, because she’s a robot…or something. Don’t ask.
I am not the biggest respecter of spoilers, so I admit that I would love to help you understand what exactly Clooney and the gang are fighting to prevent/destroy in the film’s muddled climax. However, I am still not sure what happened. I don’t know why the bad guys were bad, and, honestly, I’m not sure why the good guys were good. Maybe you will have better luck than me.
p.s. If I am being honest, this film is probably a 2.5. Along with all the things I just wrote about, it's hard to get past knowing that this is just Disney capitalizing on their Disneyland theme park of the same name - sort of like they did with Pirates of the Caribbean. Luckily for Brad Bird, he has proven his creative genius so many times over that I can’t help but to see Tomorrowland through rose-colored glasses.
The film’s first half, set on the Earth we know, is by far the most entertaining half of the bloated 130 minute film. It is not because the whizzing, twirling action sequences grow dull, Brad Bird has proven with Mission Impossible 4 that he slays at action. Frank, Casey, and Athena’s mid-film journey to Tomorrowland marks the moment when the film ceases to make sense in any form or fashion. Lindelof has always loved confounding the audience with audacious and overcomplicated plotting (4 8 15 16 23 42), but Tomorrowland finds him heading in a direction that I just can’t follow.
Your best bet is to ignore the specific details of the narrative and focus on the fun set pieces Bird creates. This, however, presents another problem. Even if you shun the specifics, there is no getting around the film’s preachy message. It isn’t that I completely disagree with everything Bird is saying, though his view that some people are more special than others makes me pause, but he could used a bit more subtly in his delivery. By film’s end, I was feeling the “OK, we get it” blues. America used to be a place where the sky was the limit in terms of creative and scientific ingenuity. It’s hard to pinpoint a point when the world made a u-turn. The take-off explosion of the Challenger and the war-machine's fascination with making bigger and better bombs sure did not help. In this regard, Bird’s message is noble: where did all the dreamers go? But he could have used a smaller megaphone to preach it.
One thing you cannot say, though, is that his actors lack commitment. Clooney specifically seems made for these type of roles, and he does not disappoint. While Robertson is commendable, it becomes increasingly clear that Tomorrowland belongs to Clooney and Cassidy. It should be creepy to watch Clooney have a romantically heated fight with a child, and it kind of is, but I’ll be damned if the two actors do not make it work - if you’re wondering, Frank grows up and Athena remains the same age, because she’s a robot…or something. Don’t ask.
I am not the biggest respecter of spoilers, so I admit that I would love to help you understand what exactly Clooney and the gang are fighting to prevent/destroy in the film’s muddled climax. However, I am still not sure what happened. I don’t know why the bad guys were bad, and, honestly, I’m not sure why the good guys were good. Maybe you will have better luck than me.
p.s. If I am being honest, this film is probably a 2.5. Along with all the things I just wrote about, it's hard to get past knowing that this is just Disney capitalizing on their Disneyland theme park of the same name - sort of like they did with Pirates of the Caribbean. Luckily for Brad Bird, he has proven his creative genius so many times over that I can’t help but to see Tomorrowland through rose-colored glasses.