Well, 'new' might be a little bit of an overstatement, the movie came out a while ago. Nontheless, I believe it deserves to be reviewed like any other film despite the period of time between me watching it and finally sitting down and writing about it.
Long story short, Tomorrowland is pretty mediocre. It starts off as a story about adventure and quickly folds into itself as a very preachy kind of movie that tries to teach it's audience a lesson, but doesn't do so in a successful manner.
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| The start of a very...mediocre adventure |
Tomorrowland is about the hope we should feel for a better tomorrow. People like Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) represent the dreamers and hopeful youth that desire a better future. Rather than sitting here waiting for the horrible things to happen to the world, Casey wants to think of solutions. It's not until she comes across a mysterious badge that transports her to Tomorrowland, a utopian society that is free from bureaucracy and general restraints of the world. A place where the world's greatest minds are free to express themselves in any way they want.
Eventually, Casey runs into Frank Waller (George Clooney) a boy genius turns cynical, middle aged man who also visited the real Tomorrowland at a young age. Both characters represent the views that the general population will have of the future. Whether it's full of opportunity and hope or if it'll be squandered and disappointing. At any rate, these two are the main characters and you'll be seeing plenty of them.
The flow of Tomorrowland is a little off for the most part. Story was paced poorly and the general theme was hard to grasp. This is probably due to the fact that around halfway through the film, the story takes a sudden turn and suddenly we're introduced with a huge wave of thematic material that doesn't have enough time to gestate and become meaningful. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the overall message, but I don't think that it was delivered in an effective manner, especially when the film is meant to inspire hope in a younger audience. I understood the point of the film, I understood it's goal, I just didn't think the execution was just quite right.
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| Though the movie boasted some impressive set pieces, you can tell they blew their budget away with big environments like these and didn't spend enough on anything else. |
That being said, Tomorrowland does feature some imaginative set pieces and visuals ranging from steam-punkish technology to incredibly high tech sci-fi. We're also treated to a light-hearted adventure, which is definitely a positive point for a children's movie. There were a couple of chuckles to be had here and there which helped keep me entertained. I enjoyed seeing George Clooney be a snarky, cynical bastard in contrast to Britt Robertson's overwhelming positivity. However, the entire film felt a little flat besides that since you never really feel like there was any real risk. Despite the general plot of the film being 'Save the world from itself' you never really felt on edge nor will you feel that the stakes were high enough. Odd considering that it's the WORLD we're talking about here.
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| Governor Nix is the most interesting character in the movie despite his short screen time |
One thing I will also admit to enjoying is Hugh Laurie as the 'villain' of the film. Nix is a sympathetic villain...well he's not even that much of a villain. Nix isn't your typical bad guy in that all he wants is to cause trouble and spread destruction in his path. Nix is an otherwise intelligent and empathetic man who's motivations are laid out clearly for the audience. His reasons for his actions are solid and he probably has the most depth when it comes to the entire cast of characters, representing a sort of grey area rather than black or white. Nix is by far the best thing to happen in Tomorrowland, which is unfortunate because his character just wasn't enough to save Tomorrowland from mediocrity.
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| Thankfully, Raffey Cassidy as Athena wasn't terrible. In fact it was one of the better roles in the film next to Nix. It's a shame the spotlight wasn't focussed on her as much as it was focused on Frank and Casey |
I guess the main gripe I have for Tomorrowland is that it's just incredibly forgetful. Despite being a preachy film about how we should all look towards a better future and work toward improving our world...it just isn't memorable. It doesn't do anything particularly special, it doesn't take any risks, and it doesn't stand out from an ocean of other massive big budget films.Tomorrowland is just...ok. I believe, like any other movie, it's worth a watch...but perhaps when it's out for Blu-ray or something. Just don't expect to be blown away or anything.
The ultimate irony here is that Tomorrowland tells us to hope for the better future...but perhaps hoping for this film to be better is a bad idea as it will just end in disappointment.
Verdict: 2/5
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