Tomorrowland

Brad Bird has really established himself as one of my favorite directors. He is one that ,no matter what project he is attached to, I tend to get excited. Not only has he given us animated classics such as The Iron Giant and one of Pixar's best, The Incredibles, his first foray into the live-action realm, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (which is interestingly enough one of my very first reviews on this site -- click the title to see it) was one of the best action/spy films in the last several decades.

The man, much like a another favorite director of mine, Christopher Nolan, understands the purpose of movies. They are here to transport us...to amaze us...to inspire us. Brad Bird's level of imagination is often unparalleled, something that I think was pretty obvious during a certain high-rise and sand storm scene in Ghost Protocol.  

Tomorrowland is really no different and other than being incredibly loosely based on the Disney theme park attraction, it's a wholly original story. Over the course of its two hours not only did I enjoy myself in the theater, I felt somewhat inspired. Tomorrowland begs the question: what are we doing about it? And by it I'm referring to the "impending doom" the media piles onto us daily. It's interesting I mentioned Christopher Nolan earlier because Tomorrowland sort of plays as an anti-Interstellar -- instead of humans escaping from the problems we have created on earth it wants to inspire the bright minds around the globe to find solutions to these problems. Two very different films, I grant you, but you get the point. But it's perhaps what Tomorrowland does best is conveying its message about inspiration and problem solving through way of engineering, artistry, inventiveness, and plain ol' tinkering (I always used to joke that tinkering was a form of engineering while I was in school).

Surprise! Tomorrowland is actually Ocean's Fourteen in disguise

I didn't know Nebraska had a huge castle!?

Tomorrowland is certainly not without issues, but it's one of the easiest movies to ignore said issues that I can recall from recent memory. The screenplay comes from Damon Lindelof, who has a tendency to not fully close plot loops at times and who also has a tendency to get thrown under the bus far more than he deserves. He closes all of his loops in this film, but the pacing is really off at times. The third act is a mad rush to the finish, with a villain reveal happening in the final forty minutes of the film and the "big plan" to save everything is concocted in about thirty seconds. This comes after a solid 75-90 minutes of exposition and mystery-filled story (I'm coming to find that I really enjoy good exposition by the way) that moved somewhat slower. It all seems a bit frantic and one wishes they would have edited down some earlier segments or allowed the film to go into the 2.5 hour territory. Among all that exposition, most of which is quite excellent, there were a few explanations I didn't like. It wasn't that they didn't make sense, it was more the sensation I got that the reasoning the film provided wasn't good enough. It's hard to give explicit examples without spoiling anything, but in retrospect there were a few points I think could have used better explanation. Lastly, there is a pretty forced romantic beat near the end and while it doesn't come entirely out of left field, it felt tacked on and unnecessary. It's a strange thing because I actually think that Lindelof turned in a fantastic screenplay, I just think the time management and organization of it all could have used some tweaking. And it should be noted here that the trailers for the film do very little in the way of spoiling any of the fun which is pretty amazing when you consider that the trailers were fantastic.

Denver in 2050! [One can wish]

Tomorrowland features some strong performances as well. It never really asks too much from the actors, but George Clooney plays a grumpy genius well and he sincerely looks like he is happy to be involved. Britt Robertson plays Casey Newton who is the one "discovering" this world and her combination of spunk and punk fit the character well. Truly though it was a child actor who impressed me the most (I know, I know...crazy). Raffey Cassidy plays Athena, who's character I shall not reveal here. Just know that she acts far beyond her years and easily goes toe to toe with Clooney. There's hardly any of the stiff awkwardness that comes from most child actors (ANAKIN!!!) and it was really a treat to watch. I feel completely comfortable saying that she is easily the best child actor I've ever seen and I predict that she will go far in her career.

There are some really fun action segments to be had that are both funny and captivating. Brad Bird's imagination is on display for most of the film, but it's the action segments that really make me pine for him to re-helm a Mission Impossible or a Star Wars film. It should be noted though, and I say this mainly for parents, that the film is a hard-PG. Many of the enemies are robots, but there is still what I would deem "robot gore", not to mention that some of their weapons turn people (i.e. police officers) into dust. People die in this film and the robots die in particularly gruesome ways. I'm not sure it's enough to warrant a PG-13, but just take note. Anyway, the special effects are pretty incredible except for a few early on, and some of the ideas on display here (in Tomorrowland itself, weaponry, gadgets, etc.) are so cool.

An amazing little actress

I was really looking forward to Tomorrowland. Not just because Brad Bird was directing, although I admit that was a lot of the reason. But the trailers were incredibly well designed, but also left you with a supreme sense of wonder and mystery. I'm happy to report that the film does the same...it will leave you in awe for most of its duration, and when it aims to inspire, it hits the mark, or at least it did with me. And when a movie is as fun as Tomorrowland, looks as good as Tomorrowland, and keeps me engaged and smiling as easily as Tomorrowland did, it's easy to look past the fact that some of the pacing and explanation could have used some further work.

And it goes without mentioning that you might leave the theater just a little bit more inspired to make something of yourself than when you first walked in...

CONS:

• The pacing is really off in the final act and the film seems to be rushing through the motions
• Abrupt villain reveal/resolution
• Parts of the exposition and explanation were not sufficient enough for my liking
• A bit of questionable CGI near the beginning
• Tacked on romantic beat

PROS:

• Maintains a sense of mystery and wonder throughout its duration. Really compelling to watch
• Bard Bird's inventiveness is on full display here with some fun action scenes, great design, and awesome gadgets. He was the perfect director to helm a movie that deals with the imagination
• The story is well written, despite its pacing issues. It may be a little "Disney" in some areas, but that's to be expected and it's resolution in the final 5 minutes leaves us with a fantastic ending
• The villain makes some good points about the current state of the world
• Aims to inspire. I'd say it accomplished that
• Often great CGI coupled with some stellar cinematography
• It should be noted that the trailers were spoiler-free and fantastic
• Strong performances all around and easily the best child-actor performance I've probably ever seen coming from Raffey Cassidy
• Solid original score
• Fun ties back to classic Disney culture
• Keeps you in your seat, having fun, and in amazement despite its CONS. It's a hard movie to hate against

Rath's Review Score: 8.5/10