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Tomorrowland - Movie Review

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3 stars

More creative than it is philosophical (even though it really, really wants to be both), Tomorrowland’s future-bound trajectory resides inside an adventure that recalls the type of kid-against-adult “message” movies Walt Disney used to make every Easter when I was young lad. This is 1975’s Escape to Witch Mountain (with Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann) territory and I love that writer-director Brad Bird (Iron Giant, The Incredibles) doesn’t ever shy away from replicating that syrupy sweet tone. His new adventure is very nostalgic and, involving a momentous visit to the 1964 World’s Fair by way of a homemade jet pack, equally imaginative, even if its story sputters and loses thrust along its disjointed way.

By tackling the project, originally titled 1952, Bird – who breathed new life into a Tom Cruise-led franchise – seems to be on his own impossible mission here. Can art recapture the unsullied spirit of a bygone era of filmmaking and remain relevant to an audience who may not believe in its utopian message? Bird, speaking through the events of Tomorrowland believes it can and, in spite of some rather stereotypical characters, expected events, and a rather wonky ending, is able to deliver an answer that might actually be heard. YES. It is possible. It is really hard to not like this movie but loving it is harder.

Written by Bird and (rather regrettably) Damon Lindelof, Tomorrowland finds its inspiration within the futuristic land found at Disney theme parks and combines it with the social message construct of Metropolis. The end result is a sort of sci-fi-minded fever dream involving unique people in the world foraging their own path and our responsibility toward the future and the science that will lead us there (and, yes, the movie does get THAT preachy). The plot involves a teenage girl, Casey (Britt Robertson), seeing out an older scientist, Frank (George Clooney), when she discovers – through a series of highly imaginative visual sequences involving a magical pin – a place called Tomorrowland.

Frank, who has a messy history with this art deco-inspired world, is our second narrative focus. As another recipient of that mysterious “T” pin, Frank’s experiences – occurring when he was much younger – within Tomorrowland are less awe-inspiring. He’s been banished after telling its mechanized residents truth they didn’t want to hear and holds one hell of a grudge. He is convinced, though, to help Casey on her mission.

Casey’s sudden appearance within his hermit-like existence brings the both of them nothing but trouble from mysterious men in black and sends them on a surrogate father/daughter road trip toward a tangible utopian sunset via cheeky banter and awesome special effects. Also starring Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, and Keegan-Michael Key, Tomorrowland makes for a better experience at the movies than it does as a narrative but, due to the size of its own marvel, can easily be enjoyed as a popcorn muncher.  You just have to turn a blind eye to its weakest aspect: the second-rate story that flexes weaker and weaker the more it carries.

Bird embraces the theme park ride of its namesake with oomph and aahhs to make the film like a thrilling ride at Disneyland. He also teases the mind a bit with creative Oz-like wonder and breathtaking visuals, yet – to a fault - hardly allows us to spend any time in Tomorrowland, which is rather curious and makes the film feel more of a baiting marketing scheme. When the world is visualized; however, it is dazzling and tremendous and bursting with towering skyscrapers, monorails, and androids.

Bird and Lindelof develop a sense of nostalgia and deliver in the first hour a good picture but, beyond establishing a sense of cheerful implausibility, the duo fail to safely land their ambitious Tomorrowland plane in final third of the picture. Too much in the how and the why of the story unfolds – just like the busy buildings in that glimmering city – simply goes unanswered. In between all the lasers, plasma bombs, and secret doors that fill the story – is a film that struggles to actually develop a true nature among its many shots of golden wheat fields. The message of the film is lightweight. The delivery is a bit too clunky.  Combine that with the typical Lindelof faux spirituality of mystical intent and Tomorrowland gets a bit too full of itself.

If anything, audiences will remember Bird’s labor of love as remarkable eye-candy. While the story within doesn’t quite create the lump in the throat moments we might have expected, Tomorrowland is still worth the price of one viewing. I like it. I really do. I wanted to LOVE IT, however, and I’m disappointed that I don’t.

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Tomorrowland - Movie Review

MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence and peril, thematic elements, and language
Runtime:
130 mins
Director
: Brad Bird
Writer: Damon Lindelof, Brad Bird
Cast:
George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie
Genre
: Action | Adventure
Tagline:
Tomorrowland
Memorable Movie Quote: "I want you to take me to the place I saw when I touched this."
Distributor:
Walt Disney Motion Pictures
Official Site: http://movies.disney.com/tomorrowland/
Release Date:
May 22, 2015
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
No details available.
Synopsis: Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.

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