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Tomorrowland (2015)
Daniel's Review
‘Tomorrowland’ is a movie that I was really admiring, but sadly, also frustrated me, which is disappointing with the director and co-writer of ‘Tomorrowland’ Brad Bird involved in this project.
The story revolves around Casey (portrayed by Britt Robertson) an optimistic person, who is a dreamer, and is selected with a pin that teleports her into a usual place, called Tomorrowland. With the trailers so vague surrounding what this film really is about, I won’t say much else.
Let’s start off with what makes this film work very well. Brad Bird has directed this film quite well, in terms of camera shots and angles. The visual effects is really beautiful and inspiring. The actors do a fantastic job, with praise towards Britt Robertson.
However, the film’s story is a mix bag, as the opening of the film, and the first hour is actually really entertaining and delightfully unique as we get to know these characters and their backstory, then the film loses ground as it becomes lost in its potential and derails, becoming what I was really enjoying, becoming something I was really frustrated by. As the film progresses, the film becomes convoluted and treads towards being like a cartoon, instead of a live-action sci-fi fantasy adventure, which is what the first half of the film was, and done quite well, until the film’s third and final act, which is dissatisfying and ultimately disappointing. Now, I would love to talk about what I didn’t like in this film, but that would tread onto spoiler territory.
‘Tomorrowland’ is beaming with originality, what starts out strong, ultimately gets lost and becomes convoluted in its ideas presented, but the adventure of the film’s first and second act was quite spectacular and really enjoyable, like an amusement park ride that this film was named after.
Score: 6.8/10
Published: May 25th, 2015
Details
Review
Release Date: May 28th, 2015
Studio: Disney
Runtime: 130 mins
Rated: PG
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Nic's Review
Brad Bird is one of the best directors in Hollywood today. His filmography includes such classics as 'The Iron Giant' and 'The Incredibles' so it is unsurprising that fans of his held big expectations for 'Tomorrowland'. Unfortunately, it seems Bird has stumbled for the first time on an uneven narrative that is weighed down by a clunky script and a strange, verging on campy, plot. That's not to say 'Tomorrowland' is without its charms though so let's start with the positives.
First off is Casey Newton, the protagonist of the film, who is likeable and relatable even with her over-the-top dialogue. When she finds a mysterious pin in amongst her belongings, she embarks on a journey of imagination to save the future of humanity. Britt Robertson portrays Casey really well for a lesser-known actor, going toe-to-toe with George Clooney's Frank Walker character and coming off equal. While Robertson and Clooney use their acting talent to their best here, the supporting cast is limited by the weak script, especially Hugh Laurie's one-dimensional villain.
There are also many confusing plot elements that aren't very well explained and a lot of buildup in the first two acts lead to a disappointing, easy resolution. It should be mentioned that the script is largely written by Damon Lindelof, who is known for, among other things, 'Lost' and 'Star Trek Into Darkness', and not by Bird but both filmmakers are responsible for the film's shortcomings in some ways. While it is hard to break away from the negatives, the overall message of the story is uplifting and well-woven and personally, I found the cheesiness and camp quite charming in a B-movie kind of way, I just wish it wasn't Brad Bird that made a film like this.
The steampunk/retro sci-fi tone the film is original in this age of dystopian blockbusters, which 'Tomorrowland' is designed to be a meta-commentary against, but it contributes to the cheese in buckets. This movie isn't cheddar, it's mozzarella; it's oozing with cheese.
I wanted to like it more, but ultimately 'Tomorrowland' is a letdown that becomes less rewatchable the more its reflected upon. Quite a shame.
Score: 6/10
Published: June 16th, 2015
Rob's Review
Welcome to Tomorrowland, where the park is made up and the acting doesn’t matter.
‘Tomorrowland’ is Disney’s latest’s movie directed by Brad Bird and stars George Clooney as Frank Walker, and newcomer Britt Robertson as Casey Newton.
The movie revolves around a young girl called Casey finding this mysterious pin, which transports her to a futuristic utopian society, as she goes on a journey to find out more about this strange pin and the unusual place she has been.
I will start with what I enjoyed about the movie, which are the visuals, as I have come to expect from Disney they were certainly cutting edge. However this is about the only thing I liked in the movie, which is really saying something.
The movie started out with a wonderful premise and it was enjoyable up until we find out that what we think is Tomorrowland, isn’t actually Tomorrowland; that’s all I’ll say because spoilers, but the entire advertising of the movie was based around a futuristic utopia, I didn’t really get that, so I felt like I was punched in the gut.
This movie had a great plot and wonderful story (assuming we rename the movie from ‘Tomorrowland’ to ‘The Journey of Hope Starring Casey’) however, story execution was poor and could of been done a little better in my opinion.
Overall this movie had some good points, but realistically it failed to “wow” me and coming from a studio like Disney it disappoints me.
Score: 4/10