Year: 2015
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Raffey Cassidy, and Hugh Laurie
Tagline: Remember the Future
Synopsis: An optimistic teenager teams up with a jaded former boy-genius in order to find Tomorrowland and save the future.
Tagline: Remember the Future
Synopsis: An optimistic teenager teams up with a jaded former boy-genius in order to find Tomorrowland and save the future.
Review
I wanted to like this movie. I really, really, really wanted to like this movie. It's directed by Brad Bird. It's original. It's visually stunning. It's buoyantly optimistic. It's ... kind of a mess.
The plot starts out like a mystery, as we follow Casey who finds a pin that "transports" her to Tomorrowland, a place where anything is possible. But what she sees is only a sort of vision, and eventually the timer runs out. Casey, and the audience, are then left to unravel where the pin came from, why, and how to get to Tomorrowland. As a mystery, it does a relatively good job. But then things start to fall apart.
The more we learn the more questions arise, many of which are simply never answered. What really happened to Tomorrowland? Where did all the robots come from? Are there other people living in Tomorrowland, or is Governor Nix there by himself with a few guards that may or may not have been robots? And those are just a few questions that don't spoil anything.
Also, why do all the robots in the film have such violent self-destruct protocols? Once they are damaged to a certain degree ... BOOM! I understand not wanting to leave behind evidence or sensitive information. But why do they have to turn into bombs capable of leveling a building?
The framing device used at the start and end of the movie is also a bit problematic. Yes, framing scenes can be a fun way to tell a story. But in this case, it eliminated any actual worry about the main characters. No matter what peril they were in, we already knew they'd survive to the end because they were telling the story.
I could have been more forgiving of the various plot holes had the characters been more likable. Frank -- both old and young -- is likable and relatable enough. But the rest of the characters were rather bland. Athena was too distant and ... well, robotic. Casey was just shy of being annoying. Yes, she's optimistic. But she's rather arrogant in her tactics. She's like the film itself: heavy-handed.
I will say this, the visuals for Tomorrowland are superb. And the world that is shown to Casey when she touches the pin is richly imagined and beautifully detailed. The actual Tomorrowland Casey visits is a far cry from that utopia. That was the problem with the film itself: big, beautiful promises but a disappointing, bland reality.
I didn't hate Tomorrowland. It's not a bad movie. But I had such high hopes and expectations for it, and it failed to deliver. The visuals are terrific. And it is imaginative. My recommendation would be to give it a chance once it comes to Redbox or Netflix.
*** Spoiler Section ***
I'm still not entirely sure what Governor Nix was doing to "feed the wrong wolf." Supposedly Frank was the only person in the real world who knew about and was watching the clock tick down until doomsday. Was the tachyon machine thinger somehow going to cause the end of the world? Seriously, I'm so confused.
Nix himself is confusing. In the real world, various robots have been authorized by Nix to kill Frank and destroy Athena. Yet when Frank, Casey, and Athena arrive in Tomorrowland, Nix greets them civilly, listens to them (well, kind of), and then offers to banish them with a cheery "good to see you." It doesn't mesh.
While I'm still puzzling over how Frank had the "Edison tube" in his possession, watching the Eiffel Tower move apart to make way for a rocket was pretty darn cool. Just how were they going to explain that in the real world?
One more nitpick. Did Frank really spend the rest of his life pining over his childhood crush on a robot?
The plot starts out like a mystery, as we follow Casey who finds a pin that "transports" her to Tomorrowland, a place where anything is possible. But what she sees is only a sort of vision, and eventually the timer runs out. Casey, and the audience, are then left to unravel where the pin came from, why, and how to get to Tomorrowland. As a mystery, it does a relatively good job. But then things start to fall apart.
The more we learn the more questions arise, many of which are simply never answered. What really happened to Tomorrowland? Where did all the robots come from? Are there other people living in Tomorrowland, or is Governor Nix there by himself with a few guards that may or may not have been robots? And those are just a few questions that don't spoil anything.
Also, why do all the robots in the film have such violent self-destruct protocols? Once they are damaged to a certain degree ... BOOM! I understand not wanting to leave behind evidence or sensitive information. But why do they have to turn into bombs capable of leveling a building?
The framing device used at the start and end of the movie is also a bit problematic. Yes, framing scenes can be a fun way to tell a story. But in this case, it eliminated any actual worry about the main characters. No matter what peril they were in, we already knew they'd survive to the end because they were telling the story.
I could have been more forgiving of the various plot holes had the characters been more likable. Frank -- both old and young -- is likable and relatable enough. But the rest of the characters were rather bland. Athena was too distant and ... well, robotic. Casey was just shy of being annoying. Yes, she's optimistic. But she's rather arrogant in her tactics. She's like the film itself: heavy-handed.
I will say this, the visuals for Tomorrowland are superb. And the world that is shown to Casey when she touches the pin is richly imagined and beautifully detailed. The actual Tomorrowland Casey visits is a far cry from that utopia. That was the problem with the film itself: big, beautiful promises but a disappointing, bland reality.
I didn't hate Tomorrowland. It's not a bad movie. But I had such high hopes and expectations for it, and it failed to deliver. The visuals are terrific. And it is imaginative. My recommendation would be to give it a chance once it comes to Redbox or Netflix.
*** Spoiler Section ***
I'm still not entirely sure what Governor Nix was doing to "feed the wrong wolf." Supposedly Frank was the only person in the real world who knew about and was watching the clock tick down until doomsday. Was the tachyon machine thinger somehow going to cause the end of the world? Seriously, I'm so confused.
Nix himself is confusing. In the real world, various robots have been authorized by Nix to kill Frank and destroy Athena. Yet when Frank, Casey, and Athena arrive in Tomorrowland, Nix greets them civilly, listens to them (well, kind of), and then offers to banish them with a cheery "good to see you." It doesn't mesh.
While I'm still puzzling over how Frank had the "Edison tube" in his possession, watching the Eiffel Tower move apart to make way for a rocket was pretty darn cool. Just how were they going to explain that in the real world?
One more nitpick. Did Frank really spend the rest of his life pining over his childhood crush on a robot?
Quotable Quotes
- "All around you the coal mine canaries are dropping dead and you won't take the hint!" -- Governor Nix
- "Dreamers need to stick together." -- Athena
- "There are two wolves who are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. The question is ... which wolf wins?" "The one you feed." -- Casey and her father
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