Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Nope.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Sure.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 130 minutes (~2.25 hours)
“Tomorrowland” is a science fiction film about a futuristic, utopian society that chooses special individuals from our world to help. But when a terrible secret is unearthed, it will take the cooperation of both worlds to save everyone. It stars George Clooney (Frank Walker), Hugh Laurie (David Nix), Britt Robertson (Casey Newton), Raffey Cassidy (Athena), and Thomas Robinson (Young Frank Walker).
“Tomorrowland” is a typical Disney adventure film, filled with fun, action, and a squeaky clean sheen despite some of the rather dark motivations of the characters. Set in the modern day, it manages to reference some of the more iconic science fiction names while still creating and building its own mythos. However, there’s an element of magic that doesn’t quite manifest itself in the film. It’s this missing element that leaves it as a fairly average movie, and prevents it from ascending into the ranks of Disney classics.
Highlights
Fun adventure across colourful locations
The characters visit a variety of places throughout the movie, and chief among them is, of course, Disneyland. There’s a strong sense of adventure and fun as the protagonists traverse the different locales. They’re just as fascinated by Tomorrowland as the audience is, as well as by the other locations around the globe. It’s this sense of clean family fun that makes this movie a very distinctly Disney one.
Theme of hope
If there’s one very strong message that the movie sends, it’s that of hope. Hope for a better (but of course) tomorrow, for the society they live in, and for the people that populate the planet. It might come across as slightly cheesy, but the movie pulls it off and promotes a strong sense of a better age to come. In any case, no character espouses this theme better than Casey Newtown, who’s very presence is what brings hope to all the characters.
Raffey Cassidy’s performance as the robot who learns emotions
Although the trope of “the machine who learns to love” is an old one, Raffey Cassidy still manages to portray a convincing android who’s uncertain of all these new feelings that it has. She depicts a logical, law-abiding robot that charms you with her naivete about the innate goodness of people and the world. And in the end, it’s this trait of hers that helps to bring awareness to the other characters about the true nature of events in the film.
Letdowns
Pacing is slow and inconsistent
There may be good bouts of action, but they’re also interspersed with very long, monotonous scenes of endless exposition, explaining the motivations of the characters and the workings of the world. It’s not that the exposition isn’t necessary, but it frequently comes after you’ve lost interest in the fact, and doesn’t quite help to push the story forward. Faster, snappier dialogue and a hefty bit of trimming would have done wonders for the speed of the story.
Casey Newton is ultimately not that important
The film makes an effort to build up Casey Newton as the savior of all things, the key person that will change everything for the better. Yet as the plot progresses and the climax is reached, her importance is forgotten and changed, making her seem rather redundant in the first place. She might be necessary for the events of the film to occur, but she’s not quite the catalyst for change that everyone makes her out to be.
“Tomorrowland” sets itself up as a film that celebrates the wondrous possibilities of the future and science, but fails to actually inspire any action to go forth and change the world. It’s not bad as a popcorn flick, but on a deeper, emotional level, it lacks that connection to make it more than just entertainment.
“Tomorrowland” opens in cinemas 21 May, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo.
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