Written by Adam Mast
TOMORROWLAND (PG)
One thing Brad Bird brings to his second live action feature is scale. “Tomorrowland” is certainly big in scope. But bigger isn’t always better, and it’s somewhat disheartening to report that of all Bird’s wonderful efforts—including “The Iron Giant,” “The Incredibles,” and “Mission: Impossible–Ghost Protocol”—“Tomorrowland” is his least engaging.
In this “chosen one”-inspired sci-fi adventure, Britt Robertson (“The Longest Ride”) is Casey Newton, a tenacious teen with a curiosity for science. After she discovers a pin that unlocks a doorway to another dimension, Casey is led to George Clooney’s cantankerous Frank Walker, a once idealistic individual who has since opted to look at the world as he truly believes it to be. Ultimately, Casey and Frank team up with young and mysterious Athena (Raffey Cassidy) in a valiant effort to make the world a brighter place. Their mission will take them to a destination of absolute wonder, but it should be noted that things are not always as they seem in “Tomorrowland.”
In a nutshell, “Tomorrowland” is all about optimism. It’s a movie about dreaming and how a big dream is strong enough to save the world. It’s too bad that as a movie, “Tomorrowland” can’t seem to find any real sense of rhythm. It alternates between all too brief moments of wonder, clunky exposition, and a handful of messages that appear to contradict themselves. It’s a shame, because for the first thirty minutes or so, there’s a sense of awe and youthful exuberance that I hoped the movie would sustain for its entire running time.
As expected, “Tomorrowland” is gorgeous to look at. The recreation of New York’s 64/65 World’s Fair is extraordinary, and Bird’s visual flourishes keep the film watchable even when the weirdness of the wildly uneven screenplay he wrote with Damon Lindelof begins to take hold. What’s more, the somewhat heady themes unleashed from this mystery box might be a bit much for little ones to digest which is unfortunate because again, “Tomorrowland” opens with a tone that suggests that there will be plenty for kids to marvel at.
While “Tomorrowland” continuously drives home the message that dreaming, hope, and teamwork are important in this world (the effective final frame of the movie illustrates this more than anything else in the entire picture), this mixed bag also suggests that the magic of innocence and the power of optimism fades as we grow older, and these two themes are at odds with each other throughout the film.
It can be tricky business weaving ambitious ideas into a motion picture experience that aspires to appeal to both children and adults in equal measure, something that the upcoming Pixar effort “Inside Out” does spectacularly. “Tomorrowland” isn’t quite up to that hefty challenge.
The performances here are solid. Robertson has energy to spare while Clooney coasts along on pure star appeal. As written, the two go for a Doc Brown/Marty McFly connection that doesn’t quite get there, but both performers put forth a worthy effort. Cassidy is terrific as the wise-beyond-her-years Athena, and the most effective aspect of “Tomorrowland” is the relationship between her and Walker. It’s playful, affectionate, sweet, and by far the most genuine bond in the movie.
Brad Bird’s heart is in the right place throughout the nostalgia-laced “Tomorrowland.” It’s difficult to not smile when Casey visits a memorabilia shop run by Keegan-Michael Key and Kathryn Hahn and which is loaded with Easter eggs. Even though some might argue that this particular sequence is a bit much, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t marveling at all the cool little fan boy (and fan girl) trinkets littered throughout the background. I also greatly enjoyed young Walker’s discovery while taking a ride on “It’s A Small World” in the first act of the picture. It’s moments like these that would lead one to believe that perhaps Bird would have been perfectly at home at Camp “Amblin” during the ‘80s.
In addition to the obvious throwback vibe at the heart of “Tomorrowland,” there’s also elements that appear to be sprung from the likes of “Interstellar,” “The Rocketeer,” “Tron: Legacy,” “Spy Kids,” and Bird’s own “The Iron Giant.”
Despite the visual splendor of it all though, “Tomorrowland” doesn’t quite get there as a whole. I admired aspects of its ambition, and I will forever be in Brad Bird’s corner, but in the end, I’ll take the hyper-kinetic thrills and thought provoking sociopolitical nature of the “Mad Max: Fury Road” dystopian future over the uneven pacing and flip floppy future of “Tomorrowland.” And that isn’t the cynic in me talking either. It’s the realist.
