As we progress further into the summer film season, there will be a fair share of money makers, critical darlings, and the box-office/critical failures which this next film seems to fall under for almost everyone down in the middle of the consensus with Brad Bird’s next live action adventure film for Disney called Tomorrowland. The buzz around the film was shrouded in mystery as to what it was about and what it had to offer with its plot, performances, and visual design/effects. It should not come as a big surprise to notice how inspired and lushly beautiful the film is with its artistic direction towards the world of Tomorrowland as well as the technology on display here. This is even supplemented by a powerhouse cast of famous and unknown actors who really display their prowess as actors to the finest order displaying such wonderful characterization through Bird’s graceful direction to the affectionate chemistry between the lead actors that makes us root for them to success for the right reason. With a traditional coming of age tale of good vs. evil with ambitious, lofty ideas and themes to explore, how could it ultimately end up being very lackluster in its execution and development of those interesting and confident production qualities? Let’s find out how this adventure holds up to other films within its genre in Tomorrowland.
The best place to start with what went right and wrong with Bird’s latest adventure film is with the general gist of the narrative and how it comes together overall from the screenplay to the eventual results of the production’s interpretation of the themes in the script. It is a coming of age story of a young teenage girl named Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) who dreams of going beyond the boundaries of our planet despite the dismantling of the NASA program with her father handling the de-construction job. After an incident involving her attempts to keep her dream alive, she comes across a pin that transports her to a city born in the future where dreams and ideas can become a reality in a city known as Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, this grabs the attention of an unknown shadowy group hell bent on retrieving her and her young companion named Athena (Raffey Cassidy) who guides her to an old, washed out inventor named Frank Walker (George Clooney) that used to live and work within the city of tomorrow. They venture off onto a road-trip adventure filled with danger, intrigue, and friendship to find Tomorrowland and the secrets it holds that could very well change the world for better or worse.
That is the overall plot in a nutshell but it explores some pretty heavy themes of creativity through science, societies impassionate attitude towards ideas, and having to deal with the cynicism of a future that could be hopeful and full of wonders opposed to one filled with doubt, contempt, and no desire for change to be made within our nature. There are expressions of noble intent towards these lofty themes especially as it smacks with Damon Lidenlof’s trademark ability to write a proper structure to building a mystery around the story but it comes with his famous flaw in many of the projects in which he is a featured writer opposite another (in this case, Brad Bird). The payoff of this journey is considerable weak and formulaic in that it is disconnected from the first 2/3rd’s of the film by throwing in a villain whose motivation for this conflict are underdeveloped with very little purpose behind his quarrel with humanity and its ignorant nature for change. That is not counting the numerous times the film tends to be overly preachy about its themes particularly in the beginning and final act where it has to constantly remind you of what is at stake with their journey when it is never properly developed to feel the importance of this road trip to Tomorrowland. The overall plot is intriguing but never comes together because it juggles with too many ideas and never commits to one for the characters to fight or change throughout this journey.
However, the writing for the character interactions and development is where the story truly excels despite only half of this film devoted to this important component to writing for film. The lead character we follow for the majority of the film Casey and she is the enthusiastic, determined hero thrust into this adventure by chance. Her character arc is very relatable and thankfully likable thanks to the incredible performance from the actress and careful handling of her development from start to finish. The conflicts, humor, and dramatic exchanges with her and the other characters are handled with such grace and finesse that it would not be surprising if Lindenlof handled the plot in the screenplay and Bird wrote all of the development and traits of these extremely nuanced characters. Each character is memorable and unique to this story mainly from the truly well-defined characterization that is present in the script and direction of the actors making it the main strong point of the story despite the plot lacking some semblance of purpose and payoff to this adventure.
Thankfully, the acting talents for this film are quite strong throughout the film with a mixture of unknown and renowned actors present in this film. We have to start with the lead Britt Robertson who truly approaches this role with such vigorous energy and capabilities to carry this film as the lead character to relate and root for throughout the adventure. Another standout from the cast is Raffey Cassidy as the girl with a mysterious secret and persona Athena whose humorous, monotone characteristics really lead to some truly memorable character moment with her both comedic and dramatic. As for the majority of the cast filled with recognizable stars (Hugh Laurie, etc.), they all handle their parts exceptionally well especially George Clooney as Frank Walker who actually becomes a character for once and really embodies the hardships and cynicism of the character like a pro. The cast is fantastic overall but the script and story themes/ideas do not provide much for them to create a very humanizing face to the world the story is set in.
If there is one area where this film truly excels in besides the performances from a very well rounded cast, it is the technical areas of this film ranging from art direction to visual effects and finally another captivating score from Michael Giacchino. The look of the city is extraordinary and the world that is fully developed in this story is very eye opening and magnificent to see in motion. They really made Tomorrowland out to be a visually intriguing, bustling city that really feels unique in its own right in the brief scenes we get to see it in all of its glory. The same could be said for all of the gadgets and tech used throughout the film as there is a very steam-punk/nuclear approach to the Sci-Fi elements of this film making for some really impressive, memorable set pieces to take place. It is truly a visual wonder in both its design and look to the world and technology used by the characters.
I can’t forget to mention yet another exciting, stirring score from composer Michael Giacchino who has musically composed for films like Star Trek / Into Darkness, Up, Mission: Impossible 3/Ghost Protocol, and Medal of Honor provides his usual, captivating style to this film. It helps to drive the action forward and really capture that sense of wonder and mystery to Tomorrowland that might not have come across in lesser capable hands. This is another fine piece of work from him that really elevates the enjoyment of the film overall and help to diminish the weakness the film which suffers from its pacing and story arcs in the screenplay.
When it comes down to it, Tomorrowland is a visual wonder in action and spectacle with an interesting, mysterious world serving as the goal for this adventure. However, it stumbles often with the story elements from plot to character motivations despite having some truly memorable, developed characters, which are the norm when it comes to films with Brad Bird at the helm. The action set pieces are inventive and use of the tech in this world is effectively utilized to score some genuine exciting moments as well as the stylized effects from visuals to practical and finally the uniformed designs of the city/costumes are really pleasing to the eyes. It is the overly preachy attitudes and themes of nostalgia for optimism towards a better future and its very dark, depressing turn in the third act that really does not gel with the intentions of this film being a fun, engaging adventure. As much as it wants to take us to another place with a brand new, unique story on a theme park ride, this is one ride that you will enjoy for what it is and completely forget about as soon as you leave the area.
Score *** out *****
Tomorrowland will be another example of what can go right and wrong with a big budget action adventure film with stunning, inspiring visual effects and design dazzling the viewers on top of the inventive, entertaining action set pieces that really maintain the energetic first two acts of the film. This is supplemented by the strong and terrific performances from all the actors including Britt Robinson who carries the film gracefully along with George Clooney providing a cool, capable performance as the mentor in this film. However, the preachy nature of the themes involving optimism towards ideas and a bold future as well as the dark, heavy handed turn in the 3rd act really brings down the enjoyment of the film and it results in a payoff that is very anticlimactic with that can be downtrodden and pessimistic at times. This is a relatively fun enjoyable family adventure film that is both marvelously on a performance and technical level but it is a bit forgettable as a result from its very straightforward, heavy handed story-line and conflicting tones in the themes it explores.
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