Tomorrowland - directed by Brad Bird
Starring: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Roberston, Kathryn Hahn, Tim McGraw, Judy Greer, Raffey Cassidy
Running Time: 130 minutes
Rated: PG - mild violence
I'm a huge Brad Bird fan.
He can seemingly not put a foot wrong.
Bird delivers whether he is working with traditional animation (the brilliant "The Iron Giant"), 3D animation (my two favourite Pixar movies "Ratatouille" and "The Incredibles") or live action (the excellent "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol")
So it was surprising to see some negative advance word on his latest movie "Tomorrowland".
Based loosely on the famous section of Disneyland that it takes its title from with Bird at the helm I was still confident that this would be no mere theme park ride cash in.
To be fair the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie sounded like a steaming pile of cash in to me until I beheld the terrific result.
The first trailer looked intriguing and the presence of George Clooney and Hugh Laurie didn't hurt one little bit either.
It's somewhat tricky detailing the plot of "Tomorrowland".
Not only is it a difficult one to explain but it is hard to attempt to do so without spoiling it.
But in basic terms it is the story of an alternate world that may or not be the future of Earth that can be visited by touching a special pin.
The pin is placed in the hands of young Casey- daughter of a NASA engineer and a pretty damned smart cookie herself.
Casey spends her time sabotaging the cranes that are disassembling the launch pad that she dreams will one day send her into space.
A mysterious young woman named Athena seems involved somehow too.
Before we meet Casey however the movie presents us with the first half of a bookend device that doesn't really work.
George Clooney's Frank tells the story of his own younger years and his experience with invention, the 1964 New York World's Fair and his journey to the mysterious Tomorrowland.
Cutting back to Casey and her own discovery of the world beyond our own an intriguing story unfolds as more and more is revealed.
The trick with tantalising us with ever more mysterious reveals is that you have to make them pay off or it feels like a cheap trick.
"Tomorrowland" works for most of its running time by delivering some impressively imaginative sequences showing what a world of the future could be.
But when it starts to reveal its true intentions and the motivations behind its main characters it loses some of the sheen.
Britt Robertson isn't an actress that I am very familiar with and to start with I was not overly impressed with her playing of Casey.
As the movie progressed though both the actor and the character grew on me.
She is hard to pick age-wise and shows an adeptness in playing a character with a maturity beyond her years.
I was very impressed with her work here.
Even more so with the fascinating and talented young Raffey Cassidy as Athena.
The precocious character has some surprising tricks up her sleeve including some physical prowess that wouldn't be out of place in a Terminator movie.
I also got a bit of an "ET" vibe off this film. Hints of the underrated Joe Dante movie "Explorers" and even Bird's own brilliant "The Iron Giant"
The young actors deserve credit as much as the director.
It is George Clooney however who is the clear star of the show.
His true arrival isn't until about the half way point but he makes an immediate impact.
There is an exciting escape sequence that is without a doubt my favourite part of this film.
It spans some ten or fifteen minutes and introduces yet more fascinating ideas with its re-invention of real history.
Sadly the close of this sequence also marks the point at which "Tomorrowland" took a downward turn for me.
It reveals its true intentions with a predictable villain reveal and a weak wrapup.
The ending is preachy and just doesn't ring true for me.
The motivations of the antagonist and the arc of Clooney's Frank smack of a script that has run out of ideas and can't quite deliver on the promise of its nifty setup.
It is finely directed and loaded with great effects and a delightful imagination.
The divers going from pool to pool is so impressive that Bird allows it to go on for a little longer than required.
With a budget of almost $200,000,000 this film needed to be a home run.
The third act stymies this but it is by no means a failure.
More an impressive almost.
RATING: 70 / 100
CONCLUSION: Skillfully made with fine acting by an excellent cast this has some truly imaginative stuff but with a weak final third it falls short of what I expect from Brad Bird.
Running Time: 130 minutes
Rated: PG - mild violence
I'm a huge Brad Bird fan.
He can seemingly not put a foot wrong.
Bird delivers whether he is working with traditional animation (the brilliant "The Iron Giant"), 3D animation (my two favourite Pixar movies "Ratatouille" and "The Incredibles") or live action (the excellent "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol")
So it was surprising to see some negative advance word on his latest movie "Tomorrowland".
Based loosely on the famous section of Disneyland that it takes its title from with Bird at the helm I was still confident that this would be no mere theme park ride cash in.
To be fair the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie sounded like a steaming pile of cash in to me until I beheld the terrific result.
The first trailer looked intriguing and the presence of George Clooney and Hugh Laurie didn't hurt one little bit either.
It's somewhat tricky detailing the plot of "Tomorrowland".
Not only is it a difficult one to explain but it is hard to attempt to do so without spoiling it.
But in basic terms it is the story of an alternate world that may or not be the future of Earth that can be visited by touching a special pin.
 |
| Britt Robertson as Casey |
Casey spends her time sabotaging the cranes that are disassembling the launch pad that she dreams will one day send her into space.
A mysterious young woman named Athena seems involved somehow too.
Before we meet Casey however the movie presents us with the first half of a bookend device that doesn't really work.
George Clooney's Frank tells the story of his own younger years and his experience with invention, the 1964 New York World's Fair and his journey to the mysterious Tomorrowland.
Cutting back to Casey and her own discovery of the world beyond our own an intriguing story unfolds as more and more is revealed.
The trick with tantalising us with ever more mysterious reveals is that you have to make them pay off or it feels like a cheap trick.
"Tomorrowland" works for most of its running time by delivering some impressively imaginative sequences showing what a world of the future could be.
But when it starts to reveal its true intentions and the motivations behind its main characters it loses some of the sheen.
Britt Robertson isn't an actress that I am very familiar with and to start with I was not overly impressed with her playing of Casey.
As the movie progressed though both the actor and the character grew on me.
She is hard to pick age-wise and shows an adeptness in playing a character with a maturity beyond her years.
I was very impressed with her work here.
Even more so with the fascinating and talented young Raffey Cassidy as Athena.
The precocious character has some surprising tricks up her sleeve including some physical prowess that wouldn't be out of place in a Terminator movie.
I also got a bit of an "ET" vibe off this film. Hints of the underrated Joe Dante movie "Explorers" and even Bird's own brilliant "The Iron Giant"
The young actors deserve credit as much as the director.
It is George Clooney however who is the clear star of the show.
His true arrival isn't until about the half way point but he makes an immediate impact.
There is an exciting escape sequence that is without a doubt my favourite part of this film.
It spans some ten or fifteen minutes and introduces yet more fascinating ideas with its re-invention of real history.
 |
| Although loaded with imaginative visuals it's the perfomances that really impress |
It reveals its true intentions with a predictable villain reveal and a weak wrapup.
The ending is preachy and just doesn't ring true for me.
The motivations of the antagonist and the arc of Clooney's Frank smack of a script that has run out of ideas and can't quite deliver on the promise of its nifty setup.
It is finely directed and loaded with great effects and a delightful imagination.
The divers going from pool to pool is so impressive that Bird allows it to go on for a little longer than required.
With a budget of almost $200,000,000 this film needed to be a home run.
The third act stymies this but it is by no means a failure.
More an impressive almost.
No comments:
Post a Comment