6/10

In the tradition of Disney World rides that have become films, “Tomorrowland” takes it’s turn among “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Haunted Mansion”. Where does it rank in terms of those films? Not as memorable as the epic four part former, and much more serious than that of the latter. The film is directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles), and stars George Clooney and Britt Robertson as two scientific prodigies who embark upon a dangerous mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space known only as “Tomorrowland.” What they must do there will change the world and their responsibilities within it forever. Mr Bird has always been able to create visually ambitious looking films like “Ratatouille” and “The Iron Giant”, but this film is only his second attempt at a live action piece, and it doesn’t fail in creating the same magic that made those two films breakout hits. The movie has a lot of social commentary on our world, and for at least the first ninety minutes of a two hour script it creates some thought-stirring epiphanies in the way we as humans are the biggest weapon to the long term future progress of our world. The movie has a quote that says “Inventions don’t have to be beneficial to the world, they only have to be fun”. I believe Bird subscribed to this theory wholeheartedly, and it can be a good and bad thing for his script. Many people will view this film in the same light that they did in “Back to the Future Part 2” when it hit the world, in terms of the lightning quick technological advancements from our current living. Where that idea falters is in a script that is just too clouded by a preaching third act that is very uneven in terms of storytelling smoothness of the first half of the film. With a studio edit, the film could’ve easily told the story it was getting across with cutting twenty minutes of the fluff scenes that slowed down the pacing. For a film called “Tomorrowland”, we don’t spend a lot of time in the actual place and that is a shame. A lot of what drew me into the film was the creativity that could stem from Disney Pictures dipping into the live action sci-fi genre. The ideas are there, but the landscape leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the less than twenty minute glances we get at such a magical place. It’s kind of hard to project who this film was intended for. The scientific talk is a lot for young children under the age of ten to take in and stay shoulder to shoulder with the storytelling, but the goofy and out of place fight scenes made me feel like i was watching an animated feature complete with a cooky score and zany action noises. There is certainly enough in the George Clooney subplot in regards to his relationship with a little girl (Raffey Cassidy) who is at the center of this special place. I wish the film focused more on their early interaction instead of breezing through it in order to play off Robertson’s character which certainly wasn’t needed. That’s not to say that Britt doesn’t do a great job; quite the contrary. She is given her best role to date in showing that she has some legit acting depth after being weighed down by Nicolas Sparks mind numbing “The Longest Ride”, earlier this year. Robertson has a presence in knowing how to relate to her target audience, and if she finds a character compelling enough to stretch her dramatic range, the sky will be the limit. “Tomorrowland” did leave me with a bad taste in my mouth, but it’s hard to walk away from the movie without appreciating even a little bit of the presentation in which Bird successfully triumphs. For a movie dominated in CGI backgrounds, i was never able to take my eyes off the screen, and that is one of the best compliments a film can ever receive. It may not be as fast as it’s theme park attraction, but “Tomorrowland” is a fine tuned exercise about taking care of our planet before it takes care of us.