Tomorrowland Review

It’s very interesting that I would post about boring movies just last weekend and today I would see a movie that belonged on that list.  I’m sorry friends I keep it real but I fell asleep for about a minute in Tomorrowland. As a movie on my ‘So excited!!!- I’m on board and anxiously awaiting these films’ list for 2015 it was a big disappointment. Before I vent a little of my problems with the movie I’ll say a few positives.  The world building is beautiful and I admire Brad Bird in trying to tell an original story. I also liked the little winks at the Disney park and original attractions like the Carousel of Progress song. Raffedy Cassidy is very good as an AI recruiter of geniuses for Tomorrowland named Athena. She is the only complex character in the movie.  (My mind started to wander and I wondered if she is the child version of Ava in Ex-Machina 😉 ) That said- there are a lot of problems. First it starts out too episodic, like an episode of a TV show and not a movie.  We get a long segment with George Clooney as a kid and his introduction into Tomorrowland. We get all the awe and wonder of the land and learn it is a place for the brightest. The problem is when we get introduced to Casey played by Brit Robertson she goes through the same introductions which makes it again feel episodic and slow. Plus, with Clooney’s child character we see his invention.  It’s clear he is smart. With Casey we see her tell her father where to put an electrical wire and she can run a helicopter from her phone.  That’s about it.  People keep saying she’s a unique genius but I never saw it. The whole Savior trope is twaddled out and I had no idea why.  Why was she so special?  Most of the time she was either asking questions (seriously you’d think a genius could figure out a few things on her own) or shrieking at some shock. I normally don’t use gifs but this one was so perfect.  She’s like this the entire movie. With a movie like this you have to feel emotionally connected to the characters and I didn’t.  Clooney is miscast as a reclusive genius trying to keep tabs on the world after being exiled from Tomorrowland. He’s just not nerdy enough.   He’s also missing for long chunks of the movie so we can’t feel that attached to him. Kathryn Hahn and Keegan-Michael Key are fun as novelty store owners but they are in the film far too briefly. There are two long battle sequences I guess you’d call them with Casey and Frank dodging the robots and both are boring.  Even a long scene at the Eiffel Tower with a rocket which is supposed to be exciting was so repetitive of other scenes that it is where I fell asleep. And then the ending is extremely trite and corny.  It just doesn’t work.  Hugh Laurie is okay as the bad guy but we don’t get to know him well and isn’t given much to do.  That might sound like a spoiler but it is so obvious he is the bad guy. I am probably one of the few people who will give Tomorrowland a lower score than Jupiter Ascending.  Cry foul all you want but I was more entertained by JA.  It made me laugh.  It’s in on the joke.  It’s campy and ridiculous.  This is just blah. JA even has stronger world building than this.  I was really let down by Tomorrowland.

This is going to sound like a nitpick but another thing that bothered me is the sound mixing is very badly done.  Whenever there is a fight the sounds of a punch or kick was way too loud which had a jarring effect. All the sound effects were too loud. There is a segment that kids will like with the young Clooney but the blaring action will be too much for small children and older kids I think will be bored. Sad day.  Very disappointed in Tomorrowland.  🙁 Overall Grade- C-    Content Grade- B+