Tomorrowland: A world beyond is the latest film from Brad Bird, the man who brought us The Incredibles. This is also the film that Disney hopes will be their summer blockbuster. Will it be a roaring summer success? I’m not sure, as Tomorrowland is a world beyond what you would expect from a summer blockbuster: part fantasy, part social commentary.
Tomorrowland starts off with a young Frank Walker (convincingly played by Thomas Robinson) attending the 1964 World Fair with his futuristic jet pack that he hopes will win him the $50 prize. He presents it to the judge (played by Hugh Laurie) who tells him in short that it’s good just not good enough. However, Frank is a tenacious dreamer. When his father tells him his jet pack will never work he is determined to prove him wrong. When Hugh Laurie is equally as dismissive this doesn’t dampen his aspirations. Forty years later, Casey Newton (played with enthusiastic gusto by Britt Robertson), she too is a dreamer and determined to stop NASA decommissioning a space shuttle launch pad that would make her father unemployed. What links Frank and Casey is a pin given to them by Athena (the very luminous Raffey Cassidy).
The opening sequence of the film begins with a clock ticking down to the end of the world. We hear and then see a world weary adult Frank Walker (played by George Clooney) telling us why we’re here. Therein lies the first hurdle this film just about manages to huff and puff over. George Clooney isn’t very convincing. He’s not an action hero and it’s nothing to do with his age. Harrison Ford embodied the role of Indiana Jones convincingly. In Tomorrowland, George Clooney just appeared tired and, dare I say it, a little bored. As Athena says to his character Frank Walker, the reason she never laughed is because he just isn’t funny. That’s it in a nutshell: his performance is neither funny nor convincing. The reason the film manages to at least remain engaging for the first hour or so is that George Clooney is not in it and the child actors are the ones that capture our imagination as do the set designs and action which are incredible.
Hugh Laurie’s embodies the role of Nix, the film’s baddie, but even he’s not sure what he supposed to do. He starts off with an American accent only to revert back to his English accent.
However, for me what makes this film less than normal popcorn fodder is the laborious social commentary and ecological narrative that runs throughout the 130 minutes: we’re living in an ecological dystopia but with a little Disney magic we could turn it into a utopia. In short, if we want to save the world then we must feed the right wolf (you’ll understand the reference if you choose to see the film). Green is good, industry is bad- boo. The final 10 minutes of Tomorrowland, as the critic next to me said afterwards, turned into a Benetton advert: all races and nations represented.
Ultimately, however, a blockbuster summer film needs to be made like a good sponge cake: equal parts of jokes, action and story and this film for me didn’t measure up in all areas. If you do choose to go and see it and, I can’t believe I’m saying this as I dislike films shown in this way, watch it in 3D. At the press screening it was shown in 2D but I believe 3D would help this film be a little bit incredible.
Tomorrowland: a world beyond opens in cinemas everywhere on Friday 22 May.
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