140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
I don’t know what movie all those other reviewers were watching, but the one I saw was a smart, good-hearted, gorgeous family-friendly film.
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Tomorrowland:
You almost got me. I’m susceptible to buzz and hype at least as much as the next guy, and the poor reviews almost convinced me not to go see Tomorrowland. Despite all of the previews looking great, despite the guiding hand of Brad Bird, despite the intriguing premise, I nearly skipped it. Just because everyone seemed to hate it. Shame on me. I should know better.
Co-produced and co-written by Damon Lindelhof and director Brad Bird (based on a story by Lindelhof, Bird and long-time EW film critic Jeff Jensen), Tomorrowland is a science-fiction film that dares to be an original story. That may be the most revolutionary thing about it in 2015. It isn’t a sequel or a reboot (though it does have a minor tie-in/brand recognition with the Disney theme parks).
More than anything, it shares a sensibility with the dreams and ideals of Walt Disney himself. In this way it echoes the excellent and underrated 2007 CG-animated Disney film, Meet the Robinsons, and its borrowed from Walt motto “keep moving forward”.
Tomorrowland celebrates dreamers and curiosity and will probably be ridiculed for its earnestness and naivete. Oh well. There’s nothing wrong with trying hard to do something unique and inspirational. If your work comes off as cloying and saccharine, well, maybe you have a little work to do on your screenwriting. But if it simply is criticized by the jaded for well-meaning sincerity, I think you have to take that in stride.
One of the reasons I enjoyed the picture so much may be that I’d avoided learning too much about it ahead of time. The couple of teasers I saw were enough to pique my interest, but I didn’t even see the trailers that gave away too much. I didn’t even know Hugh Laurie was in the film. When compiling the assets for this review, I found trailers that included shots of practically all the twists of the picture, including one uninterrupted chase scene that was one of the films highlights. Stop giving away so much in trailers, people!
In the acting department, George Clooney is great at world-weary, so it comes across perfectly here, even if he’s a little less convincing as a former idealist. Despite the star-friendly billing, Britt Robertson as dreamer/doer Casey Newton is the real lead of the film, and she’s quite good. Most of the scenes are stolen, however, by tween actor Raffey Cassidy, who is marvelous as the mysterious Athena. Hugh Laurie is his usual wonderfully cranky self. Oh, and Keegan-Michael Key popped up, which always makes me happy!
The look of the film is wonderful; both the production design (Scott Chambliss) and the cinematography (Claudio Miranda). The effects are great, even if the whole picture somewhat screams CGI. Not always a bad thing, plus I really like the futuristic designs. It’s 2015, so of course the color timing is ridiculously excessive, but everyone is guilty of that now. The music by Michael Giacchino is also lovely – the theme was in my head for the rest of the day.
Mostly, though, the story just plays. It is well-written and enjoyable, it doesn’t pander or needlessly scare kids. It is a solid PG, which is noteworthy in of itself. The film was made to watch with the whole family and to be enjoyed by all ages. Often that sounds like a curse on the lines of “may you live in interesting times”, but despite the knee-jerk reaction you may have, the phrase family-friendly is not actually supposed to equal low-quality film-making.
Tomorrowland is an excellent film. My family and I loved it without qualification. Take your kids and go see it. And if you don’t have kids, you were one once, right? Tomorrowland is an old-school adventure film in the spirit of the 1980’s. Or the 1970’s. Or any age in which kids looked to the sky and dreamed…
Update June 22, 2015:
You know, when I wrote my review of Tomorrowland, I was so focused on refuting the negative press on it that I think I may have come off as a little defensive. More importantly, I spent so much time on why it wasn’t bad, I’m not sure I adequately pointed out why it was so good. The biggest thing I missed on (somewhat ironically, considering the pro-female message I hope to impart with my little ramblings) was what a female positive film it is. I freely admit I took it for granted before reading a very well-written post by Reel Girl Margot Magowan. It was a lightbulb moment for me. The stars of the picture are two wonderfully strong, complex and detailed females who are allowed to be fully realized characters with all of the traits of complete human experience. How did I not draw attention to this point? I guess the positivity of the film got to me and I momentarily let myself believe that we live in a world where I shouldn’t have to note the atypical characterization; for once I just assumed that prominently featuring one half of the human race in a positive light shouldn’t need to be regarded as a novelty or even praiseworthy, but expected. Alas, I’m pining for Tomorrowland, too…
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Pass
The Representation Test Score: B (10 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | George Clooney Frank Walker Britt Robertson Casey Newton Hugh Laurie Nix Raffey Cassidy Athena |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Fri 22 May 2015 UTC |
| Director | Brad Bird |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi |
| Plot | Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 130 |
| Tagline | |
| Writers | Damon Lindelof (screenplay) and, Brad Bird (screenplay) … |
| Year | 2015 |
