by Jon Partridge
Long in gestation,the story of Tomorrowland is inspired by the namesake some of you may already be familiar with, the attraction at Disneyland. It’s a place originally conceived by Walt Disney in the 1950s as a showcase for innovation and fantastical scientific pursuits, as well as entertainment. Since opening, the exhibit has brought in new rides, ideas and collaborations with tech giants, replacing superfluous/aged facets with new ones, reinventing itself as technology progressed. Mirroring this inspiration, Tomorrowland was intended to put science and research at the forefront of its plot, taking us on a fantastical adventure Walt Disney could only have dreamed of.
The film introduces us to young Frank Walker, who excitedly makes his way to the 1964 World’s Fair to enter into competition a jet-pack he has designed and built from scratch. While malfunctional, his attitude endears him to a young girl named Athena who gifts him a curious pin badge and invites him to follow her. Young Frank ends up transported to a fantastic place populated by brilliant people and their magnificent inventions, Tomorrowland.
In the present day, our world is a bleaker place; social unrest, pollution, and global warming are all growing and impacting our way of life. Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) is somewhat of a child prodigy whose father is a NASA engineer, or rather was, as the shuttle program he works on is being shut down. Her imaginative efforts to sabotage the demolition of the shuttle platform come to the attention of a mysterious figure who leaves her a familiar looking pin, one that if touched by Casey transports her to Tomorrowland. Once the pin stops working, Casey sets out to try and find her way back enlisting the help of a older Frank (George Clooney), now a bitter old man having been exiled from the scientific paradise. Together they need to return and may offer the last hope to prevent a catastrophe engulfing the utopia and Earth itself.
Tomorrowland itself gets a soaring introduction early in the film. Fantastical sights, art deco blended with futuristic architecture and technology coupled to a splendidly rousing score from Michael Giacchino. It very much reflects the overall feel of the film, a fast-paced slick affair tinged with nostalgia. It is this emotion that allows the film to skirt with a familiarity to cherished classics such as The Goonies, Flight of the Navigator, and The Rocketeer. While it meanders into the smaltzy at times it always maintains a sweet and genuine quality. The inspirational feel of the early portions contrasting with the bleakness of our current times; it is from this it is able to pose a need for a place like Tomorrowland, a manifestation of the future, an idyllic place where science improves our lives and offers wonders to behold.
The film comes across as director Brad Bird’s (The Iron Giant and The Incredibles) rebuke to the dystopic cinema that seems to flood our theaters these days, be it The Hunger Games, Divergent, or any of the other moody commentaries on where we’re going. While Tomorrowland starts offering such promise, it transitions into something a little more derivative, ending with a fistfight and blowing something up, much like the dystopic fare it looks to counteract. It feels like two conflicting films, one a personal and inspirational piece meshed with something far more studio driven. The structure of the film lacks finesse with a slow mid portion, and an end that seems to contradict the message threaded through the movie. There is also the insertion of a clunky “chosen one” device, although again this is largely discarded as the final third of the film resorts to tried and true plot twists. This seems to be symptomatic of Damon Lindelof, who in the course of his writing career (LOST, Prometheus, Star Trek: Into Darkness) has always stumbled with his final acts.
Much of the marketing highlights the presence of George Clooney and he is as you would expect pretty great in the role of the cantankerous old man, but you can’t help but pine for the charming, good natured Clooney we are more familiar with . Hugh Laurie is solid as the Governor of Tomorrowland, but his expositiony scene towards the end of the film is a little rushed. There is a rather enjoyable pairing of Kathryn Hahn and Keegan-Michael Key (in his second great cameo of the summer) as the owners of a sci-fi memorabilia shop that is host to a great action sequence. Scan the shelves for some delightful sights for sci-fi fans.
One of the most applaudable aspects of the film is how effortlessly it leaves large portions of its runtime in the hands of two very talented, female leads. Britt Robertson gives a very charming, genuine performance and helps root some of the key themes of the film. She is set up to be the savior of the piece but then has that pulled from under her at the end by derivative script work. She and her character deserved better. We also have the young Raffey Cassidy who is quirky and captivating as Athena, probably the hardest role in the film for reasons I shall not spoil. Two talents to keep an eye on and largely responsable for much of the sparkle Tomorrowland possesses.
The promise of Tomorrowland is an embodiment of the ideals of how science and research can better all our lives and understanding of our world. Brad Bird puts front and center the “dreamers”, those who think outside the box, see a problem to fix, or want to inspire others with their efforts. It imbues a genuine and deserved nobility to such pursuits. Science offers a better future; this was true in the ’50s, its true now, and it’ll be true in the future.
What is interesting about Tomorrowland’s portrayal is how it is a place offering such people time and freedom to pursue their research free of judgment, politics, and boundaries. The last time a society pursued such a lackadaisical structure in regard to research it was Nazi Germany. Not to equate the two, but then and in this film also, the dangers of unchecked research manifest in horrific ways. Tomorrowland‘s themes strive to show how science needs to be supported and not demonized, but the narrative still (unknowingly) twists science into the bad guy for plot purposes. Research requires a marriage of innovation and ethics; the muddied script seems to overlook that. This further embodies the contradiction between the vision and the story of Tomorrowland and perhaps how studio influence can corrupt artistic work.
Similar ideas were tackled, more successfully perhaps, in last year’s Big Hero 6, portraying science as an aspirational pursuit. Those portrayed here seem more content to hole themselves up in this distant, inaccessible land. There is a selfishness inherent to Tomorrowland that means you can’t help but think their downfall was deserved, sentiments that again could have been avoided with a better structured script. Thankfully, an uplifting ending sparks some hope that we can embrace science and the potential within us all to craft a better tomorrow.
Parts of Tomorrowland feel like an instant classic, whereas others are convoluted and contradictory in tone. Wonderful visuals and direction are married to a disjointed script that does not do justice to the inspirational message the film seeks to convey. It is refreshingly free of cynicism and adopts a optimism rarely found in features these days, but Tomorrowland never truly hits the heights it aspires to.
Tomorrowland is on general release from 22nd May, 2015.
