Sci-Fi is a genre of two opinions and two opinions only. You pretty much either love a Sci-Fi film or you hate on it repeatedly. It's very rare to fall in the middle of the two, it's just that polarizing of a genre. But it just so happens that I feel as though Tomorrowland is a film that does fall in the middle. On the one hand, it's a visually stunning film that doesn't rely on mind-blowing effects or spectacle. But on the other hand, there just wasn't a great story to back up the visuals. The message the film gives us is clear and I'm sure it will be inspiring to a lot of people, but the reality is a film isn't good because of what it tells us to feel, it's whether or not it gets us to feel that way.
Britt Robertson stars alongside George Clooney as two people with very similar objectives in their hope to save humanity, but the ladder's heart is shattered and his hope for people has gone to the gutter. It's only when the two meet does his faith in a new beginning truly start. But they both take a back seat to Raffy Cassidy's Athena, who is pretty much a cross between the T-1000 and Hit-Girl. A badas* with brains, well a robot's brains. I really liked her scenes early on with young Frank and even her first scenes with Casey, but it's actually when all three characters are together that the film starts to fall apart. The film sold itself in the trailer as a mysterious new adventure like we have never seen before. But the coolest part of the trailer, Casey touching the pin to transport her to Tomorrowland, is only a brief segment. I understand it's hard to market a film that's shrouded with secrecy, but I just felt a little bit duped. We're only in Tomorrowland for 15 minutes or so, and I never felt the oohs and awes like the trailers suggested.
That's not to say that there aren't great things about the film, there definitely are. But in my opinion, the film just doesn't bring anything new to the table. I saw in a review that "Tomorrowland contains ideas from yesterday's Sci-Fi" or something along those lines. And that's true, it's a predictable tale about us needing to clean up our act, wake up, and do something about the world coming to an end. But we have seen this same theme beaten to death in Sci-Fi after Sci-Fi. Look, when we get to Tomorrowland in the film it's absolutely gorgeous. Even though some of the outfits and ideas could be rehashed, the actual look of Tomorrowland felt fresh. But the film around it wasn't. But it was one of those movies that the longer the film goes, and the more you think about after, you dislike it increasingly. The last act of the film reveals a clichéd villain and plenty of emotional moments that end up falling short. Brad Bird can no doubt direct a film though. And you can definitely tell by watching the film that he loves Terminator and Star Wars. I just feel like he got caught up in trying to send a message to the audience rather than slipping the message in a beautiful and well put together story.
+Athena
+Visually striking moments
+Character dynamics with Clooney
-Film's message is shoved down your throat
-Trailer moments are barely noticeable in the film
-Rehashed ideas
5.6/10
Britt Robertson stars alongside George Clooney as two people with very similar objectives in their hope to save humanity, but the ladder's heart is shattered and his hope for people has gone to the gutter. It's only when the two meet does his faith in a new beginning truly start. But they both take a back seat to Raffy Cassidy's Athena, who is pretty much a cross between the T-1000 and Hit-Girl. A badas* with brains, well a robot's brains. I really liked her scenes early on with young Frank and even her first scenes with Casey, but it's actually when all three characters are together that the film starts to fall apart. The film sold itself in the trailer as a mysterious new adventure like we have never seen before. But the coolest part of the trailer, Casey touching the pin to transport her to Tomorrowland, is only a brief segment. I understand it's hard to market a film that's shrouded with secrecy, but I just felt a little bit duped. We're only in Tomorrowland for 15 minutes or so, and I never felt the oohs and awes like the trailers suggested.
That's not to say that there aren't great things about the film, there definitely are. But in my opinion, the film just doesn't bring anything new to the table. I saw in a review that "Tomorrowland contains ideas from yesterday's Sci-Fi" or something along those lines. And that's true, it's a predictable tale about us needing to clean up our act, wake up, and do something about the world coming to an end. But we have seen this same theme beaten to death in Sci-Fi after Sci-Fi. Look, when we get to Tomorrowland in the film it's absolutely gorgeous. Even though some of the outfits and ideas could be rehashed, the actual look of Tomorrowland felt fresh. But the film around it wasn't. But it was one of those movies that the longer the film goes, and the more you think about after, you dislike it increasingly. The last act of the film reveals a clichéd villain and plenty of emotional moments that end up falling short. Brad Bird can no doubt direct a film though. And you can definitely tell by watching the film that he loves Terminator and Star Wars. I just feel like he got caught up in trying to send a message to the audience rather than slipping the message in a beautiful and well put together story.
+Athena
+Visually striking moments
+Character dynamics with Clooney
-Film's message is shoved down your throat
-Trailer moments are barely noticeable in the film
-Rehashed ideas
5.6/10