Tomorrowland - Disney's Back to the Future

Tomorrowland movie review 

The future, as depicted in notable science-fiction flicks such as 'Back to the Future', can be really exciting due to several high-tech inventions and infrastructure. Other versions such as in Neill Blomkamp's 'Elysium' may not deliver an upbeat tone, as the future depicted is LITERALLY a hellhole full of crime, diseases, and poverty. In Tomorrowland, the future is an abandoned futuristic metropolis with an antagonistic government as its only population. Yes, it shares its name with one of the main areas at Disneyland, but it really is only tangentially related to and inspired by what you’ll find there, with a few interesting visual and dialogue links that will amuse fellow Disneyland fans.

Tomorrowland comes from the notable duo of Brad Bird ('The Iron Giant', 'The Incredibles', 'Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol') and Damon Lindelof ('Lost', 'The Leftovers'), with Brad directing from a script he co-wrote with Damon (from a story the two developed with Jeff Jensen). In a typically sequel-packed summer, Tomorrowland – despite its loose theme park connections -- feels fresh and new. There’s a ton of imagination at work here, which is only appropriate, since imagination is a theme in the movie. 

 

Brad and Damon have thought of a fully realized world, filled with some really fun and cool retro-future ideas, including creative takes on the idea of killer robots and ray guns that manage to make familiar concepts feel exciting; fans of Bird's work on films like The Iron Giant and The Incredibles will know his skills in that arena. The director also proved to be just as adept doing live-action action as animation when he made the leap in Ghost Protocol and that continues here with some great sequences, such as an extended flashback showing Frank’s own first encounter with Tomorrowland and one in which Casey is under attack, only to be assisted by an unlikely savior. You can feel the joy Damon and Brad must have had coming up with these ideas, including a trip overseas where a famous landmark turns out to hold some huge secrets.

All that being said, Tomorrowland is not the complete home run it could be - and I wish it was. Surprisingly, especially given how well Ghost Protocol moved, there’s something off on the pacing here. Some of the scenes are a bit sluggish and don’t have the energy and sense of childlike awe you feel Bird was going for, even as other scenes are completely engrossing.

The ending is also a mixed bag, with some really entertaining beats intermixed with a villain/master plan reveal that feels halfhearted, when you consider this character could have been used in a much more significant and meaningful manner.

"How is this a good idea?" "Because we have to go back, Casey!"

There is an important history between Frank and Athena in the film that drives a lot of the emotional component of the story. It’s a somewhat daring bit of storytelling because while it makes complete sense within the sci-fi framework of Tomorrowland and how and why Athena can show up looking the same age she was when Frank first met her -- when he was a child -- it’s still difficult to not think, “Well, that’s George Clooney, having recollections and big dramatic and emotional moments involving his almost-romantic connection with a young girl.” It's strange, though I think it works within the context of the story and it never goes to a creepy place – this is a Disney movie! But it's odd to be sure, and I'm guessing it's going to cause a lot of conversations.

Tomorrowland has its flaws, yet it’s also a compelling movie, with a lot of cool ideas. Damon Lindelof has a reputation, deserved or not, as a writer who doesn’t pay off the big concepts he introduces, but that’s not the case here. This is, at its core, meant to be a movie for all ages, with an optimistic heart – but one with plenty of danger and excitement and, yes, death, along the way, as the consequences are real for these characters. It certainly is a pretty rough PG, and I feel like without the Disney label, it wouldn’t have gotten away with that rating. Tomorrowland, in my opinion, deserves a satisfactory rating of 6/10.