Director: Brad Bird
Cast: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Thomas Robinson, Hugh Laurie
Running time: 130 minutes
Certificate: PG
Synopsis: 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.
What if the world’s best scientists, inventors, artists and craftsmen were gathered up and taken to another world, free to create sensational new ideas away from distractions, politics and greed. Those are the ideologies that seduce young child genius Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson), fresh from inventing an almost-working jet pack in 1946, as he discovers this hidden world, dubbed Tomorrowland, thanks to an invitation from Athena (Raffey Cassidy) who sees Frank’s inventing potential. Fast forward to the present day and an older, wiser, and much grumpier Frank (George Clooney) is living in isolation and none-too-pleased when Casey (Britt Robertson) turns up on his doorstep having glimpsed Tomorrowland and wanting to know more.
You can thank Lost and The Leftovers screenwriting alumni Damon Lindelof for the convoluted sounding plot; but as elaborate as its premise may sound TOMORROWLAND does not suffer from an overload of twists and turns. The story is told at a near-perfect pace – once it gets off the ground. The initial exposition technique of Frank and Casey talking directly to camera does find it’s payoff in the concluding scenes but it jars slightly against the rest of the film.
Aside from the central plot, TOMORROWLAND also carries some deft touches in nods to media manipulation, advertising and humans vs robotics. Raffey Cassidy is the standout performance as Tomorrowland-recruiter Athena, struggling with her emotions and determined to succeed in her mission whatever the cost. Across the board the performances from the young actors are excellent; Robertson manages to capture the over-awed teen ingenue without stepping into wearisome repetitive territory and Hugh Laurie provides some lovely comic touches in his few scenes.
The futuristic stylings of the world of Tomorrowland are made to look elegant, crisp and add a further level of excitement to the film thanks to some clever effects. The film doesn’t allow itself to be bogged down with CGI, although an astonishing set piece involving the Eiffel Tower is crafted spectacularly. Director Brad Bird has brought together the human and science fiction elements with great success.
Building itself well to the end-goal, unfortunately there’s little reward for large swathes of the plot points, rather they fizzle out without the expected bang. The final message of the film seems to have overtaken the importance of the details of the journey taken and as such the transition is not a wholly smooth one. Never-the-less there are interesting messages in the films’ closing stages about free will, optimism and acceptance that are presented for discussion.
Imaginative, ambitious and wide-eyed, TOMORROWLAND is a refreshing piece of sci-fi action that flies it’s originality flag loud and proud.
TOMORROWLAND arrives in cinemas on Friday 22nd May.
