By Brett Blake TOMORROWLAND is a movie with some big, big problems on a script level, but it’s also a movie I find basically impossible to dislike. It’s a powerfully optimistic statement about mankind’s capacity to create a bright future, and there’s an exuberant throwback quality to its visual style that is right up this particular writer’s alley. The film primarily focuses on Casey (Britt Robertson), an idealistic and hyper-intelligent teen who is fueled by curiosity and a love for science. After discovering a mysterious pin which grants her a vision of the wondrous locale of Tomorrowland (a futuristic city in a parallel dimension where scientific pursuits are bound only by the limits of one’s own imagination), she finds herself on the run from villainous robots bent on terminating her. Aided by Athena (Raffey Cassidy), a robot in the form of a young girl, and Frank (George Clooney), a former child prodigy turned jaded cynic who once lived in Tomorrowland, Casey must find a way to visit Tomorrowland and avert a potential catastrophe. On a purely visual and tonal level, director Brad Bird has crafted a top notch entertainment. There’s a level of wit and ingenuity in every facet of the the movie’s style and direction that is impressive, and the construction of the various setpieces found within is of the highest caliber (one sequence, involving Casey and Frank evading robots in Frank’s booby-trapped home is all kinds of fun). Tomorrowland itself, as a physical place, is a fantastic creation of production design, complete with gleaming towers and curving walkways, all clean and white. There’s an upbeat, gee-whiz quality to the depiction of the story’s futurism, with its jetpacks and robots that exist as delightful throwbacks to the utopian science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s. Most importantly, there is such a refreshing sense of optimism to the movie, a feeling that future doesn’t have to be dark and depressing and dystopian (as is often the case in science fiction stories). The ultimate message - though it skirts the line of being too preachy (more on this to come) - is a noble and worthy one: do no let anything limit your imagination, and if you can manage that, you have the power to do great and amazing things. Trite, perhaps, but I suspect it will connect with a lot of people... or at least people who aren’t cynics, anyway. A vital component in maintaining the tone is the musical score from composer Michael Giacchino. A longtime collaborator of director Bird, Giacchino effortlessly taps into the vibe that Bird is shooting for, complete with several big, memorable themes which evoke a sense of wonder, playful and mysterious underscore, and exciting action moments. It’s one of Giacchino’s better scores in recent years (probably since his work for 2011’s SUPER 8), and it's the best of 2015 so far. Britt Robertson proves herself to be more than capable of carrying a film on her shoulders, and she imbues her character with a positivity and sense of intellect that is very appealing. George Clooney, surprisingly, does not get to be his usual, confident self, and instead tackles a bitter and grumpy man who has seemingly lost hope for humanity; Clooney doesn’t dumb it down for kids, or play for the cheap seats, which is refreshing. He treats Frank’s emotional condition and pessimism as though this were a straight drama. Hugh Laurie pops up as Nix, the ostensible antagonist of the story, and while he doesn’t have much screentime, he makes a strong impact, particularly with a superb monologue where the character lays out his motivation in ways that make perfect, frightening sense. The true standout of the cast, though, is young Raffey Cassidy as Athena. Equal parts no-nonsense and wise beyond her years (as well as surprisingly adept at hand-to-hand combat), she’s an unusually strong and captivating presence. What of the movie’s problems, then? The construction of the plot is where the film threatens to fall apart. Frankly, the screenplay is kind of a mess in terms of narrative structure; it is not until well into the final act that the actual “plot” or conflict of the movie kicks into gear. Up until that point, we are treated to a - not at all uninteresting - series of episodic adventures designed to eventually get our characters to Tomorrowland. It’s like instead of the traditional first, second, and third acts, co-writers Bird and Damon Lindelof have given us two first acts - a very extended setup, if you will - followed by a rushed concluding act. By the time we get the revelation of what’s going on in Tomorrowland (and its impact on our world), the movie is basically about to be over. This is problematic for any number of reasons, least of which being that the stakes are established too late in the game for those of us in the audience to really care or to be concerned for the characters. In addition, the grand scheme enacted by the story’s antagonist - though well communicated by Laurie in his aforementioned monologue - feels almost too small. I was left with the thought “That’s it?!” running through my mind. The other chief problem of the screenplay lies in its presentation of its message. Having established that it’s a good message, the issue then is that it is presented in explicit ways MANY times during the course of the story. It rises above subtext to become just-plain-text, with characters literally expounding on the meaning of it all, and the importance of it all. It’s in-your-face stuff, and not particularly elegant writing, to boot, even if it’s in service of a positive statement on (and celebration of) the necessity of imagination and scientific exploration. Despite the movie’s narrative problems, it is that hopeful, optimistic spirit which carries the day and smooths over some of the aforementioned flaws. TOMORROWLAND may be director Brad Bird’s most flawed film to date (and, yes, it is), but what’s good in it far outweighs the bad. There’s a very telling exchange in the opening sequence of the movie. Young Frank has built a homemade jetpack, and when skeptically asked, “What is its purpose?” he responds, “Can’t it just be fun?” Nothing could sum up the movie any better than that. It has strongly-stated ideas, but at the end of the day, it is best enjoyed as an upbeat, fun excursion into a world overflowing with imagination.
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