A curious teenager and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a fantastical place that exists in their collective memory
Tomorrowland: A World Beyond (2015)
Certified: PG
Duration: 130 minutes
Directed by: Brad Bird
Starring: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Bauer, Pierce Gagnon, Matthew Maccaull, Judy Greer, Garry Chalk
KRS Releasing Ltd
Britt Robertson plays teenager Casey Newton who is not happy that the place where her father Eddie (Tim McGraw) used to work – a launch pad at Cape Canaveral – is going to be demolished by the government. She tries to sabotage the works and ends up arrested. When she gets bailed out and her items are returned to her, she finds a pin she did not own.
When she comes into contact with this pin, she travels to a futuristic perfect land that is tagged as Tomorrowland. The pin was given to her by Athena (Raffey Cassidy), who has a special task for her.
Trouble arises when robots, who are not happy about the newcomer, try to kill them. Athena takes Casey to Frank Walker (George Clooney), a world-weary man who Athena had met back in 1964’s World Fair.
David Nix (Hugh Laurie), the ruler of Tomorrowland, does not see eye to eye with Frank. Athena had taken Frank to Tomorrowland and while things had been very friendly between David and Frank, after time things went bad and Frank was banished.
Frank does not want to get involved but after a new robot attack occurs, he escapes with Casey and starts to think that maybe she could be the linchpin of Tomorrowland’s future.
Disney’s film brings Brad Bird, the director behind The Incredibles and Mission Impossible –Ghost Protocol, back to the screen.
The film aims for, and gets, a 1950s and 1960s style of adventure with modern sensibilities
The main emphasis of the story, which is inspired by one of the main rides at the Disney theme parks, is the joy of discovery. It aims for, and gets, a 1950s and 1960s style of adventure with modern sensibilities and a sense of pulp-retro futuristic look that works well on screen.
Bird manages to inject into the film a sense of wonder, fun and thrills that has the film alternating between action and adventure and a sense of realism even when there are these leaps of extravagant fantasy. This is mostly due to a sense of detail and a smart set design. Bird seems to be aiming at the aspirations and vision that Walter Disney would have wanted since he was very much fixated by the idea of what the future has in storeand the accompanying sense of wonder.
The director has delivered a good-looking movie that showers on his audience his love for pulp fiction and steam punk genre.
However, underneath all the high hopes for the future, Tomorrowland is laced with a sense of lost responsibility on man’s part towards the planet he inhabits. The shiny gleam of the future has now been tarnished and Clooney’s grizzled and paranoid character is the evidenceof that.
The film is opining for a more eco-friendly approach to the way we handle the planet; when this is not done, the side effects will be felt, whether we like it or not. The film enjoys asking questions but it does not always bother to answer them.
As regards the cast, Robertson is convincing while Clooney delivers the right inspiration; the two balance each other out between wide-eyed charm and earnest imagination. Meanwhile, Laurie seems to be having fun as a villain.
This movie is a fun foray into the world of adventure and has enough bite to it to leave its young audience with quite a few things to think about.