| My rating | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critics | Audience | Critics | Audience | |
| 4.5/10 | 60/100 | 6.8/10 | 49% | 58% |
Would you like to see a fun Tomorrowland? Go to a Disney Park! I guarantee it will be ten times more entertaining than the movie with the same name. Inspired by a section of Disney’s Park Magic Kindgom, “Tomorrowland,” directed by Brad Bird (who also directed “The Incredibles”), was extremely disappointing.
The movie tells the story of Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), a teenage girl who has a lot of curiosity for anything related to science, and Frank Walker (George Clooney), who used to be considered a genius when he was only a boy (his younger version is played by Thomas Robinson). Their destinies are intertwined when Casey is given a pin that mysteriously transports her to a different world every time she touches it (it doesn’t work when anybody else tries). Intrigued by the pin’s power, she is led by Athena (Raffey Cassidy), a little girl whose intentions are unknown, until they find Frank and understand what the pin is (as it turns out, the pin is only given to selected people who have a very specific quality – I can’t tell more without spoiling it).
If the summary seems confusing, it’s because the movie is confusing. It takes a long time for the plot to be completely clear to the audience. If you’ve seen the trailer or read the official synopsis released by Disney, you probably know what I’m talking about: neither explains what the movie is really about. I went into the theater thinking that I would see a film set in Tomorrowland, but that’s not what happens. It really is a huge flashback to show why Tomorrowland didn’t work. Therefore, it’s basically set in the present.
Another problem in the story, for me, was the beginning. There is a flashback to the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, where young Frank shows his invention to Nix (Hugh Laurie, who barely appears in the movie and whose character should remain without further explanation, to avoid spoilers). Not everyone, however, knows exactly what a World Fair is or its importance. Considering that it doesn’t happen every year and that since 1900 the World Fair was held 14 times in the U.S., I wonder if all international viewers will understand what’s going on or will just simply ignore it.
Moreover, the relationship between Athena (who is probably 10 yeas old) and Frank is okay when they are both kids. Frank, however, grows up (George Clooney) and Athena doesn’t (I won’t explain why), which really freaked me out because their relationship remained “romantic” in a certain way. And this is a Disney movie! (a friend of mine had the same reaction, so I’m not that crazy)
Finally, the visual spectacle I was expecting after having seen the trailer almost doesn’t happen. We only get a few glimpses of Tomorrowland and its beautiful buildings and landscapes. One of the buildings even resembles Space Mountain and it made me wish I was riding it instead of watching the movie…
The final message of the movie is interesting, but I wish they had done something else to transmit that message to us. I don’t know if Walt Disney would be entirely happy about this movie, but I do know he approved the park. So, again, go see that Tomorrowland.
