by Joseph Rossi
A big shiny package with a great first half and not much else.
The world is in peril due to the selfishness of humankind. The icecaps, terrorists, pollution, you name it. Casey, a Florida teen played by Britt Robertson, asks her teacher “how do we fix it”. The solution — get all the greatest minds in the world together and create a inter dimensional land whose main entrance is in the It’s a Small World Ride at Disneyland. Huh? It gets better. Casey is ushered into this adventure by a robot girl named Athena who is from this new world called Tomorrowland. Along for the ride is a reclusive inventor ( George Clooney) who was once a resident.
Sounds silly. It is. But I don’t mind silly. I mind it being dull. Dull is the worst adjective one can use when talking about a summer tentpole movie. And it’s a crying shame because the first hour is crammed full of good stuff. The elements are all there. A big star in top form, a talented director, a secret plot courtesy of the mastermind behind the series and amazing visuals. Yet it all comes crashing down in that second half when the films heavy handed “we messed up humanity” message keeps beating us to death. Good intentions don’t make good movies. Whereas the the first had a pulse, it had movement, zest and emotion, the second half comes to a halt in order to school us.
Brad Bird has never, until now, made a mediocre movie. After he made the 1999 classic The Iron Giant, he was on a roll. The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Just four films and he has amassed a cinematic legacy. But every legacy has a blemish. It’s not that he doesn’t mean well. The film is full of optimism. It’s like Frank Capra got 190 million dollars and made a movie. I just feel like for the cost, the overly preachy tendencies of this film take the zippy fun out of a summer flick.
