Well, here is another film that disappoints on almost every single level. Bear with me, I usually stray from spoiler reviews, but I am willing to make an exception with this film. It makes me legitimately sad when I see wasted potential. There is so much wasted potential in this film, it has a great concept but does not use it. It has great actors, but most of them are wasted. Not only does the film waste its’ potential, but it also waste the audience’s time.
Every Day Is The Opportunity For A Better Tomorrow.
First of all, there are plenty of positives to this film: the acting, filming, originality, and effects. I went into this film expecting George Clooney and Hugh Laurie to be great, but I was not so sure about Britt Robertson. I have not seen her in many films before, but I will definitely be on the look out for her in the future. She does a great job in her role, even though she is handed sub-par writing. Another standout is Raffey Cassidy as Athena. She is also brought down by a poor script, but is able to deliver a good enough performance where she makes it work. Along with strong performances, the film also had some great filming and effects. I believe these two go hand in hand in this film, where the cinematography complimented the effects of the film. Several shots made me really impressed, while the effects constantly amazed me. However, I do have several problems with the effects (more on that later). Lastly, I love how original the film is. While it shares the same title as the ride from Disney, it really expands beyond it. The films succeeds in it’s originality through some awesome inventions (such as almost everything you see in Frank’s home, and the device that shows a projection of your future). Sadly, this is where the positives of the film end. While there may seem like there are many positives, they are weighed down by the negatives.
Dreamers Need To Stick Together
First of all, and most importantly, the writing in this film is atrocious. With this I am including both the narrative and dialogue. The narrative is an absolute mess. It feels like the writers were too concerned with building up the idea of a “Tomorrowland” that they did not devote the time necessary to really flesh it out. You still do not know much about the origins of the place, and the film is not very clear about everything that goes on there. The problem mainly is that “Tomorrowland” rarely appears in the film, and so the script has people explaining what it is. I feel like “Finding Tomorrowland” would have been a much better title because for all intents and purpose this is more like an origin story for the place. Another problem with the plot is that it is riddled with conveniences and stupid motivations. I understand why Hugh Laurie’s character decided to broadcast to the world, but it felt like a half baked reveal. Also, probably the stupidest part of the film, I did not buy the fact that Clooney’s character was angry at Athena because she was a robot. I think the writers just got lazy and wrote something in hoping that the audience would buy it. I cannot speak for the rest of the audience, but I did not. Moving onto the dialogue, it simply did not feel natural. Characters spoke in ways that normal people do no speak, and occasionally there were lines written like “No Way” that felt completely our of place. Adding to the writing, the characters are fairly poor. Specifically, Robertson’s character (Casey). Casey is “special”. She is told that many times throughout the film without a proper explanation (another fault of the writing). In the end, she miraculously discovers that someone is broadcasting the end of the world to our planet, but how she figured it out is glossed over. She just kind of figures it out of the blue. Aside for that, she does not bring too much to the film. I feel like the film could have just focused on Clooney’s character and been a bit better. I am not discrediting Britt Robertson, but I am discrediting the character she portrayed. Now onto the effects (as previously mentioned). While I think they are pretty good, occasionally they are far too “cartoony”. I would not fault the film on this, if I did not think they could have done a better job. The bottom line is that the effects are not always cartoony, so I do not know why they appeared so from time to time. Finally, the trailers really ruin the film. Hear me out: I thought that it is so cool how Casey touches the pin and is immediately transported to “Tomorrowland”. I thought many of Clooney’s character’s inventions were also really cool. However, I got this feeling from the trailers. The film is supposed to bring in a whole new batch of cool aspects to the film, but unfortunately this film did not do that. They put all the good stuff in the trailers, and what I saw was really a mess of a film.
Closing Remarks
I wanted this to be one of the years best, but it may end up being among the worst. Unfortunately, the best way to describe the film is wasted potential. It had a great premise, great cast, great director, but somehow a VERY poor script was able to bring all that down. If you are considering seeing this film, I urge you to reconsider. While it has it’s moments, you will most likely leave disappointed.