"Tomorrowland" Review

Disney's Tomorrowland (based on its namesake area at the theme parks) follows up Alex Garland's superb Ex Machina as another entertaining, albeit this time unspectacular, piece of original sci-fi.

Tomorrowland represents a utopia in some alternate dimension built by the world's smartest and most creative individuals. It's seemingly free of the earthly bounds that neuter ingenuity such as bureaucracy, politics, limited funding, etc. Young optimist Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) and jaded former boy-genius Frank Walker (George Clooney) find themselves on a mission to uncover the true secrets of Tomorrowland after Casey is chosen to reverse the effects of a doomsday machine predicting the end of the world.

Eventually, the narrative devolves from a light-hearted caper into a sermon against human nature. It suggests our blind acceptance of the idea of an impending doom and blames that flaw for global warming, war, poverty, disease, and every manner of blight against humanity. In that moment, I felt the entire message of the film was dashed. You're supposed to feel senses of wonder, joy and optimism with a desire to create. I felt that way after last year's Lego Movie. The diatribe of Tomorrowland just made me feel like crap.

As for the characters, Hugh Laurie proves a very boring, un-sinister villain as Governor Nix, and the 25-year-old Robertson turns in a mediocre performance that Jennifer Lawrence could've outdone in her sleep. Clooney is classic yet makes for a believable former boy-genius. I didn't feel like I was just watching Clooney play himself again. The standout is Raffey Cassidy as Athena, an android recruiter who maintains the visage of a 12-year-old between the early 1960s when she brings in young Frank Walker and the near future where she reaches out to Casey. The almost annoyingly-British Cassidy gives the film's most nuanced performance with the poise of a seasoned veteran. I laughed and got misty-eyed on all the right beats thanks to Cassidy's work.

Furthermore, audiences should be delighted to see cameos from Keegan-Michael Key (TV's Key & Peele) and Kathryn Hahn (Step Brothers) as two fanboy/girl antique toy shop owners whom Casey first visits for answers about Tomorrowland. It's clear to see Key and Hahn are having fun with the material in a goofy scene that reminded me of Billy Crystal and Carol Kane in The Princess Bride.

It should be said that Scott Chambliss deserves an Oscar right now for the production design on this film. Perhaps it's the IMAX talking, but the atmosphere of this movie is spectacular. Sets are intricately detailed, and every "Tomorrowland" scene made me feel as if I were there. Costumes are also very strong with lots of bright colors, patterns and styles matched in ways that look futuristic yet grounded in current trends. Think West Coast circa 2075.

Although it suffers from some undercooked ideas and characters, as well as a muddled message, Tomorrrowland is still a mildly entertaining piece of original sci-fi cinema that doesn't involve comic book or franchise characters. Isn't that enough?

B-