Tomorrowland (2015)

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nTomorrowland (2015)

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nDirector: Brad Bird

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nCast: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, RaffeynCassidy, Thomas Robinson

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nEvery now and then I have to write a review here in defensenof a film that was wrongly accused. These are films that had no right innbecoming box office flops, but did anyways for whatever the reason. I did itnwith Waterworld (1995) which in my opinion is an excellent post apocalyptic filmnthat got the shaft because of production woes, once the media starts badnmouthing a movie calling it ‘a fiasco’, people will think twice before spendingntheir hard earned cash to go see it. But in the case of Brad Bird’snTomorrowland (2015), I think a lot has to do with the message the film sends,nyou see, this is an extremely rebellious film; it’s a message that clearlynspeaks against “the system” and those who suffer from living in it. It’s anshout out to all those dreamers out there, those of us who want to make thenworld a better place.

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nIn Tomorrowland, robots from the future come to our timenlooking for the brightest, most creative minds. They take these promising youngnpeople to a city in the future, in order to create a society where goodness,nhappiness and creativity can strive. Basically, the people from the future wantnto create a society that works for the improvement of mind kind, a society innwhich all those wild ideas you ever dreamed of could come true. Frank (GeorgenClooney) was one of these chosen few, he’s skills for inventing and engineeringnmachines was amazing. Unfortunately, he’s given up on the whole idea of a ‘Tomorrowland’.nWhat will it take to spark his imagination again? Did this ‘Tomorrowland’ everncome true? Did it ever happen? Does the idea have a chance of flourishing?

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nSo of course, the film speaks of us, our society and how itnseems we’ve given up on improving ourselves. Sure we got smart phones andninternet, but don’t you agree that a whole lot more can be done to improvensociety than keeping us entertained? What about clean energy? What aboutnrecycling on a global scale? How about designing some way to eliminate worldnhunger? It’s obvious that there are bigger fish to fry when it comes tonfocusing human inventiveness. And that’s what Tomorrowland is all about. Thenidea that the future lies in the hands of the younger generations who shouldn’tnbe afraid to change the world they’ve inherited. Of course, there are those whondon’t want you to see this movie because it might put ideas in your head aboutnimproving society and “god forbid!” using your mind to its full potential ornwaking up from that programmed slumber.  Sonthis is probably why this movie got such a bad rap from all those selfnrighteous critics. The media bad mouthed it to hell because its ideas arenextremely subversive.  

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nWhy do I defend this movie so? Well, for one, it’s annamazing movie that not only speaks about some very important truths about ournsociety, but also looks beautiful and entertains to the max. And I mean thisnmovie is never boring! The special effects are top notch perfect, which doesn’tnsurprise me. Brad Bird is the director behind this film and his films havennever disappointed in the entertainment/fx  department. The Iron Giant (1999), ThenIncredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011),nare all visually dazzling Brad Bird films, so expect lots of eye candy innTomorrowland. Fying jet packs, androids, laser guns, futuristic landscapes…the amazingnvistas just keep coming in this movie. There’s this amazing sequence that takesnplace entirely in Tomorrowland that is just like..wow, it will blow you away; whichnis cool because it’s a film with an important message that doesn’t stop tonpreach at you, it sends its message across in an entertaining way. This was anpassion project for Bird, so much so that he declined to direct Star Wars VII:nThe Force Awakens (2015) in order to work on this film, which says a lot aboutnhow much he cared about what this film had to say.

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nThis film is based onnan idea that Walt Disney had way back in the 50’s. The whole idea behind EPCOTnCenter; Epcot standing for Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow, was tonstart a new kind of city where new technology was to be created and showcased, wherenhuman imagination was to be celebrated. This prototype city was to have its ownnsuburb and even an airport. He wanted to create a model community that wouldncontinually change and evolve with the advancements of humanity. Epcot Centernand its many pavilions are still dedicated to showcasing human advancement, butnit is not what Walt Disney had envisioned. Disney wanted to create a new typenof society that would set itself apart from the real world, something that wencould all aspire to. Unfortunately, that never came to be, and now its all justnrides and restaurants, but once upon a time Disney had envisioned a betternworld, and apparently those ideas died with him; which is mostly what this filmnis about. Disney’s ideas were probably too radical, and governments don’t likenthe word radical. They like radical people even less. They prefer clones with anhive like, programmable mentality. The state of our world gets me all sadnsometimes, because it shows evil reigns, which is probably why a film likenTomorrowland can bring tears to my eyes, which I’m not afraid to say it did. Thenquestions this movie asks are big and the answers are even bigger; Tomorrowlandnis a film that deserves to be watched, not ignored.

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nRating 5 out of 5
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nGo here for an in-depth review of the film from the good people at Radiator Heaven! 

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