Review: Tomorrowland (2015)
Hope, you’re only a day away.
My wife and I recently saw Tomorrowland. I was excited for it because the first few reviews I read were positive, and even more so because the movie’s optimism was said to be its defining feature.
As a movie, Tomorrowland is somewhat middling. The plot is convoluted, but certainly has its moments. George Clooney and Hugh Laurie do their usual excellent work, and Britt Robertson and Raffey Cassidy also put in commendable performances. (Cassidy deserves special credit in light of her age.) The pacing was all over the place, and I would have liked more exploration of certain details and themes. The humor was offbeat and enjoyable, although it seemed like the movie couldn’t decide whether or not to take itself seriously.
The film’s optimism, though, didn’t fail to live up to expectations. This is a movie that makes a conscious effort to point out just how bleak our popular culture has become in the last decade or two. In fact, the reason for our dim outlook on the future is a central plot point of the film. Hugh Laurie gives a great speech on this topic toward the end that I loved (but won’t reproduce here to avoid spoilers). And Britt Robertson spends the whole film being so magnetically and charismatically cheerful that I’d vote for her character for president if she was in the running. The positivity was worth the price of admission by itself, and as I’ve said before, we need so much more of it in the modern American zeitgeist.
Tomorrowland’s heart is in the right place, even if it isn’t the best movie I’ve watched this year. Still, if you have kids, you should definitely take them to see it. They could use a bright and hopeful contrast to the dystopias dominating fiction nowadays. And if you’re anything like me, you probably could, too.
