Tomorrowland is a spiffy sci-fi spectacle
Tomorrowland merely mishmashes stock formulae of the sci-fi genre though it does so with fabulous use of SFX.
Cast: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Brittany Robertson, Raffey Casidy, Thomas Robinson, Kathryn Hahn
Direction: Brad Bird
Rating: 
When Disney produce a sci-fi, a couple of things are obvious. There will be a youngster in the centre of the story. The adventure will be a spiffy and spectacular one and, in the end of all the drama, remain feel-good fare. Brad Bird's Tomorrowland packs those trademark essentials with an undercurrent comment on social nihilism.
Bird, famed for the animation classics Ratatouille and The Incredibles, knows better than to highlight philosophical subtext while helming a $190 million biggie. So he packs all commentative notes with big action, amazing visuals and sporadic suspense, plus George Clooney as his top-billed star. The outcome is a saleable product that could rival any franchise flick. The film casts budding actress Britt Robertson as Casey, a teenager bursting with scientific curiosity. Casey's path crosses that of Frank (Clooney), ex-boy genius who is disillusioned with life.
A few twists later, Casey and Frank must embark on a trip to discover Tomorrowland, a place in their collective memory that exists somewhere in time and space, and which could hold the key to humanity's survival in future. Bird induces the standard heroic save the-world formula to the adventure. Tomorrowland merely mishmashes stock formulae of the sci-fi genre though it does so with fabulous use of SFX. The film would have been cracker of an entertainer if it was less messy as a script. Watch it as a dumbed-down Interstellar, you might just love it.