Movie Review: Tomorrowland

Mysticism, secrecy and vagueness. These are the three things that Disney’s advertising for its newest movie, Tomorrowland, focused on. One big question that many people ask themselves when the leave the theater of a movie that advertises like that is, “Was it worth the secrecy?” For Tomorrowland, I believe that it simply, but sadly, fell short of being worth the secrecy. All I was able to discern from all of the advertisements about this movie is that a mystical, futuristic place (which I assumed was Tomorrowland) can be seen when Britt Robertson, who I took to be the protagonist of the film, would touch a pin. That is about everything that the trailers and advertisements gave to the viewer. However, this is all that the movie gave to the viewer for most of it as well.

One of my chief complaints about the movie is that the movie contained way too much exposition for a minor complication. For a majority of the movie, the viewer gets to see the protagonists attempting to get to Tomorrowland. However, about two-thirds into the movie, the plot completely turns in a new direction. This leaves the viewer in a place where they see explanation for one plotline for the whole movie, and then they are jarred by a jump to a completely different plotline without any explanation leading up to it. While this was one of the biggest faults in this movie, it did have some areas where it did well.

The acting in this movie was very good. Britt Robertson did a good job as the main protagonist, Casey Newton, but George Clooney, her mentor Frank, easily overshadowed her. He played a character that had a very wide range of emotions throughout the movie. Before the movie was over, he played a disgruntled man, a sad man, an angry man, and an adventurous man. Another of the film’s bigger stars, Hugh Laurie, was not easily going to be outdone. As the antagonist of the film, Nix, Laurie gave a very chilling performance. My only complaint about his character was how underutilized he was in the film. For a great villain played by a great actor, Nix was barely in the film.

Finally, one of my favorite parts of the film was its moral. Being a Disney movie, it is wont to sending a strong message. This film sends a very strong message about global awareness and public reception. It also has some undertones about NASA’s lack of funding and the future of technology. Being Disney, a statement like this seems rather bold. However, it seems to really work in making the viewer think.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the movie’s message and thought the acting was great, the movie as a whole fell short of its mark. This movie wanted to keep a veil of secrecy over it, but it didn’t seem to work for it. The first two-thirds of the movie felt rather long and there was a lot of explanation for a plotline that became insignificant. Aside from these two issues, the movie was somewhat enjoyable, but simply all right. I would have to give this movie, all things included, a B-.