Either Tomorrowland is a well-meaning movie or a rebellious one. I cannot tell.
In the midst of Hollywood's penchant for dystopian films, Tomorrowland dares to be different— offering a utopian world as a "refreshing change," but not without arrogantly reprimanding you to please stop making Doomsday a trend, please?
Tomorrowland tells you that it's all your fault and your lazy acceptance, your cynicism, and pessimism that will ultimately cause the apocalypse. But hey, it's not too late to change yourself! What you should do is listen to the movie's doctrine: train yourself to hope (which, in this movie, feels like nursing a delusion) and dream up a perfect, Disney "Happily Every After" future, and you will surely save mankind from its self-destruction.
But, wait! Not everyone is capable of dreaming and hoping and manufacturing a Paradise for a future! Only those "chosen ones," i.e, the geniuses or the gifted ones can. You're not an artist? You're not a scientist? Well, what can you do to make this world a better place, you talent-less and hopeless shmuck?
And this insulting and twisted philosophy is packaged in a dull, disconnected screenplay.
The heroine—or should we call "the messiah?"—is one of those "chosen ones": a perky, energetic genius, Casey Newton (as in Isaac Newton), played by the competent Britt Robertson (The Longest Ride), trying to cure a jaded genius named Frank Walker (George Clooney), and encouraged by a non-aging mildly sinister little girl (Raffey Cassidy). There are flashes of a futuristic land called Tomorrowland, robots that are violently destroyed (parental guidance!), Hugh Laurie playing a boring, annoyingly preachy antagonist, and Tim McGraw who is simply incapable of acting.
This messy, cringe-inducing movie shockingly comes from writer-director Brad Bird (co-writen with Damon Lindelof) who previously gave us excellent and entertaining delights such as The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, The Incredibles, and Mission Impossible: The Ghost Protocol. What happened, Mr. Bird?
Except for Tim McGraw (who plays Casey's dad), the cast is lively and effective, with Cassidy shining the most, but that's just about it. Tomorrowland, based on a Disneyland theme park, propagates a strange dogma through a corny and disjointed screenplay—and it cannot even understand what the hell it's talking about. And in its attempt to fix you and the planet Earth, it just contributes to everything that is wrong in this world.
1 out of 5 stars
Opens May 22, 2015 in Philippine cinemas, including at Ayala Malls Cinemas
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