• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • Elvis: Austin Butler

      REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • The Black Phone: Ethan Hawke as The Grabber

      REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • Jurassic World Dominion Logo

      REVIEW: Jurassic World Dominion – Here we go again…again

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Three Men and a Baby: Tom Selleck and Ted Danson

      Three Men and a Baby is still awesome thirty five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2022
    • The Bob's Burgers Movie Poster

      REVIEW: Bob’s Burgers The Movie is Bob’s Burgers The Show, which means it’s great

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 28, 2022
    • Top Gun Maverick: Tom Cruise

      REVIEW: Top Gun Maverick is a sequel that soars!

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 27, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Bg Elvis 1970 71

      Elvis's 40 Year Reign (1971-1972)

      By Matthew Martin
      | September 29, 2017
      Music Blogs
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen’s The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
  • TV
    Featured
    • Nancy Drew S03e01: Kennedy McMann as Nancy

      Nancy Drew S03E01 Review: The Warning of the Frozen Heart - Uh-oh!

      By Salome G
      | October 10, 2021
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • Evil S03e03: Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi as Kristen Bouchard and Ben Shakir

      Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex – Contrived?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01e03: kinaaldá Ceremony

      Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K’e – Swoon!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e03: Sibongile Mlambo, Lily Cowles and Michael Trevino as Anatsa, Isobel and Kyle

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E03 Review: Subterranean Homesick Alien – Treading water?

      By Salome G
      | June 23, 2022
    • Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair as Obi-Wan and Leia

      REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 22, 2022
    • Evil S03e02: Sohina Sidhu and Aasif Mandvi as Karima and Ben Shakir

      Evil S03E02 Review: The Demon of Memes – Delightfully creepy

      By Salome G
      | June 20, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01e02: Jessica Matten as Bernadette Manuelito

      Dark Winds S01E02 Review: The Male Rain Approaches – Loose threads

      By Salome G
      | June 20, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • Mario Headphones

      The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracks

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 22, 2021
    • Metroid Dread Poster

      REVIEW: Metroid Dread reawakens the old gamer in me

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 11, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • Wwe Payback 2017 Poster 2

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Payback 2017

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 30, 2017
      WWE Blogs
    Recent
    • AEW Double or Nothing 2022: CM Punk vs Adam Page

      REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • MJF on AEW Dynamite 17th November 2021

      Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

      May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 39 Logo

      Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 38 Poster

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE WRESTLEMANIA 38!

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 30, 2022
    • Wrestlemania 31 Paige Aj Lee 2

      BOOK REVIEW: The Women of WrestleMania is a balanced take on an under-valued slice of history

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 16, 2022
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex - Contrived?
    • Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K'e - Swoon!
    • REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll
    • REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E03 Review: Subterranean Homesick Alien - Treading water?
    • REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else
    • Latest Comments

    Tomorrowland Review: A passion project that misses the mark (minor spoilers)

    By Matthew Martin
    | May 25, 2015
    Movie Reviews

    Tomorrowland Poster

    I believe in Brad Bird.

    Iron Giant is both a heartwarming and heart-wrenching masterpiece and the balance it struck between joy and sorrow was a tough nut to crack, but Brad Bird did it. With Incredibles, Bird continued Pixar’s hotstreak and gave the world what was then (and might still be today) the definitive superhero movie. It was witty, fun, thrilling and adventurous. It nabbed Bird his first Oscar.

    Like the Iron Giant, Incredibles did not rest on the tropes of the genre but instead used the setting to tell a grown up story that kids could enjoy. It’s almost a cliche to say a movie is “great for kids and adults” because when you hear that about a movie what it usually means is “it has double entendres and adult humor slipped in between the fart jokes and nonsense for kids.” What Bird did with his first two films was simply make a “kids” movie that was so well made and had a respect for the intelligence of its audience (despite its age) that adults could enjoy it just as much, if not more.

    His followup film was Ratatouille, a film he was basically handed at the eleventh hour and asked to bring up to the Pixar standard in time for its release. He did, and won his second Oscar in so doing. After years of working exclusively in animation he transitioned to live action with the fourth installment in the Mission:Impossible franchise. Bird’s work on MI:4 became the biggest hit, not only of the series, but also of Tom Cruise’s career. It was praised for how sharp the editing was, despite the wild set pieces, and the tight story, despite having a runtime that exceeded 2 hours.

    Put simply: Brad Bird has proven himself to be a great storyteller, both on the page and as a director, both in animation and live action. I believe in Brad Bird.

    So too does Disney, who offered him the chance to write and direct the seventh Star Wars film. Though his story and overall control of the movie would have been deferred to Kathleen Kennedy and the top brass at Lucasfilm and Disney, Bird likely could have been to the new Star Wars cinematic universe what Jon Favreau was to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His casting decisions were pivotal to the success of the MCU, as was the light-hearted, witty tone he brought to the Iron Man film. Brad Bird could have been the critical voice to shape the next generation of Star Wars, but he declined for the nobelist of intentions:

    He wanted to do something original.

    In an industry that relies far too heavily on reboots, sequels and remakes, it is admirable that one of the best in business had the conviction to turn down the holy grail of franchises in order to create his own world. In describing his decision to forgo Star Wars, Bird said that his newest film, Tomorrowland, was a “passion project” that he couldn’t walk away from. As he put it, someone will do Star Wars (in fact it will be Mission:Impossible collaborator JJ Abrams to kick start the next generation), but without him driving it forward, Tomorrowland might not have been made.

    Now that it’s out, was it worth it? Did Tomorrowland justify Brad Bird’s full and un-Star Wars-divided attention? There’s really no way to answer those questions; only the man himself can say that. But we can look at the film and decide whether or not it succeeded. The verdict?

    Not exactly.

    Tomorrowland Britt Robertson Casey Newton

    There are some great moments in the film, some great line readings, great set pieces, and great ideas floating around, but the whole package fails to live up to the greatness of those isolated bits.

    To start with, the tone of the film is too disjointed. Of all criticisms this was the most surprising, as Brad Bird has almost made it a calling card to have movies with pitch-perfect tone. The Iron Giant wore its emotions on its sleeve, both happy and sad, but it never went too far in one direction. Incredibles and Ratatouille knew exactly what they were and how to tell their story; the “tone” of those movies was precice. As a viewer you never feel you’re watching different movies stitched together. Same with the live-action MI:4. This film, however, doesn’t know if it wants to be a fun romp like something from 1980’s Spielberg, or a hard sci-fi like something from Duncan Jones.

    I know what holograms and tachyons are; I’ve seen more than enough Star Trek. My wife was at a loss, however. She enjoyed the lighter moments, but was frustrated by the technobabble and plot machinations. I only jotted down a handful of notes as I watched the film, but one of first ones I wrote was “who is this film for?” My 8 year old enjoyed it for the most part but was left totally confused by the ending, not to mention the language and violence didn’t feel right for a child. That’s fine, I wouldn’t knock The Godfather as a film, and that’s certainly not appropriate for an 8 year old. But of course The Godfather knows what it is and so does the viewer. This is a movie based (in title only) on a Disney attraction, produced by Disney and directed by a two-time Oscar winner for his Disney movies. I thought the advertising was intentionally vague as a way to build mystery, but now I think it was to hide the fact that the movie really isn’t written for kids, but isn’t “serious” enough for adults either.

    The screenplay is at fault for taking too much time setting things up and for saving the exposition for an info-dump during the climax. On the former point, the movie really felt like it had no middle. There were moments when you would think the movie was really “starting”  (which is the feeling you get when the screenplay moves to act two), but then something would happen to reset everything and start you right back at square one. The two main characters don’t even officially meet and begin the adventure until halfway into the picture. That’s when the movie really feels like it has started and by the time the next phase of the movie kicks in, you realize its time for the third act climax and finale.

    The movie begins with George Clooney’s character narrating his past, and just as things get interesting and you start to see where the story is going, it stops and we jump over to Britt Robertson’s character and her background. Her story then becomes the narrative that follows through to the end of the picture when we return to Clooney’s narration. That would be okay except for the start-and-stop layout. There’s a lot of shouting between characters as they argue about “it” and “that” and the audience is clueless as to what is being discussed. That’s fine in and of itself, but too many times it would seem like “it” was about to be explained only for something to happen (every ten pages there must be action!) and leave the questions unanswered. There’s a difference between a long tease and a bait-and-switch.

    Toward the end of the film I started to think that all of the answers to all of the questions were either going to go completely unexplained or they were going to be mass-dumped on the audience all at once. Sure enough…

    It was as though the writer didn’t have enough confidence in the story to assume the audience will understand it all without having to have it all explained. So, instead of rewriting the screenplay, cutting some unnecessary parts and streamlining the story (which would have also helped in tightening up the tone), the exposition was just given to the audience in the most cliched way possible: the villain monologue.

    And not only that but the exposition was confusing! That’s like…the one job of exposition! Either cut the explanations and make the plot more steamlined, or keep the convoluted plot, but make sure the audience knows what’s going on periodically throughout the film.

    Tomorrowland George Clooney

    I could criticize other things, such as the editing that made the movie feel like a tv show (right down to the soundtrack crescendo right as an epic statement is made and just before a quick cut away) or a few plot holes that always pop up when you introduce time travel (of any sort) into a story, but I won’t because it sounds like I absolutely hated the film and I don’t want that to be the lasting impression.

    As a matter of fact there were a lot of moments, especially in the first two-thirds, that I adored. As I mentioned before, at times the movie felt like watching classic-Spielberg, like something from an Amblin production from the 1980’s. When the sci-fi elements were used in a fanciful and light-hearted way, the movie soared. The sequence in Frank’s house as he and Casey are under attack by the robots was great. Futuristic tech was thrown around without any sort of explanation but it didn’t matter because the audience was allowed to fill in the blanks as it went on. The sci-fi shop sequence was also fun, with a Men in Black sort of vibe. Clooney’s character was well developed, and he had fine chemistry with both of his female costars, but…to criticize it once more…too many of the other characters were left under-developed. The final moment between Frank and Athena was well-acted but hollow; it didn’t feel earned. It reminded me of a lesser-version of the ending to Terminator 2, when the T800 says that he understands why humans cry. That moment felt earned; Tomorrowland’s did not.

    Speaking of:

    Robot from the future comes to help girl stop the world from blowing up, while other killer robots try and stop them.

    That’s totally the plot of Terminator 1 and 2, right? I’m not the only one to make that connection, right?

    As for the ending, I appreciate the message Bird was trying to get across. As a fan of science fiction, I love it when new films and stories are told in the genre that actually use it for its original purpose: To use fanciful images to pretty-up stories about our humanity. This story isn’t about time travel or fantasy worlds. It’s about looking at the world around us seemingly on a crash course to its self-destruction, and having the courage to be optimistic. It’s about having the willingness to try and change the world, even when the majority of its residents would rather mock you and embrace their own doom, so long as it comes on their own depressing terms. Somewhere in this movie is that message. It might be hiding behind the clutter of the first half of the film and the convolution of the final act, but it’s there.

    Overall, I don’t think this movie was a failure. I think it just needed another draft. It needed to tighten things up a bit across the board, have a better understanding of who it is targeting and it needed a better resolution to its actual plot.

    This was Brad Bird’s passion project, and I appreciate the heart and soul of the film, but the meat and bones of it held it back from achieving its potential.

    Points: 6/10

    Have you seen the film? Add your rating below…

     

    Tomorrowland Review: A passion project that misses the mark (minor spoilers)
    0%Overall Score
    75%Overall Score
    Reader Rating: (6 Votes)
    75%

    Share this article:

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit

    Tags

    Brad BirdFamily MoviesSci-Fi Moviestomorrowland

    COMMENTS

    Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

    Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

    Subscribe
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    Notify of
    guest
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    guest
    0 Comments
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments

    You might also like

    • Relics of the Past: A closer look at the second The Force Awakens teaser

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2015
    • Are you afraid yet? You should be…welcome to the dark side of Disney

      By Ben Hargreaves
      | April 16, 2015
    • Don’t Compare…because DC isn’t Marvel, and that’s a good thing.

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 26, 2015
    • Has sci-fi finally lost its edge?

      By Ben Hargreaves
      | March 29, 2015

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    Movie Topics

    Recommended for you

    • REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • REVIEW: Jurassic World Dominion – Here we go again…again

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Three Men and a Baby is still awesome thirty five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2022
    • REVIEW: Bob’s Burgers The Movie is Bob’s Burgers The Show, which means it’s great

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 28, 2022
    • REVIEW: Top Gun Maverick is a sequel that soars!

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 27, 2022
    • Star Wars: 45 Years Later and the four people who made it happen

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 23, 2022
    • Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Read the Book Instead: The most disappointing book-to-film adaptations

      By Oliver Johnston
      | September 20, 2021
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2021 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter
    wpDiscuz