Review of Tomorrowland (2015) by Yorkman — 18 Nov 2015

Tomorrowland is a film that only exists as a live action film because the quality of CGI has reached that point where rendering such diverse, deep and almost photo-realistic backgrounds is possible.

The film oozes quality in every aspect. The imagery as already mentioned, but also the cast, score, cinematography.. It all just has has a gleam an 18ct gold necklace would have over a more ordinary (but still very nice!) 9ct one.

The problem is the storyline/script. Not suggesting it's a bad film... Because it isn't. It fills up its run-time and you still feel like you wanted more. And that's the real problem.

The movie, to me, feels more like a pilot episode to a television series. It doesn't really explain anything, it just barrels along at a fast pace, sweeping you along with it... But it is all action set-pieces, there's incredibly little narrative, just exposition. As I said, nothing is explained... It's just people talking about why they need to do what they're doing, suggesting that this is nothing more than a set up for something which is to follow.

The ending is very much like the ending to a TV show pilot, in that the 'story' which introduces the characters and offers a glimpse beyond the initial premise is closed off... But is immediately followed by a 'stay tuned for scenes from our next episode' epilogue.

In fact the second time I watched the film I mentally made notes where adverts could be placed... Just after something ominous was revealed, or when a big action sequence finished etc, etc.

Overall it's a good film and, as mentioned, the ending does suggest the writers/producers were expecting sequels... However, with the poor box office numbers, I (sadly) suspect the wonderful world of Tomorrowland will never be visited again.