Review of Tomorrowland (2015) by Dtl — 25 May 2015

I had decently high expectations for this film. I thought this movie would good fun. It was. I thought it would be well acted. Doubly so. It was far better than I expected. The two words I think best describing it are optimistic, and engaging. I think that in this day, people don't like optimism so much; they see it as naive. I often see it that way myself. I can be very cynical, and tell myself that is just the way the world is. This movie is very optimistic, but it is not naive. They have an actual, clear point, that I believe is very well made, despite the fact that I can't see the world that way. I think those who say the plot is off, or lacking in substance, simply disagree with the message. One sentence summary of the review: This is an amazing movie, and anyone who has any real interest should definitely see it.

Onto specifics (this is long):

Visually, the movie was very appealing. The CGI was not always spectacular (though it was always very good), but it was always on point, serving its purpose very well. The non cgi stuff was very well done, perhaps better than the cgi. The world was bright and colorful when appropriate, and the opposite when that was appropriate.

The action sequences were very well done, and somewhat more serious than you might expect in a PG Disney movie. There was more weight to them than I expected. Nothing to worry about showing to children, of course, but not dumbed down either.

Coming into this year, I expected my favorite movie would be the second Avengers movie. That was reinforced when I saw it. That said, Tomorrowland is a better movie. It has better acting, more of a point, and is more intellectual. It is also a lot more fun. This is coming from a big-time Joss Whedon fanboy.

My favorite member of the cast was Britt Robertson. She was note perfect the entire time. It wasn't unusual to have her reaction to what was going on around her cause my own. I've liked her for a while, but she far surpassed my expectations.

That said, all of the actors and actresses surpassed my expectations considerably. While that probably means I underestimated them, that is also a major credit to the director, Brad Bird. I didn't know his name before the lead up to this movie, but I looked up what he's directed, which includes The Incredibles and a number of other relatively famous movies, and I think this is easily the best thing he's made.

I would like to make a special note of Raffey Cassidy; most kids can't act. She most definitely can.

I've described this movie as fun and optimistic, but there is definitely some pathos to it. It doesn't try to pretend things are better than they are. The full spectrum of emotions is there. It shows the world in all of its bleakness. It just isn't willing to write us off.

If you've read this far, see it. You'll probably love it, but even if you don't, even if you disagree entirely with its message, it is well worth your time. It was well worth mine.