Tomorrowland (2015)

[Wessex]

Saw this last night.   It was a boringly interesting movie.   I'm still not sure quite what it was about.   ???

[AimingforYoko]

Saw this last night.   It was a boringly interesting movie.   I'm still not sure quite what it was about.   ???

Special people are special.

[JessePinkman]

I can't believe we have the cliché of the main character actually being called special. I mean...that was inferred.

This felt like a big budget Disney Channel movie. And not in a good way (hey I loved Disney Channel movies as a kid). It tries so hard to be enchanting that it comes across disingenuous.

There was a five minute long no cut sequence in the middle of the movie that was almost transportive except it felt like it was trying entirely too hard for me to feel...something.

The special effects overloaded the story, all I could think was "green screen green screen green screen". And Britt Robertson is not a bad actress but she hardly has any range and I hope for her sake and her career that this is her last teenage role.

George Clooney was great but should have been involved in the action much sooner, I think his opening narration was meant to rectify that but it just felt leaden and unnecessary.

Ghost Protocol is my favorite Mission Impossible movie so I know Brad Bird has it in him but this was not good.

[Notwisconsin]

It was a socialist critique of Ayn Rand.

[Betweenyouandme]

I liked it, but I don't typically like action. The age range seemed to be 8/9-12/13 years old. No cursing. Messages about the environment. To me it was interesting and there was some action but not any graphic (bloody) violence or sex. There was a tiny love story part that could have been weird, but I think it was handled innocently and sweet. No hidden adult jokes that I picked up on. It was exactly what I thought it would be, and I plan to show it to my child one day.

[NoWillToResist]

Oh god, I hated it. Two of the three people I saw this with also hated it. I wished I'd stuck with my original "no" when I saw the trailer. That's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

On the positive side, I think it would be fair to say that kids would love it. But as an adult? Jesus, the pandering and anvils.

Hope and dreams will save the world! You're special! Never give up! Fucking hell.

My one laugh was at the shoe-horned in product placenment for Coke. Because, of course zapping from the US to Paris will leave you with 10% blood sugar so you'd better have a couple ice cold Coca Colas on hand to quench that thirst!!!

And...a rocket ship built under the Eiffel Tower? Which launches by splitting the tower in two? Of course. Because why the fuck not, right? Totally easy to build that within one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world.

Also, I hated Tomorrowland as a place too. When Casey first spent more than 3 seconds there, I was just ridiculously angry. It was ADHD World. They flashed and whirled and spun and jumped and soared and dropped from one fantastical thing to another and I found it exhausting and annoying.

Casey annoyed the fuck out of me. Girl had only one setting: shrill. She did not have an indoor voice. I wanted to smack her.

I think Brad Bird was in love with Athena's eyes because the number of close ups on her face was ridiculous.

Why did Athena just drop Casey off at Frank's? What the fuck was that about?

I was so annoyed by the lack of answers/explanation given. Honestly, over an hour into the movie, I still didn't know what the fucking plot was or what anyone's motivations were because SECRETS!!! During the end credits, I saw Damon Lindelof's name and all was explained. Had I known that he had been involved, I'd have avoided this movie like the fucking plague.

[bluvelvet]

Saw this...was bored and they took way too long to get to the point. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and also checked my phone during the movie which I RARELY do.

[NoWillToResist]

Saw this...was bored and they took way too long to get to the point.

 

I'm not even sure they ever got to the point. Hell, I'm not even 100% sure what the point was. ;)

 

I mean, if all the dreamers and optimists and geniuses fuck off to live in Tomorrowland to create this awesome place in a parallel dimension or whatever the fuck, aren't they condemning Earth to being run by the cynics and pessimists and idiots? I was not under the impression that Tomorrowland was a think-tank where people came up with kickass ideas and then incorporated them back home on Earth. Nor did Tomorrowland strike me as some kind of vacation or conference. It seemed like the "good" people got to live in Tomorrowland and everyone else was just shit out of luck on Earth. Good thing her dad and brother qualified for admission!

 

I actually find it quite funny that this movie was supposed to be all HOPE FOR THE FUTURE and whatnot but I felt like the whole plot of "good people" leaving Earth to go to Tomorrowland came off a lot like rats deserting a doomed ship. So, really, the message I got was that Earth was fucked. And if no one came to whisk your ass away to TL, it's your own fault for not being good enough. Which is just a lovely message, really.  ;)

 

Basically, TL headhunts all the good people of Earth which seems kind of douche-y to me.

[nobodyyoucare]

Wasn't Clooney's character going there to bring back the stuff from tommorowland? Isn't the whole issue of Tommorowland that they were forgetting their whole purpose of being about hope?

[NoWillToResist]

Wasn't Clooney's character going there to bring back the stuff from tommorowland? Isn't the whole issue of Tommorowland that they were forgetting their whole purpose of being about hope?

 

I really didn't understand the plot of the movie. It sounded like Tomorrowland was initially created in some other dimension where dreamers and genuises could create some awesome utopia or something but humanity started to lose hope and thus dreamers and genuises were a rarity, and TL started to fail. Or something like that?

 

Clooney was allegedly booted out because he'd given up hope. But what was up with the monitor in Tomorrowland which was beaming out negative shit, thus creating more negativity, thus making the problem worse? Apparently destroying the monitor allowed hope to return to Earth...or something? But what was the initial purpose of the monitor? And why would it send images to Earth anyway?

And it seemed like Clooney always had the path to get back in but chose not to until sooper speshul Casey turned up and reduced the Doomsday clock by .06%. I just...don't get it.

Who were the replicants in the novelty store? Why were they planted on Earth? What was their mission? Wait around on the rare chance that someone will turn in a TL pin so that they can try to find Athena and shut her down or something?

 

At the very beginning of the movie when Clooney is talking into the camera while Casey oh-so-preciously continuously interjects and interrupts him, what's his doomsday lightbulb clock saying? It's a long-ish number and it's counting down. Is that the new 'x days until the apocalypse' counter or something?

 

Bah. This movie was convoluted crap.

[nobodyyoucare]

The negative thoughts were supposed to inspire humanity to think about the upcoming doom and avert it. Instead the negative thoughts caused the upcoming doom to be a self fulfilling prophecy.

 

 

Who were the replicants in the novelty store? Why were they planted on Earth? What was their mission? Wait around on the rare chance that someone will turn in a TL pin so that they can try to find Athena and shut her down or something?

Nix's agents. The pins only show a virtual representation of the alt dimension as it is supposed to be not what it is under Nix. 

 

 

And it seemed like Clooney always had the path to get back in but chose not to until sooper speshul Casey turned up and reduced the Doomsday clock by .06%. I just...don't get it.

Simple Frank was the cause of the doomsday until Casey showed the upcoming doom could be averted hence giving Frank hope about the future. 

[NoWillToResist]

The negative thoughts were supposed to inspire humanity to think about the upcoming doom and avert it. Instead the negative thoughts caused the upcoming doom to be a self fulfilling prophecy.

 

Ah, thank you. I don't understand why they didn't turn it off though, once they saw that the monitor was not accomplishing what they'd intended.

 

 

Simple Frank was the cause of the doomsday until Casey showed the upcoming doom could be averted hence giving Frank hope about the future.

 

I've got to say, the movie's way of showing Casey's idealism it pissed me off. Class after class of "we're fucked" and Casey's waving her hand around like a crazy person...she finally gets called on and asks the most are-you-fucking-kidding-me question: "can we do anything to stop it?"  Like...seriously? That's when my mind put the full brakes on and I felt that I'd made a terrible mistake in watching this. Because that is the most DUH question that could have been asked. Of course there's stuff that can be done to improve things or stop the madness and, at her age, she should already know them. That was the first sign I'd had that this movie was not remotely meant for my age group. It's a thinly veiled SAVE THE PLANET thing but then didn't actually bother to give the kids in the audience any guidance beyond "dreams" and "optimism". I guess the movie hopes to inspire kids to ask their parents and teachers what they can do to save the world?

[JessePinkman]

I've got to say, the movie's way of showing Casey's idealism it pissed me off. Class after class of "we're fucked" and Casey's waving her hand around like a crazy person...she finally gets called on and asks the most are-you-fucking-kidding-me question: "can we do anything to stop it?" Like...seriously? That's when my mind put the full brakes on and I felt that I'd made a terrible mistake in watching this. Because that is the most DUH question that could have been asked. Of course there's stuff that can be done to improve things or stop the madness and, at her age, she should already know them. That was the first sign I'd had that this movie was not remotely meant for my age group. It's a thinly veiled SAVE THE PLANET thing but then didn't actually bother to give the kids in the audience any guidance beyond "dreams" and "optimism". I guess the movie hopes to inspire kids to ask their parents and teachers what they can do to save the world?

Yeah her question was so...stupid. I mean if they're teaching these topics wouldn't they also discuss what's being done to prevent further destruction and decay? Why is she special for asking the most obvious question? Why was she special at all again?

[NoWillToResist]

Why was she special at all again?

 

Because, unless I totally misunderstood the early scenes, she managed to escape punishment/prosecution despite repeatedly sabotaging the launch of a NASA rocket? ;) I find it laughable that her dad, a mere engineer, managed to wave his hands and make that shit go away. Sure. SURE.

[nobodyyoucare]

Because, unless I totally misunderstood the early scenes, she managed to escape punishment/prosecution despite repeatedly sabotaging the launch of a NASA rocket? ;) I find it laughable that her dad, a mere engineer, managed to wave his hands and make that shit go away. Sure. SURE.

It wasn't a launch of a rocket she was preventing she would have supported that. She was sabotaging the machines dismantling the launch facility.

[NoWillToResist]

It wasn't a launch of a rocket she was preventing she would have supported that. She was sabotaging the machines dismantling the launch facility.

 

Ah. I thought it was a rocket to go and dismantle the space station or something.

Still, it's bullshit that she escaped any punishment, IMO. Wasn't she (A) trespassing and (B) sabotaging stuff on FEDERAL property?

[nobodyyoucare]

Ah. I thought it was a rocket to go and dismantle the space station or something.

Still, it's bullshit that she escaped any punishment, IMO. Wasn't she (A) trespassing and (B) sabotaging stuff on FEDERAL property?

Property no one gives a rat's butt about. 

[NoWillToResist]

Property no one gives a rat's butt about. 

 

 But if no one gives a rat's butt about it, (A) why waste time and money dismantling the launch facility (why not just let it rust?), and (B) why bother having a night guard?

 

They also cared enough to arrest her...

Edited May 27, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[nobodyyoucare]

 But if no one gives a rat's butt about it, (A) why waste time and money dismantling the launch facility (why not just let it rust?), and (B) why bother having a night guard?

 

They also cared enough to arrest her...

It happens all the time in the real world with demolitions. Things are scheduled for demolition and equipment sent but no demo for six months to a year because no one cares to do it. Try to stop the demo and trespass and get arrested even though the security doesn't care to do it.

[Samsnee]

I'm sick of this whole "the future isn't what we were promised" angle. Sure there are no flying cars but you got a computer on your phone and a black man is President. So quit your belly aching.

[galax-arena]

Why was she special at all again?

Because she's an optimist! She hasn't given up yet! She's a dreamer! 

 

In a world filled with billions and billions of people, you can't tell me that they couldn't have found an optimist/idealist/dreamer who wasn't quite as shrill or annoying. 

 

Then again, Britt Robertson - and by extension, Casey - is pretty special in how much she can irritate me for someone who's so beige and ultimately harmless, so if you look at it from that angle, I guess... 

 

Anyway, the one part about this movie that I liked was Athena, even if her role as a quasi love interest for George Clooney creeped me out. I kept thinking that I had seen the actress somewhere else, but I checked out IMDB and I haven't seen any of her other roles. Guess she just has one of those faces. 

[MartinKSmith]

I went into this film with pretty low expectations, I'd read a lot of mixed to negative comments/review headlines online beforehand. 

 

I really enjoyed it. The message was a little heavy-handed, especially toward the end, but I liked the characters (I wasn't annoyed by her special-ness/optimism). 

 

I don't know why, but watching it, I felt like I used to feel when I was a kid, watching slightly older films on TV at Christmas. During Casey's first trip to Tomorrowland (via the pin), I genuinely felt that sense of wonder that she felt... It just made me happy. 

[johntfs]

Ah, thank you. I don't understand why they didn't turn it off though, once they saw that the monitor was not accomplishing what they'd intended.

 

 

I've got to say, the movie's way of showing Casey's idealism it pissed me off. Class after class of "we're fucked" and Casey's waving her hand around like a crazy person...she finally gets called on and asks the most are-you-fucking-kidding-me question: "can we do anything to stop it?"  Like...seriously? That's when my mind put the full brakes on and I felt that I'd made a terrible mistake in watching this. Because that is the most DUH question that could have been asked. Of course there's stuff that can be done to improve things or stop the madness and, at her age, she should already know them. That was the first sign I'd had that this movie was not remotely meant for my age group. It's a thinly veiled SAVE THE PLANET thing but then didn't actually bother to give the kids in the audience any guidance beyond "dreams" and "optimism". I guess the movie hopes to inspire kids to ask their parents and teachers what they can do to save the world?

 

Nyx didn't turn the machine because by the time he realized what was happening, he was so filled with grief, and bitter disappointment that he didn't see the point.  He figured the best thing to do was to close the gates to his world, eliminate those like Athena who might reveal its existence and just let humanity slide into the extinction they seem to crave.

 

I took Casey's question as her rejection of the worldview being presented.  In her class and on the news she's hearing various versions of "Since rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it then put your head between your legs and kiss your ass good-bye, the world is DOOOOMMMED!"  That's why the teacher's response isn't "Of course there are" instead of an silent, uncomprehending "Why would we even bother to try?"  Sure the question is simplistic, but visceral reactions usually are.

 

It's interesting that some people compare this movie and Mad Max: Fury Road as though they were opposites.  Both of these movies are about people in search of a better place who come to realize that they ultimately have to build that better place where they live.

Edited June 3, 2015 by johntfs

[petersan]

It is very extremely boring movie. I saw it last night......

[truelovekiss]

I have to say, I was kind of disappointed. I want to start with saying I love Disney and will see pretty much anything Disney puts out. Also, Tomorrowland is one of my favorite parts of Disney World, along with Epcot. Tomorrowland (in Magic Kingdom) and Epcot (Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow) were full of Walt Disney's ideas about what the future would hold. Granted, they were ideas from the 60s. I was hoping that this movie would be an updated version of that. Aside from "special kids can grow into special adults and save the world by being special" message, there wasn't really much hope or optimism.

[nobodyyoucare]

That was the whole point of the movie. There isn't hope unless we make hope and work for it,