To The Dreamers

Finally kicked off the summer movie season! My first movie for the summer is Tomorrowland, which stars George Clooney and Britt Robertson, directed by Brad Bird of The Incredibles fame. This film is a rare bird since it is technically an original film, although roughly based on Walt Disney World's Tomorrowland section. I am championing originality as always--and any major promising sci-fi film, Imma gobble it up and add it to my religion. It is scripted by Bird and Damon Lindelof a.k.a. the guy behind Lost and Prometheus that you bullied into exiting Twitter. Don't be confused because this is not about the origins of that EDM festival.

The story is about Casey who found this mysterious pin which can transport her to a world beyond ours (wink-wink at that European alternate title). She then teams up with previous residents of that futuristic utopia Frank Walker and Athena (played by the talented and screen-stealing Raffey Cassidy) to go back to that place. They began on this quest to save the world and Tomorrowland altogether.

Movie-wise, the film is ably directed by Brad Bird whose first foray to live-action is so good that this film is like a walk in the park. That house invasion scene plays out like an action scene from an animated film complete with reaction shots mostly by Ms. Robertson. However, with such message and story the film kinda falls short in telling the story itself. Some of the supporting story are cut short which is sad. I want more of that little Frank Walker and also that history with Tesla, Edison, Verne and Eiffel and all the built-in mythologies. Not to mention the story is that same old 'chosen one' type. But the jokes are spot-on and the movie is funny and also touching especially in the end. The cast is great. George Clooney could use some more jokes though. Love Britt Robertson and especially Raffey Cassidy who plays Athena. It's such a great marketing tactic not to focus on Athena because she is such a pleasant surprise in the film. Some nice surprises are also in the form of the humanbots Keegan Michael Key and Kathryn Hahn in a short but hyper memorable scene in that geek store. Effects are so fine and it's jaw-dropping that some of the Tomorrowland scenes are filmed in an actual location in Valencia, Spain.

Nevertheless, I'm quite bummed when we didn't get to see more of Tomorrowland itself. Even after the third act we didn't get to see it. However, what I really love about the film is its optimism. Embodied in Britt Robertson's Casey Newton who is actually a doer in our times. This film is actually more than the promised futuristic spectacle but it also carries the message of hope. The problem presented in the movie is actually real and happening right now. We know the world is headed in the wrong direction but we sometimes just talk about it or making it worse without taking steps to actually prevent it. On an unrelated yet related note, I went to Toyota's plant and saw their mission to create AI, which as various bleak dystopian movies and scientists predicted will enslave humans and stuff. Then why are we still creating it? It's a lot of nonsense right? While Tomorrowland might not be a perfect film, or even the breakout film of the summer, the message carried in it is important and I hope more people see it in the future.

Here's to the dreamers. Here's to the people who are taking action. Here's to you making that difference. Tomorrowland: rated 3/4

Next up: your world on fire