Three stars. Rated PG, and a bit generously, for violence, dramatic intensity and sci-fi action
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.22.15
Nobody likes a lecture.
Disney’s Tomorrowland displays
enough gee-whiz creativity and high-tech gloss for the next half-dozen films —
and that’s a problem all by itself — but all the razzle-dazzle eventually boils
down to A Message. A heartfelt and deeply necessary message, to be sure, but a
disappointing anticlimax nonetheless.
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| Having penetrated the inner sanctum carefully guarded by the reclusive Frank Walker (George Clooney), Casey (Britt Robertson) can't help wondering why he spends so much time watching so many monitors. |
I was reminded of Christopher
Nolan’s Inception, with its mind-blowing dreams within dreams, all eventually
leading to the inconsequential equivalent of Orson Welles’ Rosebud.
But whereas Citizen Kane built
to that moment with well-established irony, Inception and Tomorrowland merely leave us with a vague sense of having been cheated. As in, Seriously? That’s what we’ve been building to?
With respect to the environmental
undercurrent running throughout this new Disney release, 1971’s Silent
Running made the same point far more profoundly — and effectively — without
being so insufferably didactic.
But while the concluding let-down
is indeed unsatisfying, Tomorrowland has a more glaring problem: a
ludicrously overcooked script by too many chefs. Scripters Damon Lindelof, Jeff
Jensen and Brad Bird (the latter also directing) can’t decide what type of
movie they’re making — action epic, sci-fi comedy or cautionary tale — and
subsequently fail at all three.
To be sure, the result is awesome
to look at, with marvels a-plenty on the screen. But it’s almost as if Bird
hopes to overwhelm us with the eye-popping imagery, as a means of concealing
the story’s deficiencies and glaring plot holes. This is one of those scripts
that doesn’t hold together during post-mortem scrutiny; you’ll exit the theater
exchanging comments that begin with “Wait a minute...” and “But what about...”
and, mostly, “Why did that happen?”
Why, indeed. Rarely has a
surprise villain’s motive seemed so impenetrable, muddled and pointless.
All of which represents a
heartbreaking result from the talented Bird, who until now could do no wrong.
Few directors could boast of a consecutive record as strong as The Iron
Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. But not even he could stitch all these disparate fabric squares into
a pleasing quilt.
Such a shame.
