We now have their latest live-action spectacle Tomorrowland (based on the theme park within Disneyland), and it is directed by Brad Bird.
He is many peoples favorite director for doing family adventure stories. His filmography includes The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.
Most of his work seems to have been set around the 1950's-60's and have a space exploration related story to it. During a time when the imagination and wonder of space was a huge discussion topic, Bird grasps that era with both hands with a handful of instant classics. Tomorrowland is no different.
One thing I liked about the build-up to this was the general secrecy of the plot, which you don't often see with summer blockbuster trailers these days.
I admired that hugely as every other blockbuster seems to give way too much in trailers to reel in the audiences. Therefore, it leaves us very little surprise moments when actually seeing the film on the big screen.
From the start, you can see Bird's hand-prints all over it. It involves a family with each member having an interesting story. The film is going at a romping pace, and there is a great sense of wonder. Everything I like with his films is in this, especially in the first two-thirds. There is a lot of great action set-pieces including one that has so many references to not only Bird's other films, but a lot of classic sci-fi's that we all know. The gadgets used in this were quite impressive and they almost rivaled the one's used in Niel Blomkamp's sci-fi films.
However, the final third is where it starts to lose it. It starts to lose track of its execution and idea, and we start to come out of the escapism. But thankfully, I still think it just about held it together in the end, and I think it is another success for Bird and his team.
The big problem with the final part was probably the script, which lead by Damon Lindelof, who also did the screenplay for Prometheus. That is a film where I think the writing let itself done despite the amazing potential of it.
The performances as a whole were very good. George Clooney play the male lead and was as good as you know Clooney can be. You feel safe when he is on screen and his character is always confident, self-assured and has great chemistry with his much younger co-stars.
Britt Robertson was a solid female lead. Apparently I've seen her in minor roles in some films, but for me this was my introduction to Robertson. She played her character really well, I cared for her and her transformation throughout for film was an entertaining one.
Hugh Laurie contributed well in his minor role. His voice always sucks you in, so props to the casting team for this choice.
But for me, the star of the show is 12-year old Raffey Cassidy. It may be a minor role, but her charm and sassiness was a huge surprise and I can see her being the biggest positive in everyone else's reviews.
It was also nice seeing Pierce Gagnon play a role after his terrific performance in Looper.
Overall, I enjoyed it. It may not be as much of an instant classic as most of Bird's previous films, but it is a welcomed addition.
The majority of the film is brilliantly made old-fashioned family entertainment. Sadly, the final part of the film is a let-down, was not executed and felt anti-climatic. That will stop me from giving a very good grade. But despite that, this is a great story with a real sense of adventure that we know Bird excels in.
Lindelof was definitely the weak link as his track-record with scripts definitely affected the final set-piece. Like in Prometheus, his script seemed to throw up more questions and not be able to answer them.
However, this film felt really inspiring and was a great throwback to those great sci-fi/adventure classics like E.T., Flight Of The Navigator and many others. I'm glad that something new has been made and done well. I remember hearing Brad Bird declining the role as director for the new Star Wars film as he really wanted to do Tomorrowland. I can see why, as his love and determination is poured all over this enjoyable feature. I hope this gets a lot of love and that my review does not see me as a Brad Bird fan-boy trying to defend it.
Rating: 7/10
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