Tomorrowland – Why it’s a Drastically Underrated Film

There was as much confusion as hype over the recent George Clooney movie, Tomorrowland.

We saw the previews and asked: “What on Earth do we expect for this film?” It appeared to reek of Disney and read like a kids’ film – the very name seemed to be designed to appeal to small children with no sense of subtlety. Yet the trailers also promised violence, suspense, and an apocalyptic dystopia scenario.

So what on Earth were we to make of this?

This same marketing problem has plagued several of my favorite films – unfortunately it is a malady that often strikes truly original pieces, those that dare to portray radically new concepts or use unique combinations of styles. Audiences don’t know what to expect it to be, so they simply don’t go see it.

Well, let me tell you what to expect. It’s definitely worth seeing this movie.

It’s difficult to say what precisely is Tomorrowland’s strongest virtue. Is it the invocation of past visionary optimists like Tesla and Edison to remind us just what amazing feats are possible? Was it the harkening back to the 1964 World’s Fair to remind us how recently we believed that the future was bright, and that anything was possible? Was it the clever (and bitingly accurate) parody of today’s collectively depressed culture through in-movie ads for upcoming films like “ToxiCosmos 3: No escape!”?

Or was it, perhaps, the addressing of some very important real-world questions?

In an effort to avoid spoilers, I’ll refrain from saying exactly what questions are posed, and how they are answered by this film. But suffice to say that it is an extremely timely, and in my opinion, extremely important film for our current era. It addresses much of what has changed between our present and our recent past; and how we can change our future.

It’s also, of course, great fun. It’s full of things you’d never realized that you’d always wanted to see: grunge, retrofuture, and steampunk aesthetics all blended into something entirely new in this movie that sprawls across three settings; a teenage girl single-handedly foiling government plans through clever use technology; an adorable 10-year-old girl terminator robot; George Clooney simultaneously managing to be a bitter, jaded old man and the ghost of an adorably sweet and awkward little boy.

George Clooney and Britt Robertson’s dynamic is a joy to behold, full of snort-inducing snarkiness, adorably realistic awkwardness, and poignant moments where you least expect them. Hugh Laurie seems to be enjoying the hell out of his return to playing a British aristocrat, and Raffey Cassidy is simultaneously so endearing and yet so unsettlingly convincing in her unique role that I’d be a little bit afraid to meet her in person.

In the end, there may be a few reasons other than simply “not knowing what to expect” why modern audiences may not have jumped on Tomorrowland and gobbled it up. It has its plot holes (with good reason – no spoilers!), and its moments of outright preachiness.

And yet, could a little bit of that preachiness be exactly what we need? Tomorrowland makes a good case for knowing what we need to motivate us – and, no spoilers, but this movie does a wonderful job of offering us both a carrot and a stick.

I hope that movies like Tomorrowland stick around. It was refreshing to see filmmakers who were not afraid to mix aesthetics that aren’t typically paired; to put comedy in the oddest places; and to set up some character dynamics that somehow seemed bold in their very optimism.

The soundtrack is also a joy to listen to, and, like everything else in this film, is not afraid to be uniquely itself. Modeled after the bombastic orchestral scores of mid-20th century science fiction hero stories, it is alternately scary and inspiring. And it says something about this movie’s fearlessness that half of the track titles are snort-inducing bad puns.

I definitely bought a Tomorrowland pin after watching this movie. Will you?