Tomorrowland: A World Beyond – Review by Frances Winston

Directed by: Brad Bird

Starring: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim

McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key

In cinemas May 22nd

Based on the Disney adventure featured in all their theme parks this sees George Clooney step out of the handsome leading man role and instead he plays Frank Walker, a grizzled inventor with a chip on his shoulder. As a young boy he found himself transported to a magical land known as Tomorrowland when he encounters a strange girl called Athena at the World’s Fair. Years later a young girl called Casey (Robertson) is transported to the same world and after meeting Athena she heads to meet Frank to get some answers. However, Frank has no interest in going back having been exiled. Unfortunately others have discovered that Athena (Cassidy) has been sending people to their world and they are not happy and Frank is forced to bring Casey and Athena back to the futuristic land in order to save themselves and the planet.

This is as sumptuous as you would expect. I was surprised that it was’t made in 3D as it really lends itself to the medium. The cinematography is wonderful and it looks truly enchanting. This is merely a distraction though to cover for the fact that the story is really rather weak and full of holes. Clooney and Robertson do their best with the material and indeed Clooney lends it a gravitas that elevates it above what it is.

However, this is essentially two hour commercial for the theme parks. It borrows heavily from films such as Men In Black and even Terminator and it never really feels original. Rather it is as if you are watching an entertaining rehash. Pirates of the Carribean had a similar genesis but it felt original and fresh at the time. This is more like an infomercial.

In terms of escapism this is a pleasant enough couple of hours but it is all style and no substance. It is a shameless marketing push for the theme parks! I think even children will recognise that this is designed to sell the real Tomorrowland rather than to purely entertain them. It’s plot is complex and scattered but if you can keep up you should enjoy this visually if nothing else.