Tomorrowland Blu-Ray Review

Prior to Disney’s latest live action film, the only thing I could have told you about Tomorrowland was that it was the section in Disney World where Space Mountain was located. Still, the movie comes with the pedigree of Brad Bird in the Director’s chair and George Clooney nailing top billing, so my excitement was on par with my curiosity. As the credits rolled after my first viewing I sat there with mixed emotions.  As a total sci-fi geek, I enjoyed what I had just watched but struggled to figure out who the target audience actually was.  Clooney fans won’t find the character of Frank Walker terribly endearing, and while kids will appreciate the younger cast, they will likely have to have the story explained to them either during or after the film.

The plot is told via the classic narrative style of a video diary, started by Frank Walker then interrupted and continued by Casey Newton (Brit Robertson). Franks part of the story tells about his adventure that begins at the 1964 World’s Fair where, as a young boy he is pitching the idea of a personal jetpack.  Little does he know that the people he is pitching to are from the future on a mission to seek out creative minds to join their future utopia.  Despite looking like a 12-year-old girl, Athena (Raffey Cassidy), is another recruiter from the future who bends the rules and gets Frank to follow her into the Small World boat ride that also serves as a gateway to the future for those who know how to access it.

It’s about here that Casey picks up the story. Her father works for NASA, which has since been defunded and in the process of being shut down and dismantled. Casey does her best to delay this process by routinely vandalizing the worksite, but her exploits ultimately land her in jail.  After getting bailed out she is collecting her possession and an item has been added; a mysterious pin that when touched transports her to Tomorrowland.  But rather than actually transporting her it just changes what she is seeing, so if she tries to move around in Tomorrowland she ultimately bumps into furniture, walls, or walks into a swamp.  It’s an odd concept and one they have to repeat about three times to sell the idea to viewers.

When her pin loses power she tracks another one down on the internet and goes to get it, only to find some goons from the future there to stop her – with surprisingly deadly force for a Disney movie. Athena (who hasn’t aged a day) is there to save the day and ultimately escort her to join forces with Frank who has since returned from Tomorrowland and is hiding out in a house in the country.  Together, they must travel to tomorrow to save the present.

There is a lot of highbrow concepts and storytelling going on in this movie that will likely miss the intended mark. I felt there may have been a subliminal warning message about how we are all doomed if we don’t change are ways, but then the movie offers nothing on what we should do to change.   Apparently, the main threat to our existence is achieving the technology to predict our own extinction, yet that technology is what causes it – a paradox truly worthy of a time travel movie.

While you are coming to grips with the story you will at least be able to enjoy the immaculate 1080p transfer that offers up one of the most sizzling pictures of any disc in my library.   The colors, clarity, contrast, and overall detail is second to none.  The clever use of distinct color pallets to capture the past, present and future did not go unnoticed.   Flesh tones were flawless, and you could count the stubble on Clooney’s rugged jaw.  CG effects blended seamlessly with live action, and some of those effects were jaw-dropping.  Yes, Paris…I’m talking about you.

A DTS MA 7.1 soundtrack envelops viewers in the film with uncanny clarity thanks to generous use of the surround channels and powerful LFE for the subwoofer when appropriate. The mix levels are perfect with a great balance for effects, score, and dialogue, which is always front and center, as it should be for a film that relies heavily on storytelling.

There is a smattering of extras that only leave you wanting more; especially a commentary from Brad Bird that is sorely missing. Instead, you get, Remembering the Future: A Personal Journey Through Tomorrowland with Brad Bird a 7-minute introspective that compares the film with reality. Casting Tomorrowland talks about casting the film, both the adults and the kids who steal the show. A Great Big Beautiful Scoring Session is a great feature on how Michael Giacchino scored the film and also got to work with his idol, Richard Sherman. Next up is The World of Tomorrow Science Hour – Hosted by Futurologist David Nix, which is a collection of outtakes from a 1965 educational series which are hilarious and a bit uncomfortable to watch. Animated Short: The Origins of Plus Ultra is a 3-minute short that you can optionally watch before the film that sets up the theory that some of the best minds in history were visitors to Tomorrowland.

The two-part Brad Bird Production Diaries covers the first day of shooting and an actual NASA launch the cast and crew were invited to attend. The Blast From the Past Commercial is a fake ad for the awesome hobby/toy store featured in the film and things wrap up with a half-dozen Deleted Scenes with Filmmaker Introductions. This particular package also offers the standard DVD and various digital copy options including iTunes.

What Tomorrowland lacks in cohesive storytelling it more than makes up for in sheer spectacle. I can tell you that the movie only gets better with each additional viewing, as you will undoubtedly start seeing all sorts of cool things you missed previously, and the story slowly starts to sink in. The superior presentation on this Blu-ray release certainly puts the disc version ahead of a digital streaming option, but unless you plan to watch this multiple times, the minimal offering of supplemental material makes this more of a rental than a must-have purchase unless you can find it on a good sale.

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Author: Mark Smith
I've been an avid gamer since I stumbled upon ZORK running in my local Radio Shack in 1980. Ten years later I was working for Sierra Online. Since then I've owned nearly every game system and most of the games to go with them. Not sure if 40+ years of gaming qualifies me to write reviews, but I do it anyway.

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