Tomorrowland Review

Tomorrowland is a new science fiction Disney film directed by Brad Bird. It stars George Clooney, and Britt Robertson. The plot of the film is basically a secret, since the trailers only show you that a girl finds a pin and whenever she touches said pin she sees this place called Tomorrowland. So she decided that she is going to find a way to get to this place.

I was incredibly excited for this movie. It is an original movie with a pretty interesting premise, plus it was being directed by Brad Bird. Brad Bird is the same guy that directed The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. I love all those films, and I think he is an extremely talented guy. Once the movie ended I only felt one thing: Disappointment. I'll start by saying that this isn't a bad movie, so don't get me wrong. I was loving the first two acts of this movie. George Clooney and Britt Robertson were freaking awesome in this movie. I also have to say that Raffey Cassidy, who is a little girl that plays a character called Athena in this movie, was very very good too, and kids in movies sometimes can get annoying. The whole story was really cool, and there was this sense of mystery as to what was Tomorrowland, and what was going on there over there that was so urgent. The action sequences were awesome and very well directed, and there was also some really good character development going on for everyone. The visual effects are very well done, and there is also a sense of awe and wonder when you see some of the scenes that take place in Tomorrowland. It looks really really good.

This is a movie that really is about the journey and not the destination, cause as soon as they get to Tomorrowland I felt as if the writers (Damon Lindelof and Brad Bird) just didn't know what to do next. Once in Tomorrowland they basically reveal the villain and the event that has to be stopped. In all honesty the villain was really lame. and the event that has to be stopped was kind of worse. This last 30 minutes all revolve around the message the film is trying to tell us. I won't say what that message is, but it is something we have all heard countless times before. It's good message for sure, but I was expecting something a lot more imaginative. Here the film decides to just bash your head with this message. Everything that happens in the final act is revolving around that message, so all the build up before getting to Tomorrowland doesn't pay off. Yes there is a cool looking action sequence in the end, but it doesn't feel as exciting or as interesting as the other action sequences since the whole point of it was pretty bad.

Tomorrowland is a really amazing movie right until that final act. It is very well acted, and very well written. It is funny, exciting, interesting, and original. The big payoff which was supposed to be getting to Tomorrowland was very dissapointing, and I wish Bird would have come up with something a lot better to have the characters do there. I do recommend watching it though, because I believe original films like this should be supported so we get more of them. It is very weird to have big films like this be original, and not based on any comic, or be a sequel or reboot of anything. 3/5

Mad Max: Fury Road Review

Over the years action movies have been running out of steam. Each year there's really only a couple of action movies that are really well made. Just to be clear I'm not including super hero movies in the action movie category, since I think super hero movies are a completely different category. Action movies are trying to replicate super hero movies now. Having almost invincible characters, big CGI sequences, etc. Thank God Mad Max came out and basically just showed everyone how it is done.

For those of you that don't know, Mad Max: Fury Road is the fourth installment in the Mad Max series. The first three films starred Mel Gibson in the title role and basically revolved around a post-apocalyptic world where gasoline is the most precious thing. The Mad Max films have had a big impact on film, and I really recommend watching them. This time Mad Max is played by Tom Hardy. The story basically goes like this: A guy called Immortan Joe is viewed as a God since he has a big supply of water, which is basically gone from the world. He also keeps various wives so that he can have multiple kids. A woman that works for him, called Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron), smuggles his wives and tries to get them to a safe place. Max is unfortunately tangled in this whole scheme, and has to help Furiosa along the way.

The movie is basically a 2 hour chase scene. The action is (almost) all done with practical effects, which means that CGI was almost never used. Director George Miller basically schooled every action director there is, since the stunts in the movie are so unbelievably amazing. You have guys swinging around in large poles grabbing people from other cars and taking them away. You have characters strapped to cars. You even have a guy playing electric guitar and firing off flames while he does so. This movie really is the definition of insane, and I loved every minute of it. The hand to hand combat scenes are also done perfectly. No shaky cam bullshit is ever found in this film. This is an action movie that is done absolutely perfectly.

When the film does decide to stop for a moment to catch it's breath, you get some really interesting character backgrounds, specially from Furiosa, who just owns this movie. This is a movie that really shows that women can kick serious ass. Seriously, every  single woman who is in this film gets to kick ass, and that is very weird for an action movie. Tom Hardy fits very well into the role of Mad Max, and doesn't feel like a big departure from Gibson's take, but Charlize Theron is the best part of the movie. She really feels almost like the main character from the movie. The movie could have been called Furiosa: Fury Road and it would have made complete sense.

Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the best action films I've seen period. No doubt about it. If you have watched other Mad Max films and haven't enjoyed them then you won't enjoy this one since it's basically a Mad Max film on steroids. For those that have never seen one you can actually watch this without having seen the others. The story doesn't try to connect with the others at all, although it does have some references that fans will enjoy. I do recommend watching Mad Max, and Mad Max 2 just to get a feel of how this series works, but it's not really necessary. Mad Max: Fury Road was pretty much perfect. What a lovely day indeed.
 5/5