Written by Bill Bodkin & Justin Matchick
Release Date: May 22
Starring: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Judy Greer, Hugh Laurie, Keegan Michael-Key, Kathryn Hahn, Tim McGraw.
Director: Brad Bird (Toy Story)
Pre-Trailer Thought: Outside seeing of the first teaser for the film, showing star Britt Roberston (The Longest Ride) being transported to a sci-fi universe after touching a mysterious pin, I have barely paid attention to any buzz surrounding Tomorrowland. I’m aware that its the next big live action project from former Pixar director Brad Bird (his previous film was Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and that it also stars George Clooney, but I have no clue as to what Tomorrowland is actually about, aside from just a generic idea that it’s a science fiction tale. I’m a fan of both Bird and Clooney so I’m going into this trailer with some high hopes. – JTM
Pre-Trailer Thought: It’s definitely weird that Britt Robertson is playing, what seems to be to me at least,a plucky young teenager, when she just sexed it up with Clint Eastwood’s son in The Longest Ride. However, the thought of George Clooney returning to the popcorn movie and Brad Bird, who directed the second best M:I flick teaming is pretty exciting. –BB
Rate the Trailer: 4 out of 5. Even after that trailer I’m still unsure as to what *exactly* the film will be about, but I can definitely say I’m liking what I’ve seen so far. Android mercenaries, bathtub spaceships, glowing portals, and more all contribute to what is shaping up to be a unique vision of the future from director Bird. I’m actually glad that the trailer and other marketing is keeping a good chunk of the film a mystery. So far what we’ve seen seems to be from early parts of the film and still leaves a lot of questions unanswered, which definitely helps in driving me to want to watch this soon. – JTM
Rate the Trailer: 4 out of 5. I enjoyed the initial teasers which were these magical, Disney-esque glimpses into what Tomorrowland was all about. Now, I’m excited. I could actually feel the salt of my popcorn on my lips as excitement tingled up my spine. This looks fun. On paper it didn’t seem like Clooney, who is one of my all-time favorite actors, would fit in a big budget sci-fic pic anymore. He’s done so many Oscar-contenders and smaller, indie films that it seems almost unnatural at this point. However, he looked right at home here. The sequence in his home was glee-inducing, and the action (which admittedly can be muted or flat-out dumb in many PG/PG-13 rated summer blockbusters) looks crisp and on-point. -BB
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks: Theater. Bird’s background in animation has given him an energetic style that translates very well to live action, as evidenced in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Seeing this in a theater or even in IMAX will be a visual experience that will be up there with the likes of Christopher Nolan’s or James Cameron’s films. The inclusion of some of my favorite actors in George Clooney and Hugh Laurie is only icing on the cake. It’s refreshing to see an original movie idea (Ok, I am ignoring the fact it’s very loosely based off of the Disney park area of the same name) as a big summer tentpole film in a sea of remakes and sequels, so I’m 100% on board for this. – JTM
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks: Rent. I’m excited, yes. I’m totally going to see this. However, I need one more trailer, one more dazzling trailer like this to really convince me to see this in the theater. I want a little bit more of Clooney, I want to get a glimpse of the villain’s motivations…or who the villain even is. I want a little bit more concrete, ‘here’s what’s happening’ to drive me to the movies to see this. However, I’m still very much onboard about seeing this movie…eventually. -BB
Tomorrowland hits theaters on May 22.
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