'Tomorrowland': A movie I support despite its myriad of flaws

Tomorrowland is a particularly frustrating kind of movie to review.

It's far from terrible, in fact, it's nearly great -- but its imperfections are glaring and will probably taint public perception of its success.

I might enjoy the movie more on a second viewing -- its bursting with ideas (some albeit heavy-handed) and vitality that's sorely missing from most summer movies.

Unfortunately because it's such an expensive venture with an A-list star and pedigree, it's lack of mind-blowing box office will probably leave it labeled a flop.

And I think this is unfair. Although Tomorrowland is far from a perfect movie, I absolutely love its message and I want it to do well because Hollywood shouldn't shy away from trying to make earnestly inspirational movies.

I was drawn to the movie for two reasons: Brad Bird and George Clooney. And after the movie was over my faith in both men hasn't been shaken in the slightest.

After The Incredibles and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Bird has become a favorite of film geeks because he brings both a clarity and ingenuity to his action set pieces. That aspect of Tomorrowland works quite well, it's when the script (which he co-wrote) tries to underline its themes and overcomplicates itself that the movie really falters.

Clooney is simply my favorite movie star working today, and while his role here doesn't rank among his greatest work, he invests his role with great charm and gravitas. Even when the movie eventually went off the rails, he kept me invested and he lends this whole project substance that it might not have had with a lesser actor.

George Clooney, Brit Robertson and Raffey Cassidy in Tomorrowland

The problem is, his character and the whole story itself are all over the map. The plot whips back and forth in time and dimensions, leading to a muddled last act which left the audience I saw the film with (largely kids) baffled. I still don't quite understand the motivations of the film's villain, played by Hugh Laurie, and a particularly long winded speech he delivers towards the film's end didn't help matters either.

To sum up the plot is virtually impossible -- what I will say is that it is vaguely about our best and brightest being recruited to venture to an alternative world (a.k.a. Tomorrowland) where they will invent things to make the world a better place. For reasons that I don't full understand, that world and our own are in dire trouble, and it's up to a plucky heroine -- played decently but with sadly not enough quirk by Britt Robertson -- to "fix" everything.

Now, I love the conceit of inspiring young people to dedicate their energies to solving the world's problems, instead of just trying to make a quick buck (although the irony is not lost on me that the vessel for this message is a theme park tie-in for the Disney conglomerate).

Clooney being such an unabashed liberal icon probably will turn off some people. But I myself was very moved by the film's final moments, which serve as something of a call to arms. If only the rest of the film had that kind of clarity.

It kicks off on an odd note and zigzags from 1964 to 2009 to present day and back with abandon. On the one hand I admired Bird's experimentation and on the other I thought, what a wacky, weirdly-paced movie for Disney to finance and then drop in the middle of a competitive summer season.

The film also has the misfortune to debut in the aftermath of a game changer like Mad Max: Fury Road, which audiences are still just catching on to. Tomorrowland is a noble, nice effort, that deserves to be something of a hit. It'll maybe get rediscovered someday and be re-evaluated. In the meantime I will be curious to see what Bird does next. He is, if nothing else, a distinct directorial voice.