A World Beyond

Cute, a little bit stupid, non-offensive. What more can I say about Tomorrowland? I can see that the movie had great ambitions; digitally, it was amazing and George Clooney wouldn’t take just any gig, but the overall story is so strange that it’s actually a good thing that they only ended up shooting one movie. The first time, it was okay with my eyes half-closed, but if I were to watch it again, I’d have to have a blindfold on. (22.11.2016)

If I have to sit in the cinema for almost two and a quarter hours for a story with boring characters, boring twists and an ending that doesn't make much sense, it would be nice if there was at least something to watch. But there's only about fifteen minutes of Tomorrowland in total. The rest of it is mostly driving an old car around the countryside and babbling about nothing. This was probably meant to be a family film for everyone, but nobody will like it. (18.05.2015)

The promise of something gigantic, luring you to the world of the future isn’t quite fulfilled at the end. It leads more to dystopia. This is one of those old school fairytales that are fine, but I can’t shake the feeling that they could be better. Clooney wasn’t right here and the young cutie is certainly no child. Laurie dominates (although not so much at the end) and the effects are super. Don’t be put off by the criticism. Despite my reservations, I liked it a lot. P.S.: I was pleased about the band of acquaintances from Stargate and the geeky merch in the store. (16.12.2015)

Brad Bird hat bereits in Der Gigant aus dem All bewiesen, dass er ein Gespür für Retro-Kindergeschichten hat. A World Beyond ist eine Hommage an die 1960er Jahre und den futuristischen Positivismus dieser Zeit. Und ebenso wie Saving Mr. Banks ist es eine Geschichte aus der echten Disney-Geschichte. Das ist an sich schon faszinierend genug. (01.10.2019)

Brad Bird tries to be the same fanboy as Abrams, but while J.J. is a geek and also a sophisticated filmmaker, Bird lets the material slip through his fingers and and churns a 130-minute feature film upside down just to make it work. But it doesn’t quite work. Apart from breathtaking visual effects and a wannabe pseudo-mission, it has nothing to offer but a routine Hollywood standard, and that's not enough for such an ambitious and grandiose project. (07.08.2016)

Einer der fantastischsten Familienfilme der letzten Zeit. Er hat mich an klassische Disney-Spielfilme der letzten Jahrzehnte erinnert und gleichzeitig an gegenwärtige Pixar-Zeichentrickfilme (das ist ja klar, nicht war, Brad Bird). Ich weiß nicht, was die anderen erwartet haben. Ich habe aber den Eindruck, dass sie dachten, dass sie beim Kinobesuch überhaupt nicht nachdenken müssen. Dann waren sie überrascht, dass sie bei A World Beyond doch ihre kleinen grauen Zellen anstrengen müssen. Es ist ein unterhaltsames und ausgearbeitetes Werk mit ein bisschen Moral, mit ausgezeichnet besetzten Schauspielerinnen und Schauspielern, einer riesigen Ausstattung (Giacchinos donnernde Musik, die ersten Besuche von Tomorrowland und die Szene mit dem Turm sind unvergesslich) und vor allem mit einem schlauen Spiel mit dem Publikum. Dem wird sowohl vom Drehbuch als auch von den Hauptfiguren ein Ort versprochen, wo alles möglich ist. Dann werden die Zuschauer*innen aber daran erinnert, dass hauptsächlich sie selbst etwas machen müssen, um an diesen Ort zu gelangen. (21.01.2017)

Underrated, by a lot. Proper family sci-fi with an offbeat story that, given the push and pull of its child protagonists, surprises with earnestly conceived and scripted themes about the dangers posed by humans to life on our blue planet. It doesn't go very deep, and given the visually impressive concept of its world, we can talk about wasted potential at some points, especially since much of the runtime is taken up by dialogue, but the important thing is that each line moves the plot somewhere and the film as a whole feels complex, uncluttered and with a clear vision that may not appeal to everyone. But personally, I was impressed with Brad Bird and his inventive and broadly accessible narrative methods (admittedly with minor fluctuations) from start to finish. I wasn't expecting much, but I got not only a whirlwind of enjoyable performances from all sides, but above all the sheer joy of storytelling, a huge desire to convey a positive story of hope in a way that is contagious to the viewer.... And for that I’m grateful. 75% (10.10.2015)

I had quite a few laughs and a lot of fun watching this, especially thanks to the slightly pedophilic aging inventor Frank with his house full of surprises and Hugh Laurie as the villain. Britt Robertson was also great here, unlike in The Space Between Us. The story had a decent pace. It’s just that the over-the-top politically correct ending was about as enjoyable as if the filmmakers had slapped me with a dead mackerel. (23.08.2017)

Disney has shown another beautiful vision that is simply beautiful to the eye. In addition, you get a nicely family-oriented story with occasional tougher moments. However, do not expect blood. If you like Disney, you will get what you expect, maybe even something extra. I left the film with a pleasant warm feeling. For a moment, one believes that humanity has hope. (30.09.2015)