The Day After Tomorrow

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Directed and Written by Roland Emmerich. Starring Dennis Quaid, Emmy Rossum, Ian Holm.

     Summary: If the worst nightmare of Global Warming happened in the space of a week - what a disaster movie THAT would make! A new Ice Age hits the Northern hemisphere in a sudden massive storm. For more go to www.imdb.com

Impressions of the Movie

     A grossly, grossly, under-rated movie. This one hits ALL the right buttons. A fast moving & exciting action-movie-thriller with a massive message for the audience. This movie has it all. Yes, it is science-fiction but it is largely based in fact. Much like the movie 'Deep Impact' this is a sci-fi disaster movie about a global disaster that we do know one day WILL happen. It won't happen quite the way it does in the movie but the reality is just as deadly if somewhat unwatchable.

     The special effects are CGI-dominated, of course, but it is all good. The storm front on New York is extremely well executed. The hail stones fail to convince but that is the only distraction. It has all the trappings of a blockbuster. The original cut did have some overtly nasty political plotlines involving a threat to invade Mexico by force unless it let in US citizens. This would have been a quite an honest portrayal of the real-politick but deemed unacceptable to sensitive US audiences. It was cut and fantasy restored. Americans are good guys! They wouldn't really use force in World affairs surely? Blah.

     So, why should anyone watch this movie? You will be entertained and scared. It works as a movie. You couldn't ask for more. The movie opens in beautiful and visually stunning fashion with the camera sweeping low over a CGI Antarctic landscape. A fantastic original score swells and the effect is stunning. The DVD is worth it just for the opening sequence.

     Then there is all the delicious irony of the mass destruction of North American landmarks (including the Hollywood sign) by tornadoes, floods, storms, etc. For those of use who feel that the USA will get its comeuppance at the hand of mother-nature this is the movie for you. You feel like cheering on the twisters as they wreck Los Angeles.

     The central character of the movie (the hero - Dennis Quaid) is a climatologist who is researching extreme climate change in prehistory. Considering the universal consensus about the likely effects of climate change then the scenes where he appears to be the only guy who knows what is going on are a bit grating. One other central character is a fellow climatologist (Ian Holm) based in Scotland. As soon as the story passes beyond the borders of the USA then reality goes down the drain. This movie presents the most un-enlightened and ignorant view of the British you will ever likely to see. No cliché or stereotype is left un-resurrected. It just goes to show how far apart we are. Global Climate change will effect everyone so it is ironic when this movie unintentionally shows the enormous gap of understanding between the Americans (largely the cause of the problem) and everyone else.

     Putting these criticisms to one side there is no doubting that this is a top notch disaster movie. Absolutely best-of-breed. It has action, adventure, heroism, romance and occasional humour. Don't listen to the rubbish you might have heard about this film. Get it out on DVD and watch it through a few times. You won't regret it. If you ever get complacent about choosing your next 4x4 Chelsea Tractor SUV waste-of-space gas-guzzler then slip this in the DVD player as a reminder of what is at stake. In reality, Global Warming will slowly kill us all through starvation and economic collapse.