Directed by:
Chris McKayScreenplay:
Zach DeanCinematography:
Larry FongComposer:
Lorne BalfeCast:
Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, Jasmine Mathews, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Keith Powers (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Time travelers arrive from 2051 to deliver an urgent message: 30 years in the future mankind is losing a war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians to be transported to the future and join the fight. Determined to save the world for his daughter, Dan Forester teams up with a brilliant scientist and his estranged father to rewrite the planet’s fate. (Prime Video)
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Reviews (11)
The Tomorrow War is pure guyish pleasure, an enthusiastic B-movie packed with everything that we love about the action sci-fi genre. Human characters with sincere, emotionally charged relationships, unpredictable and richly escalating plot development, set in an attractive fantasy world, with delicately brisk action and well-made repulsive aliens. Cleverly written and directed with heart, cunningly hiding its art behind a false mask of cheap trashiness, this is the best Emmerich movie without Emmerich.
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The Tomorrow War tries to bring a flashy science fiction story with gritty action scenes, strong family drama and a heavy dose of explanatory scenes to the television screen, however, it does none of it consistently, originally or memorably. The next day, after watching it, the only thing that sticks in your mind is that it was fairly paced and sort of OK, if you can get past the rushedness and the many really stupid tropes. All in all, it is just a rehash of many things you have already seen in other movies where they were much more skillfully executed, (especially the recent Edge of Tomorrow, whose finale is blatantly copied in this movie), and is unfortunately just a superficial, big-budget TV movie.
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In 2021, these alien derivatives may only entertain bacteria and other single-celled organisms. If it wasn’t for the bombastic CGI here and there, it would have nothing. And Chris Pratt's dumb attempts at expressing deeper emotions are quite comical. As Star-Lord he's fine, his awkwardness doesn't matter there, but otherwise he’s very far from a character actor.
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In the first minutes, it looks like an original hybrid of Edge of Tomorrow, Independence Day and some post-apocalypse flick, but in the final reckoning, it's at most an upgraded Battle Los Angeles, and even that I'd rank higher due to the important factor of "great value for money", which definitely doesn't apply to Amazon's creation. That said, the visual effects sequences are fantastic, likewise with the design of the aliens. This being the main reason to watch Tomorrow War, because the script is a patchwork full of illogical moments and clichés, and the casting is also not good. Star Lord shouldn't get too involved in serious roles, because he’s fine when he’s wisecracking, but when the tone gets more serious, he is not so good.
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(Possible spoilers!) Chris McKay's film certainly doesn't escape comparison to the (for me) famed sci-fi film Edge of Tomorrow, with the makers of The Tomorrow War also taking a slight nod in the direction of The Thing and Prometheus. The film's biggest negatives are its overblown running time and the sometimes reprehensibly deadpan build-up of the plot, which goes hand-in-hand with a number of typically American scenes (kids and the next generation being the top, the heroism of ordinary people, the blatant political correctness within the cast, etc.). Yet, I'm willing to rise above these aspects to enjoy the decent load of action and a sci-fi level that definitely had potential, albeit slightly buried by the family-themed dialogue. I liked the look of the aliens, the locations, and one almost comic book-like shot that made me think of 300. If the editing had omitted the unnecessary "weeping scenes", which would have shortened the running time, I would have been comfortable with a higher rating.
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