Movie Review – The Tomorrow War – 2021 – A rather Ordinary Movie
Table of Contents
My Rating – 3 out of 5
Plot Summary – The Tomorrow War
This is the end. Within the next few weeks, the human species will disappear from the face of the earth. We are literally living on borrowed time.
Colonel Muri Forester from The Tomorrow War
Star Lord from the Guardians of the Galaxy and then the Avengers’ universe – Chris Pratt stars in this alien SciFi adventure of sorts. And let me get this statutory warning out of the way, right at the beginning – there is absolutely nothing unique about this story or how this unfolds, so leave your practical rational mind behind and watch for mindless fun and non-stop action of the heavy artillery kinds. This takes place partly 30 years into the future – 2051 so the staple of so many SciFi movies – Time Travel is conspicuously present throughout.
Soldiers from 2051 appear in 2021 with a dire warning for humanity. Thirty years from now, alien creatures called WhiteSpikes attack the Earth and all of humanity is almost wiped out. Barring about 500000 who are fighting the last battle of their lives to save this Earth. So they need fighters from NOW to go and fight the battle then. The casualties are heavy and the results are not encouraging. Dan Forester (Chris Pratt), an ex-Marine, now Science Teacher is also drafted to go fight this battle in the future, leaving his family of wife and daughter behind.
If there’s one thing that the world needs right now, it’s scientists. We cannot stop innovating. That’s how you solve a problem.
Dan Forester
I guess the monsters/aliens, in terms of looks, cannot get anymore imaginative as all types of drooling, million teethed and weird shaped creatures have been done to death. The WhiteSpikes here are in the same mould – you may have seen something similar in another movie. They move with surprising agility, except when the hero/s are concerned, then they inevitably miss with their beaks, talons or any other weapon they may been decorated with. Here, they feast on humans like we do at picnic tables or wedding buffets, with the satisfying crunch and thud!
Dan, in the future year of 2051, teams up with a Colonel to prepare a toxin to kill/neutralize the Spikes, accompanied by a rag-tag bunch of people with diverse backgrounds with no Military training (well, mostly). As expected, it devolves into a free-for-all shootout, with predictable outcomes. The director (Chris McKay) tries to give some emotional nuance to Chris Pratt’s character and he looks terribly uncomfortable at it. He gets to do what he’s more comfortable with (eye-watering action scenes with continuous shooting) for most parts of the movie and he seems to relish those opportunities.
I’m not a hero. I was trying to save my daughter. If I got to save the world to save her, then I’m damn sure gonna do it.
Dan Forester
Conclusion – Movie Review of The Tomorrow War
As is expected from this genre of movies there are no surprises or twists at the end (or in any part of the movie, for that matter). Performances are ordinary, though Colonel Muri (Yvonne Strahovski) does the best of them all and that’s not saying really much about the others. Some characters provide comic relief, though why that is necessitated, is beyond me!
Overall, take leave of your rational self and watch this non-stop action film for exactly that, action. Expect good CGI, sweeping vistas created in the lab and some ordinary acting. Aimed at the long Independence Day Weekend in the US, I suspect it would have gathered some eyeballs and made up for muted celebrations and reduced fireworks!
You know what it takes to be the best. You got to say to yourself, “I will do what nobody else is willing to do”.
Dan Forester
* I hope you have liked reading this movie review, as much as I have enjoyed writing this! Do watch this space for more such reviews and navigate through the links below for more… Thank you!! *