Time travel, machine guns and a whole lot of monsters. THE TOMORROW WAR arrived on Amazon Prime last week, and it had everything it needed to be a great summer blockbuster. However, it lacks originality and is one of the weakest entries for the apocalyptic genre over the past couple of years.
Chris Pratt, Edwin Hodge and Sam Richardson star in THE TOMORROW WAR. (Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video)
Set in 2022, THE TOMORROW WAR shows what happened when Dan Forrester (Chris Pratt), a high school biology teacher and former Green Beret, is drafted by the government to be sent 28 years into the future to fight aliens and help prevent humans from going extinct. Once Forrester arrives in a completely devasted Chicago, he realizes that things are worse than he could ever imagine.
Throughout its 138 minutes, Pratt does a solid work portraying a male action lead who doesn’t shy away from showing emotions and who genuinely cares about his family. The cast also includes Academy Award winner J. K. Simmons, Yvonne Strahovski and Betty Gilpin.
Weak But Not Bad
Although THE TOMORROW WAR is one of the weakest additions to the apocalyptic genre we have seen recently, it isn’t a bad one. A strong watchability factor compensates for an outstanding absence of originality and overused trust on coincidences to move the plot forward, instead of fresh ideas or simply natural character development.
In all honesty, THE TOMORROW WAR feels a lot like a mindless 90’s blockbuster but with a heart. Directed by Chris McKay (The Batman Lego Movie) and penned by Zach Dean, the movie does a good job mixing up action and emotion, even though the story seems unnecessarily long, confusing at times and with enough Hail Mary to raise a church. Pratt and his team always seem to have that last minute save ready whenever the moment needs one.
Keith Powers and Yvonne Strahovski stars in THE TOMORROW WAR. (Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video)
The movie also brings some very beautiful shots, courtesy of Larry Fong, best known for his work on Kong: Skull Island, Super 8 and 300, while Lorne Balfe – who most recently worked on Marvel Studios’ Black Widow – composed the score.
The Verdict
With similar and better options out there, like A Quiet Place 2 or even Netflix’s animated movie The Mitchel Vs. the Machines, THE TOMORROW WAR can be an okay watch for anyone who enjoys some uncommitted screen time.
Available on Amazon Prime at no additional expense besides subscription costs, the movie is neither original nor expands the apocalyptic genre. Knowing that will be key to any enjoyment viewers may have.