What would happen if the doomsday scientists and political activists were proven correct and the Earth was suddenly overtaken by global climate change? What would happen to the people and the places near the
coastline if ocean levels began to suddenly rise as a result of melting ice caps? How would political leaders handle this?

If you have often wondered about these and other questions about global warming, then this movie, The Day After Tomorrow, makes a possible good choice for your film viewing. Directed by Roland Emmerich, this fictional movie examines life in the U.S. when the climate changes suddenly due to mankind’s carelessness.

Movie Facts:

Rating: PG-13
Format: Color
Director: Roland Emmerich
Screenplay: Roland Emmerich
Theatrical Release Date: May 28, 2004
Movie Length: 124 Minutes

Cast: Dennis Quaid, Emmy Rossum, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dash Mihok, Sela Ward, Ian Holm, Austin Nichols, Jay Sanders, Tamlyn Tomita, Sasha Roiz, Kenneth Welsh, Carl Alacchi.

Contents of This Movie:

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached dangerous levels. The planet Earth is responding to the change- and fast. Someone needs to do something, but what can be done?

As the huge tides of water begin to flow across the coastal areas as a result of the quickly melting ice caps, Professor Jack Hall (played by Dennis Quaid) does all he can to save the world from this disaster. He has studied climatology for years and has warned what would happen if nothing was done to reverse the changes, but political leaders refused to heed his advice.

While all these drastic changes are taking place around the globe, Professor Hall has another thing to concern himself with. His son Sam (played by Jack Gyllenhaal) is trapped in New York City. He had gone there to take part in an academic competition but cannot escape due to the incredible tides and snowfall which have turned the city into an ecological disaster. Jack Hall knows he is taking a great risk, but he cannot leave his son behind and he sets off across the country to try to rescue him.

Meanwhile, back in Washington D.C., the Vice- President (played by Kenneth Welsh) is explaining to the people that he made a mistake- he should have listened to Professor Hall and others who warned that greenhouse gases were going to cause devastating changes in world weather. All the people can do now is head to warmer climates- which they do in droves- to escape the perilous fate from wind, snow, thunder storms, and tornadoes.

Final Thoughts:

“Day After Tomorrow” is a disaster film that uses great special- effects to capture the viewer’s attention. This film includes some awesome scenes of tidal waves, snowfall, and other natural disasters on a massive scale, showing how much destruction they are capable of causing if they ever became reality.

Dennis Quaid is the star of this epic and he is halfway convincing as the concerned professor who has studied weather patterns extensively and has warned people over and over again that something terrible was going to take place if the world’s leaders continued to let the problem of greenhouse emissions go unchecked. Quaid shows genuine concern and when disaster strikes and he is quick to try to deal with the situation directly rather than just sitting back and saying “I told you so”, like some would do. But at the same time, he is anxious to be with his son who is trapped in New York City and, in spite of warnings from everyone not to try traveling to the city, he goes there anyway to find his son.

The acting, the plot, and the script in this movie are not up to par for what could have been a great thriller film. First of all, Quaid’s character is only half- convincing in his role. This seems to be a problem with many roles Quaid plays. I don’t know if it’s his lack of expression or what, but he just doesn’t seem all that emotional in his roles. In this movie, you can tell he is concerned about the planet earth because he says so. But his mannerisms are not quite what you expect from a lead actor playing this type of role. The other characters seem equally bland- good enough to earn passing grades for their respective character portrayals but certainly not good enough to grab your attention.

With the plot and script, I also had some problems. I felt the story should have been a little better, given the mammoth proportions of the film’s premise. Ok, so the Earth is undergoing all these changes and everyone is fleeing to the south to escape the wrath of Mother Nature. And what does Quaid’s character do?- he sets off to New York to find his son! This is nice, but I can think of so many ways the plot could have been more engaging and more interesting. And some of the script is very weak, with the actors and actresses making statements that sound silly- nothing like you would expect in a first- rate production film.

Throughout the film, political statements and messages can be seen and heard. I don’t know if the director intended this movie to make a political statement or not, but it seems like he did. The main message seems to be that, if action is not taken quickly to stop greenhouse gases, the Earth and its people are going to face dire consequences. And what about the refugees from the United States? Where will they go? Well, according to the script of this film, many will head to Mexico and, as a result, the United States will have to make some special concessions to get the Mexican people to accept us. The film makes the prediction that Mexico will let us in because they are much nicer than the United States and have no problems sharing an open border. To compensate, the United States decides to eliminate the foreign debts owed to the U.S. by Latin America. As you can see, there is plenty of political propaganda in this movie, but I can’t say for certain that it was intended this way or if the director just needed something to say and this was the angle he thought would work best in this type of film.

Overall, my feelings on this movie are mixed. It looked and sounded like a potentially great movie when I first saw the previews. The idea of the Earth turning warm, then facing a new ice age with massive destruction from tidal waves and other weather related disasters sounds like a great background for a creative director to utilize his talents. But in this film, the plot is not very good, the script is weak, and the acting is mediocre. This is a grave disappointment because there was so much that could have been done in this movie but wasn’t.

I can only recommend this film and give it three stars because of the special effects. Without them, this film would be worthy of only 1.5 or 2 stars. Other than the scenes of natural disaster, you will likely be disappointed with “The Day After Tomorrow”. It doesn’t live up to its potential to be a mesmerizing, entertaining film. It isn’t necessarily bad, but it could have been much, much better.




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older