THE TRAILER
THE DIRECTOR
Zach Dean
THE ACTORS
Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Yvonne Strahovski, Jasmine Mathews, Chris Pratt, Mike Mitchell, Seychelle Gabriel
THE STORY
With The Jurassic World and The Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt is putting all his influence and fame to good use.” Tomorrow’s War, a fleeting and lengthy science fiction thriller. Initially planned for the pre-pandemic in cinemas, Amazon Premiere Video now streams. Still, it’s hard to believe that it would have significantly enhanced the experience by viewing it on a large screen. Chris McKay, Director of “LEGO Batman Movie,” stitches several familiar elements in an unremarkable way with his first live-action feature: a bit of time trip, a horde of unrelenting alien invaders, a rag-tag group unit united to stop them, some unresolved father-sound problems, and some right sidekicks to provide comic relief. Zach Dean’s so-called unique screenplay offers nothing innovative or inspiring. The Tomorrow War eventually fully gives way to the “Alien” themes, with blood and blue splits squeezed and spread over all sides of the globe. It is as if a seasoning ballpark was felt and wicked. This is where everything will finally sweep into so-easy terrain, but it is too late. This is where things end up. And nobody can hear you shout in the future anyhow.
THE RUNDOWN
This all starts promisingly, as the inherent charisma of Pratt made it a suitable vehicle for the public to lead through Dean’s early phases and layers of science fiction in the universe and the logic of time travel. The cast, including Betty Gilpin as Dan’s wife and Sam Richardson as an expert on the scene who is afraid to travel into the future, All appears to function in such a manner as we recall over the top 90’s blockbuster operating with a feeling of fun and reach, and easy to understand characters who we are ready to follow for the following 90 minutes so that even Dan knows what he has gotten into in the future.
Unfortunately, what follows the opening act of the Tomorrow War seems less like a continuation and more like a film that glimpses the viewer. It leaps between places, people and ideas otherwise with abandonment and then with a feeling of directionless wandering. Even McKay – who took the animation steps to live-action for that picture – is still trying his best with his material. He hits each beat of the scenes in action with a feeling of excitement that spans across the screen, but everything seems like it is not enough to save the film. Everything collapses until we see something confusing, like three films made together more than just one film attempting to accomplish many things simultaneously, and the momentum is drawn from everything.
“The Tomorrow War” has its moments, flawlessly functioning sequences, as well as the Science and Film Festival, but the fascinating concept goes far too fast, leaving the remainder of the movie in quest of a purpose that it has never found.