"The Day After Tomorrow"

United States, 2004
U.S. Release Date: 5/28/04
Running Length: 2:04
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Cast: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sela Ward, Ian Holm, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok, Jay O. Sanders, Austin Nichols, Tamlyn Tomita, Kenneth Welsh
Director: Roland Emmerich
Producers: Roland Emmerich, Mark Gordon
Screenplay: Roland Emmerich & Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Cinematography: Ueli Steiger

So, this movie may be based in the U.S. for the majority of it’s plot, however, there was one interesting factor that made me re-visit the destructive The Day After Tomorrow flick for this blog.

Not going to lie, the last time I watched this film I fell asleep near the beginning, but the second time around I was much more attentive – and make a note that I used to fall asleep in practically every movie I watched, so, that said, this is not a terrible film by any means.

The Day After Tomorrow is definitely a spectacle to be reckoned with. Watching the world being ripped apart by natural forces – that aren’t even natural for where the tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards are taking place.

Climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) has stumbled upon evidence that the world will have its next ice age much sooner than originally predicted. Jack believes that the next ice age will occur in the next 50-100 years, until he meets with Terry Rapson (Ian Holm) a British scientist who has been tracking the dropping temperatures of the Northern Atlantic. As the ocean temperatures drop, both scientists realize that the global freeze-over is going to be much sooner than originally anticipated. Jack approaches the President about this devastating manner and (of course) the White House brushes it off – similar to President Bush’s action plan (or lack there of) for Hurricane Katrina.

The U.S. (focusing on the major cities as many films tend to do) is then bombarded by extensive weather phenomenon’s – New York City floods, Los Angeles is ripped apart by tornadoes (multiple tornadoes that even the team from Twister would be completely helpless to) and the Northern hemisphere is hit by hurricanes. Without any plan of defense from the government, the U.S. public is screwed. So! For once, we see a bunch of Americans fleeing for the Mexico border…

And, this is why I put this film in this blog: I found the situation pretty damn ironic when Americans flee for the border - and the Mexican government has taken over the border and basically say, “Nope, no way” - keeping the people from engrossing their country. Strange.

The movie did have its downfalls. The acting, well it was OK. The overall plot, OK – not to mention that some of the circumstances seemed a bit farfetched, and I’m not talking about the weather. It didn’t have a whole lot of human heart like that of Deep Impact, but it definitely captured the action.

Ultimately, The Day After Tomorrow was far more entertaining from the first time I attempted (poor attempt, but still) to watch it. The special effects were pretty cool to watch and some of the events – like the flooding of Manhattan – seemed pretty realistic. The other thing I though was pretty attention-grabbing was seeing what it would be like if these natural forces took over another region, rather than their usual territory. It was quite odd.

Personal Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Further information can be found at IMDb.com