04 Jul The Tomorrow War Review

THE TOMORROW WAR

dir. Chis McKay starring Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin

The Tomorrow War, an original science fiction film produced by Paramount Pictures and distributed by Amazon, deals with the concept of sending present-day soldiers to fight a war years into the future. Our vehicle into the film is Dan Forester (Pratt), former Green Beret turned science teacher as he longs for a greater purpose in life. Surrounded by friends and loving family, his dreams of getting a job at a research center are immediately hampered by the arrival of soldiers from the year 2051 to warn humanity of extinction due to alien invaders named Whitespikes. Due to the declining rate of soldiers in the future to battle the Whitespikes, the soldiers have resorted to recruiting people from the past. Soon after, Dan’s number is called in the future draft and we’re off to the races.

Who are the Whitespikes? What do they want with Earth? None of that is really ever explored or explained in great detail; as far as action movies go their only job is to be the villain of the movie and get pumped full of bullets. This one-note, thin development for them (“they’re hungry” one character says simply) is on par with the seemingly perennially ravenous aliens from A Quiet Place: a protagonist is only as good as their antagonist and in these films, the lack of a tangible goal these aliens have only serves to undercut the heroes. Thanos needs the Infinity Stones? The Avengers work to keep them out of his hands. Hitler wants the ark of the covenant? Indiana Jones labors to make sure that doesn’t happen. What do the Whitespikes want? Your guess is as good as mine.

Lackluster antagonist aside, the story execution itself is a weak point in the film. JK Simmons and Sam Richardson, while both absent for large chunks of the film, contribute in their own ways, both unfortunately incredibly telegraphed in the first act. An even worse setup than that is one of Foreseter’s science class students, who just happens to have an obsession in a subject matter that becomes a plot point in the third act (information they could’ve easily Googled). There’s little in the way of surprise or shocking reveals in the movie, as the story goes out of its way to set up its third act setpieces in ways that seem neither creative nor overly entertaining.

Another starring vehicle for Chris Pratt, The Tomorrow War attempts to play to Pratt’s strengths in his timing and sense of humor. Sadly, due to its weak script, some of those jokes fall flat, as well as Pratt’s performance of them. The leading man charm that Pratt exudes as Star Lord and carries into the Jurassic World franchise is nearly nonexistent here as Pratt floats through scenes. His time spent with Yvonne Strahovski is a highlight, however, as he attempts to connect with his future counterpart in an effort to understand what’s happened and how it can be stopped. For her part, Strahovski as the future scientist bent on stopping the war before it starts is a welcome addition to the cast. When tasked with playing no-nonsense characters that are all business, Strahovski is one of the finest actresses out there, and she brings that drive and determination to the film. Betty Gilpin as Emmy Forester, a therapist for returning draftees, is used as a vehicle to show the worst possible outcome of who Dan Forester could become. The majority of Gilpin’s time is spent in the first act setup, but her anger, fear, and frustration over being placed in an impossible situation is conveyed excellently by the veteran actress.

Directed by Chris McKay, The Tomorrow War makes it clear that he has an eye for directing action scenes. The strongest selling point of the film, the action is explosive and dynamic as Dan Forester strives to keep himself and his team alive, both in the future and in the present. The first act setpiece, combined with the score from Lorne Balfe (who also produced the score for Black Widow), give it an almost third act climactic feel which may leave viewers surprised there’s still a full hour and some change left. While the movie lives by its action sequences, it also dies by them. At 138 minutes (you read that right, just 22 minutes shy of 3 hours), the movie drags on far too long. Some judicious editing of these action scenes could’ve assisted in paring down that runtime to make a for a leaner, faster paced movie.

Overall, if all you’re looking for in your summer blockbuster are great action scenes, explosions, and plenty of wasted bullets, you can do far worse than The Tomorrow War. If you expect something more out of your movies, this one may fall a bit flat for you. While the set pieces can’t be denied, the story is bloated, the runtime about 20 minutes too long, and the acting a bit subpar (especially from these actors, who’ve all done better work). Still, the adrenaline scenes alone are enough to warrant it a decent Sunday afternoon watch with drinks in hand. The Tomorrow War is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Review by Darryl Mansel