Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie) marks his live action directorial debut with this high concept science-fiction film starring Chris Pratt.
“The Tomorrow War” follows the family-man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt), a former Green Beret who is now a Biology teacher.
One day, while watching the World Cup, soldiers from the year 2051 appeared from nowhere to warn the people about an incoming alien invasion. They said that in their time, humanity is on the verge of extinction due to some species they call "Whitespikes". An aggressive tentacled creature that likes to eat human flesh.
As a result, all the world's forces unite to help the people of the future. However, all the armies they dispatched were annihilated in weeks, triggering a worldwide draft.
Shortly afterward, Dan receives a notification that he has been drafted to fight the war. But in a major twist, his involvement in the war is not a coincidence. It actually means more than what he expects.
McKay's latest film is simply a melting pot of all sci-fi classics. From “Starship Troopers”, “Alien”, “The Terminator” to “Edge of Tomorrow”, we can go on and on with all the things this movie reminds us of.
Unfortunately, Amazon Prime Video does not have the best track record in producing critically acclaimed blockbusters. That is why it is unsurprising that “The Tomorrow War” is far from the perfect megahit that companies dream of.
One major concern about this film is its so fast that it does not make sense. Yes, the plot moves at such a breakneck speed that it sometimes loses sight of its own logic.
Even more so, the story concept itself feels incomplete. The concept of time travel is squished into its most basic and simple form that the film looks disinterested with its own premise.
Writer Zach Dean did not even bother to explain his reason why people have to fight in the future. Isn’t the future already hopeless? Why do past-people need to participate in a war that might happen soon in their timeline? Why not the future-people help the past-people instead of vice versa?
Additionally, the tone is messy. It leaves an impression that it's trying to be an “Avenger” movie as it oscillates from funny to serious. But comedy requires the perfect timing to work. With all fairness, in some instances, the humor in the film is appropriate. However, most of the time, the timing is a little off.
“The Tomorrow War” feels like it’s missing the “punch” on dramatic and tense scenes because of misplaced jokes.
Nevertheless, “The Tomorrow War” is one of those movies that you will wish to be a miniseries instead. Even if it’s 2.5 hours long, it feels like it still has so many things that it can offer.
2/5
