The Tomorrow War movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: The Tomorrow War

This Amazon original airs exclusively on July 2, 2021. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, click here to Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial so you can watch this film and hundreds of others for FREE!

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 20 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

Ready for a fun summer blockbuster? Yep, me too! Well, here it is, just in time for Independence Day here in the USA. Is it perfect? Nope. Is it fun to watch? Yep!

In The Tomorrow War, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrives from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is a high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.

The film was written by Zach Dean and directed by Chris McKay.

THINGS I LIKED:

I adore Chris Pratt. Who doesn’t? Fans will get to see a shirtless, buff Pratt, complete with his six-pack abs and snarky sense of humor. This is his first time working as an executive producer too. Did you know that Arnold Schwarzenegger is his new father-in-law? The story goes that Arnold wanted to say, “I will be back” instead of “I’ll be back” in his The Terminator movies because he thought it would sound more robotic like a Terminator would talk. In this movie, Chris Pratt’s character gets to say, “I will be back.”
This is Sam Richardson’s second movie to come out in as many months this year! Good for him! His June release was the comedy-horror flick WEREWOLVES WITHIN. Be sure to check out my movie review for that one! Unfortunately, his character appears, disappears, and reappears randomly throughout the film.
Fun fact: Some of the names that were suggested for the film were “Generation Alien”, “World War A”, “Generation Gone”, “Generation Draft”, “Alien Dawn”, “Destiny War”, and “Saving Tomorrow.” Out of all those, I’m glad they picked “The Tomorrow War”. Love it!
There’s a lot of humor.
Betty Gilpin most recently starred in a brutally dark comedy called THE HUNT. She’s extremely capable, so I was disappointed with how underutilized she was.
Jasmine Mathews makes for a fierce leader.
Mary Lynn Rajskub always makes me laugh. It was great to see her again.
The binocular action shot was creative. I also love aerial shots.
Lots of fun tension and the soundtrack really enhances the moments. There is a lot of action and fun to be had.
Super creative and vicious aliens. In fact, some of the most creative ones I’ve seen in a while, and you get a good look at them up, close, and personal. The CGI is really great and believable.
I love that regular people get drafted into the war. It’s not a battle of trained soldiers versus aliens. Instead, normal men and women get sent to the future.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Lots of exposition in the beginning and during the science scenes.
Some viewers are saying the aliens represent global warming and other threats to the environment. What do YOU think? Is that what the writer and director were trying to say?
You would think they’d have better weapons in the future.
Despite the length of the movie, there just isn’t enough time to really get to know a lot of the characters. It’s a really long movie.
There are some scenes that aren’t explained very well. I don’t want to give you any spoilers. Just trust me, but also, don’t worry about the logic. Just enjoy the fun ride.
Acts 1, 2, and 3 definitely feel differently from one another.
It fell short of the emotional beats I was looking for and I never got teary-eyed.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will learn some science from science teacher Chris Pratt. He tells his students, “I know, you’re speechless because it’s so captivating.”
Lots of profanity, including an F-bomb. In fact, there’s a scene where one of the characters yells the “Sh” word a hundred times in 10 seconds.
High body count with bloody, gory deaths of humans and aliens.
Lots of destruction.
People in perilous situations.

THEMES:

Hope
War
Earth
Survival
War
Humanity
Family
Sacrifices

FUNNY LINES:

“They don’t have any jokes in the future?” – Dan Forester (Chris Pratt)
“I can see why you don’t work in the recruiting department.” – Dan Forester (Chris Pratt)
“Okay, great. Next time someone else asks that you should just lie.” – Norah (Mary Lynn Rajskub)

INTERESTING LINES:

“To be the best, I will do what no one else is willing to do.” – Dan Forester (Chris Pratt)
“We cannot stop innovating. That’s how we solve problems.” – Dan Forester (Chris Pratt)
“Second chances are hard to come by.” – Dan Forester (Chris Pratt)
“My best future is always in front of me.” – Dan Forester (Chris Pratt)