THE TOMORROW WAR Review; "This Surprisingly Emotional, Action-Packed Blockbuster Proves To Be A Fun Ride"

THE TOMORROW WAR Review; "This Surprisingly Emotional, Action-Packed Blockbuster Proves To Be A Fun Ride"

The Tomorrow War is another of those movies that ended up being delayed by the pandemic, but it finally arrives on Amazon Prime Video tomorrow, and you can read our spoiler-free verdict right here...

Review Opinion
By JoshWilding - Jul 01, 2021 12:07 PM EST
Filed Under: Sci-Fi

The Tomorrow War has been a long time coming, but caught in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie went from a planned theatrical release courtesy of Paramount Pictures to becoming another title sold off to a streaming service (in this case, Amazon Prime Video, where it will debut tomorrow, July 2). If any of that sounds to you like it might be a sign this sci-fi adventure starring Chris Pratt is a disaster, then you’d be wrong, because director Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie) delivers an exciting, inventive, and surprisingly heartwarming movie that exceeds expectations and proves to be a solid platform for Pratt to stretch his leading man chops beyond the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. 

When time-travellers arrive in the present day to warn of an impending alien invasion, civilians are drafted to go and fight this future war in a bid to turn the tide and make sure humanity survives. They’re returned home after a set period of time, but that involves having to actually survive, and it’s not long until Pratt’s Dan Forester is forced to return to frontlines he left behind years earlier in an effort to make sure his daughter has a world she can grow up in. It’s an interesting concept and one that actually manages to do something new with time travel for the most part. There are certainly quite a few tropes, and you’ll likely see at least one big twist coming a mile off, but that doesn’t hurt The Tomorrow War as much as you might think, especially when the execution is handled so well. With enough fresh ideas to ensure that this never feels like too much of a retread, the movie delivers some fun surprises and dials up the intensity to a point where you never really get time to catch your breath. 

Pratt is so likeable that getting invested in Dan’s story isn’t remotely difficult, and he’s on top form as a man with a mission to not just save his daughter, but potentially all of mankind. While Betty Gilpin is sadly relegated to the thankless role of “devoted wife at home,” Yvonne Strahovski is a badass, tough-as-nails lead who proves herself every bit the action star here. We’ve known that for a while thanks to Chuck, of course, but it’s a blast to see the one-time Captain Marvel fan-favourite show her tough as nails side on a much bigger platform. J.K. Simmons is, of course, excellent, and seems to be revelling in getting to dive headfirst into a sci-fi world like this one. Sam Richardson is great, and while most of the supporting cast tends to fade into the background, there’s a strong enough core cast to help make this world one we’d love to revisit down the line (the young Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who also makes an impact in Black Widow, is a talent worth keeping an eye on, however). 

When it comes to blockbuster action, The Tomorrow War never disappoints and it’s another of those movies meant for the big screen that, as a result, brings the theatrical experience to streaming. The aliens look terrific and are surprisingly frightening at times, while there are enough edge of your seat set pieces to ensure you actually put your phone down and get caught up in what’s happening (which tends to be easier said than down while watching a movie from the comfort of home). 

Ultimately, as fun as the sci-fi and time-travel elements prove to be - and they are a riot thanks to the movie not taking itself too seriously - it’s the themes of family and parenthood that really strike a chord. The role a father plays in the child’s life proves to be crucial to the plot and is handled in a superb fashion as the story plays out. It’s hard to talk too much about that side of things without getting into spoilers, but Dan’s trip to the future proves to be an eye-opening experience, and one that helps set up an explosive final act that ensures the movie packs as strong an emotional punch as it does an action one. By the time the credits roll, something tells us you’ll be fully on board with this world and likely hoping that there’s another Tomorrow War (The Day After Tomorrow War, perhaps?).

The Tomorrow War shatters expectations, and despite hitting a few familiar notes along the way, this surprisingly emotional action-packed blockbuster proves to be a fun ride and one that showcases the talents of Chris Pratt and Yvonne Strahovski.

IF
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GhostDog
GhostDog - 7/1/2021, 12:15 PM
Shocked this is getting solid reviews
KWilly
KWilly - 7/1/2021, 12:17 PM
RohanPatel
RohanPatel - 7/1/2021, 12:26 PM
Had a really good time with this one, it’s a lot better than the trailers made it look. Second half is super fun.
IronGenesis
IronGenesis - 7/1/2021, 12:30 PM
Reads : “ shatters expectations”

🤔 - What do I know about the hyperbolic nature of this site?

Goes to see RT Score: 53% with only 30 reviews.

Confirms what “ shatters expectations” really means.

But who knows…maybe it will go up.
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 7/1/2021, 12:34 PM
@IronGenesis - Josh gonna Josh.
IronGenesis
IronGenesis - 7/1/2021, 12:40 PM
@Waddles - 😂 maybe that is what happened!
inkniron
inkniron - 7/1/2021, 1:00 PM
Depending on which rules of time travel they use, this could get messy 100 different way. Example, if the past they go to creates a branch reality, odds are the aliens are still eventually going to invade. You give your past selves a heads up, which is nice, but you're also robbing them of future fighters in their timeline, breeders to make more future fighters, more than likely dooming them to save yourselves.

It'll probably be good for some pretty colors and splotions though, so I'll check it out.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 7/1/2021, 3:15 PM
@inkniron - I agree. My question since day one was why wouldn't they go back in time and prepare their past selves for the invasion? They could go back with the knowledge they have of the aliens, and really mount a strong defense. The whole premise leads me to believe that this will be Back to the Future type time travel rules, and not branching timelines.
inkniron
inkniron - 7/1/2021, 4:43 PM
@CorndogBurglar - But if it's BTTF, why not send all resources to the past to put the kibosh on it before it gets out of hand instead of bringing soldiers to the future?
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 7/1/2021, 9:57 PM
@inkniron - Well yeah, thats what I mean. Why not got back to the past with the knowledge of the aliens that they have, and train everyon3 in the past to be able to mount a real defense.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 7/1/2021, 1:08 PM
I always do the opposite when it comes to these reviews. So I'm defin
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