The Day After Tomorrow (12A) Review

Overall Rating

Great special effects and something to think about.

A little shallow and overly sentimental.

Director Roland Emmerich has a hobby of destroying American cities. In Independence Day the White House was blown to pieces by invading Aliens, in Godzilla an enormous monster terrorised Manhattan and now, in The Day After Tomorrow Los Angeles is demolished by tornados and New York is drenched by an massive tidal wave.

Dennis Quaid plays a scientist, warning an indifferent American government that if they don't do something about global warming an ice age may descend on the earth in a few decades. He's wrong, it happens within the week. An almighty storm develops, raining hail the size of boulders in Japan, causing helicopters to freeze and fall out of the sky in Scotland and soon the entire northern hemisphere is blanketed with snow and ice. In the midst of it all, Quaid sets out to rescue his teenage son from New York, the heart of the storm.

It will come as little surprise that the special effects in The Day After Tomorrow are incredible, with scenes of water gushing down busy New York streets, and the Hollywood sign being ripped away by winds. The Day After Tomorrow is almost worth seeing for the special effects alone, particularly the eerie scenes of the Statue of Liberty emerging out of the snow.

However, there's more on offer than just spectacle. Quaid is good as the environmentalist who realises the world is doomed, and Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays his son, is excellent, as the coolest geek ever, and is certainly an actor to look out for.

There's the inevitable overly sentimental scenes of loss and regret, of human courage overcoming all and broken families coming together in a time of need, but The Day After Tomorrow also suggests a more cynical awareness of hypocrisy and contains a serious message.

It's an enjoyable film, and a perfect summer blockbuster, and it might even make you think a little.

Members' Comments onprincipessaleah's Review

• 80smetal4ever on 10th Jun 2004

  While I'm not sure that this movie rates a "4" as the other person that posted - it certainly does not deserve an "8". While I agree that the special effects were impressive, that alone does not make a "Blockbuster" of a movie. Dennis Quaid's days of being a leading man are over, and have been over for quite some time. I think most moviegoers will leave the theater disappointed in this film.

• Smann on 9th Jul 2004

  As with most blockbuster movies I had high expectations of this film. During the first couple of scenes I began to feel disappointed, and found myself yawning and wishing the film to end. I was so shocked by the dialogue, the storyline and the general way the narrative was handled. It just ended, in no excitement, I did not feel glad nor did I really care if they were rescued. We were not allowed to fully connect with the characters throughout their journey. Very poorly made. Although special effects were good.