The Day After Tomorrow (12A) Review

Overall Rating

The special effects were good. The young boy and girl actor in the film did a nice job of acting. The character that played the Vice President did a nice job of making you hate him.

This movie was not good enough to make into a feature film. It is barely good enough to be an "NBC movie of the week".

When you are making a big, blockbuster film - the first rule is you need BIG stars to be in it. That was the first problem with The Day After Tomorrow. The lead character was Dennis Quaid. When was the last time he was the lead, in anything - "Innerspace"? Sela Ward is one of the most attractive women over 40, but she wasn't even a true TV star, and is definitely not a movie star.

The movie has to do with global warming. Quaid and his team had just come back from studies in the antarctic and presented them to an international summit meeting. He told everyone in attendance, including the Vice President of the United States, that countries had to start taking steps to stop global warming or terrible effects would result in about 100 years. As usual, everyone laughed off his comments.

Well, about a week later, weird weather starts to happen. Multiple tornados attack Los Angeles. The special effects are actually pretty good. Hail the size of oranges hits China. Different bizarre weather occurs across the globe. They can't land the space shuttle because of bad weather.

Well, since Quaid is a bit of a weather expert, they ask him to try and figure out what is going on. He consults a few other key scientists and comes up with a theory that the northern half of the US is going to freeze over, and it will be so cold that if anyone goes outside, they will die. He recommends that they evacuate the US to mexico. The Vice President thinks he's crazy and won't listen to him.

Then, snow storms start hitting the northern US very hard. Quaid and his ex wife, Sela Ward live in Washington D.C. Their son lives with Sela. He is on a school field trip in NYC to visit the NYC public library.

As snow and freezing temps begin to cover the northern US, the VP begins to realize that he made a mistake. He gives the order to evacuate the southern half of the US to Mexico. The traffic becomes so intense at the border that Mexico shuts it down to US Citizens. In an ironic twist, people of the US begin to find illegal ways to cross the border. About an hour later, the border was opened again. This was only after the President of Mexico asked for and received forgiveness of all debt owed to the US.

It was mass hysteria everywhere. Quaid and his 2 scientist friends decide to travel from DC to NYC to rescue his son, against all odds. Because of all the extra snow, the waters of the Atlantic are rising to incredibly high levels. So much so, that they wash away the ports of NYC, and you see huge shipping boats floating down the streets of New York, barely fitting between the buildings. That was an interesting visual.

Meanwhile, those that have survived in the NYC public library begin burning books in the only working fireplace it has. They know that if the fire goes out, they will all die. They break into various vending machines to find things to eat and drink.

The end of the movie involves the effort of Quaid and crew to find his son. Also, the efforts of his son and the survivors in the library and their attempts to stay alive. Meanwhile, refugee camps are being set up and serviced in Mexico for all of the US citizens who have crossed the border.

This movie lacked star power, and might have made a better "NBC movie of the week", than a feature film.

Members' Comments on80smetal4ever's Review

• jimmyboy53 on 16th Jun 2004

  I Agree with all that has been said in this review but one thing that this person has not pointed out was when Denis jumed from one side of the gap (oh this is at the start of the film) and back again then he falls into the gap emptey handed where did he get that ice pick he is hanging on with in the next shot?