The latest Roland Emmerich disaster movie deals with the unlikely question: What if we are on the brink of a new ice age?
One of the main characters, Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) is a climatologist who everyone thinks is the boy calling wolf. Everyone that is, except Professor Rapson (Ian Holm) a colleague based in Scotland, who helps confirm Jacks fears are more than real, they are hugely underestimated.
But as Jack is trying to warm the Vice President, his teenage son Sam (Jake Gyllenhall) is on his way to New York, officially to compete in a High School academic competition. But really he’s there because he likes a cute girl who’s on the team.
Whilst they are in New York, a huge storm system appears, and the movie really kicks in.
Special effects have come along way, and passionate directors are realizing that effects have to be used to make us believe what we are seeing. And even though this movie deals with the unbelievable, you find your self-believing that everything is real, and we start to enjoy the experience of watching the world change in front of our eyes.
But special effect, no matter how believable they are, are nothing without a story line, and The Day After Tomorrow has the perfect modern day disaster flick story line: Jack, the father who was never there, promises Sam that he will come and rescue him.
Fortunately being a climatologist, Jack has the experience and equipment to trek across the USA through the storm of the millennium. But no amount of experience ever saves a movie like this from the clichés: there has to be sacrifice, there has to be humour, and there has to be love.
And of course, no blockbuster disaster movie would be complete without a cheesy ending.
Life changing this movie is not. But a fun romp in the imagination it is. Great special effects, a little humour and a story line you can relate too make this a movie worth seeing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Comments
3 comments to "The Day After Tomorrow"
10:20 AM
Interesting comment - why all these end-of-the-world movies? Without being too much of a philospher, and apart from people just wanting the scale of action that these movies bring, it could simply be that we like to be reasured that we are (apparently) in control of our own destiny. No matter what kind of diaster we face, it's up to us how we deal with it - and in the end all disaster movies show us, that no matter what, we as humans have the ability to survive. The only exception to this movie rule that I have seen recently is the re-make of the Dawn of the Dead, where it's implied that humanity is destroyed.
Hhhhmmmm, did that answer the question, or am I just rambling again?
10:13 AM
Hhhhhmmmmm, speaches by American Presidents so we can go home happy - the best ending of a Hollywood disaster movie was Deep Impact - didn't really like the ending, a bit cheesy with them re-building the White House in the backgorund. But what I did like was Morgan Freeman as President - A black President, now that would be interesting.
I know what you mean about having the willpower that movie characters have, I'd like to think I'd have stayed in the Library, but it's always easier to go with the flow and follow the crowd. One thing I know, I wouldn;t have been one of those idiots on top of the Skyscrapers in Independance Day having party welcoming the Aliens!!
Oh hell, my knowledge of disaster movies is starting to freak me out....
11:58 AM
Yeah, that was a funny scene, some good ironic humour.
The more I think about the movie - that's the great thing about having cooments on a Blog! - the more depth you can see in it. Sure it's still a fluffy hollywood movie, but if you look past the flashy effects and soppy storyline, there are some important lessons to be learnt.
Post a Comment