The Day After Tomorrow Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)June 7th, 2004
"The Day After Tomorrow" – The Iceman Cometh by Homer Yen
(c) 2004
If the do-or-die success of a retail shop depends on location-location-location, then the success of a film probably depends on timing-timing-timing. If this movie wasn't one of the headline summer offerings, I'm not sure if people would be flocking to see this in much the same way that people in this film are flocking across the Rio Grande and into Mexico to avoid the oncoming chill. With its serious doomsday approach, "The Day After Tomorrow" is the kind of sobering stuff that you'd likely see in the fall. Other than the wonderfully executed special effects, this is not the typical package of escapism that one might expect.
However, what really nagged me was the distinct feeling that I've seen this film before. Back then, it was called "The Core," a pleasing thrill ride released about 14 months ago. The DNA of these two films is almost an exact copy. In "Core," the world was on the verge of burning up as the ozone layer began to break down, which allowed the sun's microwaves to melt everything that it touched. In "Day After," the world is on the verge of icing up as the troposphere begins to break down, which allows freezing temperatures (the kind of deathly cold that will freeze people in their tracks) to turn everything it touches into ice.
I usually don't like using a compare and contrast approach to reviews, but consider this. One element of this kind of film is the ominous signs that something is terribly wrong. "Core" featured birds behaving in frighteningly unnatural ways and people that suddenly dropped dead. "Day After" features ocean buoys registering an across-the-board 13 degree drop in temperature. Which is more fun to watch? "Core" also had more potential for imagination as an intrepid crew journeyed to the center of the Earth. "Day After" has an intrepid crew that journeys across vast plains of snow. Which is more fun to watch? For those that missed "The Core," go rent the DVD and I believe that you will find that to be the better summer-type film.
Another oddity is that "Day After" lacks the important concept of goal-and-sacrifice. You have to destroy some oncoming asteroid using unproven techniques and someone will die heroically in the line of duty. Or, you have to sacrifice yourself so that you can manually blow up a bomb to save the world. Someone has to die, and we are all better off for it. But in this film, all they do is run for cover. There's no fighting Mother Nature. When it's man versus nature, it's no contest. And thus, it's never too compelling.
But the biggest question left unanswered is the tagline to this movie. The trailers asks, "where will you be the day after tomorrow?" Well, the future of mankind and the consequences of the global climatic change are never addressed. It does, however, have lots of nifty effects. If you think that watching the Weather Channel is fun, then this will be a real treat.
My feelings for this film are tempered. I left with the same kind of déjà vu that I felt when I had reviewed "Armageddon" only two months after watching "Deep Impact." "Day After" is a competent piece of filmmaking. The acting is fine. We come for the effects, and they are exhilarating. But if a truly good disaster film also needs to integrate character-driven stories, sacrifice, and heroism, then these components aren't quite here. Well, maybe that's what we'll find the day after tomorrow.
Grade: B-
S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
More on 'The Day After Tomorrow'...
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