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Chris Pratt took all the clout and popularity he amassed from starring in the “ Jurassic World ” and “ Guardians of the Galaxy ” franchises and used them to make ... “The Tomorrow War,” a blandly derivative and overlong sci-fi thriller.

Originally scheduled pre-pandemic to premiere in theaters, it’s now arriving on streaming through Amazon Prime Video, but it’s hard to imagine that watching this on the big screen would have improved the experience significantly. With his first live-action feature, “The LEGO Batman Movie” director Chris McKay stitches together several overly familiar elements in unremarkable fashion: a bit of time travel, a horde of relentless alien invaders, a rag-tag band coming together to stop them, some unresolved father-son issues and a few misfit sidekicks to provide comic relief. The supposedly original script from writer Zach Dean offers very little that’s innovative or inspired.

Amid all this hackneyed madness is Pratt, straining to tap into dramatic chops he simply doesn’t have. He can be wildly charismatic zipping through the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the cocky Peter Quill, or he can be an engaging action hero handling dinosaurs as the brave Owen Grady. He’s also an infectious charmer in “The LEGO Movie” series as the voice of sunny Emmet Brickowski. But playing a bland suburban dad struggling to save his family—and all of humanity—isn’t Pratt’s strong suit. It gives him no room to swagger.

And then once he gets thrown into the mayhem of jumping forward in time to stop the marauding aliens, his frequent wide-eyed, mouth-agape expression inadvertently calls to mind that famous Pratt meme from his pre-hunky days on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” Then again, we’d probably all react that way to being thrown 30 years into the future and then dropped from the sky into a high-rise rooftop swimming pool, as Pratt’s character is in the film’s opening sequence.

Human visitors from the year 2051 have traveled back in time to the present day to warn us that an alien invasion has besieged Earth, and civilians must leap ahead three decades to help fight them—that’s how decimated the population has become. Among them is Pratt’s Dan Forester, a mild-mannered high school science teacher and Iraq war veteran. While he’s reluctant to leave his wife (an underused Betty Gilpin ) and bright, nine-year-old daughter (the self-possessed Ryan Kiera Armstrong ), he’s also proclaimed at the film’s start: “I am meant to do something special with my life,” as so many mediocre, middle-aged white men have before him. This is that thing.

Before he gets zapped, though, he must confront his estranged father (a seriously buff J.K. Simmons), which provides an opportunity for overacting and an indication of the histrionics to come. And as he’s getting fitted with the armband do-hickey that will transport him to the future for his week-long tour of duty, he learns he’s going to die in seven years anyway. Among the other soldiers in his troop are the nervous tech nerd Charlie ( Sam Richardson of “Veep”) and the wisecracking weirdo Norah ( Mary Lynn Rajskub ). There’s not much to any of these characters.

What they’re all forced to confront upon arrival, whether they’re ready or not, is an army of albino creatures known as White Spikes. They scamper and gnash, have tentacles that strangle and slash, and they make a staccato growl like the sound you hear in “ Predator .” They also look extremely cheesy, either individually or en masse. There’s something jumpy not only about the way they move but also about how the giant action scenes are edited. They have a slick, incessant mania to them that’s distancing. It certainly doesn’t help that everything is smothered with a barrage of gunfire and Lorne Balfe ’s overwhelming score.

Through it all, Pratt runs, grunts, shoots or yells “Nooo!” in slow motion. A lot. And that’s some of his more believable work here. Less impressive are his scenes with Yvonne Strahovski as the no-nonsense colonel delivering orders; she connects with him, in part, because of his military background. The “Handmaid’s Tale” standout is also the actor who emerges the most unscathed from this slog, delivering clunky, expository dialogue within this wild setting with surprising understatement. Pratt, however, seems outmatched opposite her.

In the last half-hour, “The Tomorrow War” finally gives in completely to its “ Alien ” influences, with ear-splitting shrieks and blood and yellow-green fluids squishing and spewing everywhere. It’s as if a ballpark condiment bar became sentient and turned evil. This is the point at which things finally teeter over into so-bad-it’s-good territory, but by then, it’s too late. And anyway, in the future, no one can hear you scream.

Now playing on Amazon.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Rated PG-13

140 minutes

Chris Pratt as Dan Forester

Yvonne Strahovski as Romeo Command

J.K. Simmons as Slade

Betty Gilpin as Emmy

Sam Richardson as Charlie

Jasmine Mathews as Lt. Hart

Edwin Hodge as Dorian

Mary Lynn Rajskub as Norah

Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Muri

Chris McKay

Cinematographer

Roger Barton
Garret Elkins
Lorne Balfe

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The Tomorrow War Reviews

It’s not perfect, it won’t be the next big classic, but with greatly done action, awesome alien design, & A FANTASTIC STANDOUT PERFORMANCE from Yvonne Strahovski! PUT HER IN MORE THINGS PLEASE

Full Review | Jul 26, 2023

The Tomorrow War is one of the biggest surprises of the year, boasting an impressively creative creature design, entertaining action sequences, and a contender for the most beautiful shot of 2021.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 25, 2023

It’s only fitting that Chris Pratt honors his place among the Schwarzeneggers by doing the kind of sci-fi action movie Arnold would’ve done in the 90s.

Full Review | May 20, 2023

If you are looking for a thrilling terror machine, The Tomorrow War will satisfy that craving. Otherwise, it’s a lesson in overstaying one’s welcome.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Oct 9, 2022

While the story builds itself around a cool and interesting concept, it’s the sheer action spectacle that stays with you.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 17, 2022

As far as the performances go, Pratt serves his role better than it serves him, and Simmons is terrific as usual.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 29, 2022

...sporadically watchable yet predominantly mediocre...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 10, 2022

"The Tomorrow War" is a serviceable action film that could certainly scratch the itch many have right now for a giant summer blockbuster, but the weak script keeps the movie firmly in mediocre territory.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | May 20, 2022

From the characterisation to the horrendous dialogue, everything is lacking. Even the complex action scenes are spoiled by hysterical editing.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 2, 2022

Everything onscreen becomes either a product of embarrassingly bad screenwriting or an homage to a better landmark in the genre, often both.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Feb 12, 2022

The film, directed by the man behind The Lego Batman Movie, delivers a fun time and the entertainment you probably need after a long day. At the same time, it appears to be more of a one-time watch and nothing more than just a decent summer sci-fi flick.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Feb 11, 2022

Every scene is taking from another piece of the modern science fiction lexicon. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Oct 29, 2021

Slick to a fault, and clumsy in the extreme, this big-budget alien war flick hasn't a lick of wit or cleverness.

Full Review | Oct 7, 2021

The Tomorrow War is a fun, mindless, alien invasion popcorn flick that would've benefited from a theatrical release in more normal times. It's truly the epitome of what a summer blockbuster is and should be.

Full Review | Oct 5, 2021

With a more solid script that paid just a little more attention to things like sense and logic, the film could have easily been so much better.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 1, 2021

Amiable popcorn fare, then, but a little more creative effort might have made this really special.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 14, 2021

A two-headed popcorn filler that is part sentimental family fodder, part save humanity from the evil ancient aliens, it won't be winning any awards but it's big and brash enough to keep you entertained.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 31, 2021

It suffers from inane dialogue and a superficial story driven by explosions and aliens that reminded me of the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park.

Full Review | Aug 27, 2021

Chris Pratt is likable enough in this unique action-packed film, but it wasn't serious enough to be a super-thriller, or funny enough to be an action-comedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 6.9/10 | Aug 20, 2021

The Tomorrow War is not only a canny audience grab, it's also a devastatingly perfect encapsulation of masculinity today.

Full Review | Aug 12, 2021

Screen Rant

The tomorrow war review: standard sci-fi story elevated by aliens & action.

The Tomorrow War boasts an interesting setup and solid performances by the cast, but it still comes across as unremarkable, if standard, genre fare.

Since having his big breakout with Guardians of the Galaxy , Chris Pratt has headlined his fair share of big-scale genre blockbusters, with The Tomorrow War being his latest endeavor. Prior to Amazon acquiring the film for a streaming release, the plan was for the sci-fi movie to get a traditional theatrical release. Considering The Tomorrow War's premise and VFX-heavy action, it's easy to see why it was intended to play on the big screen. However, shifting to a streaming service may have actually been beneficial for the film, as it doesn't truly stand out from the crowd. The Tomorrow War boasts an interesting setup and solid performances by the cast, but it still comes across as unremarkable, if standard, genre fare.

In The Tomorrow War , soldiers from the year 2051 travel back in time to alert humanity about a deadly war against aliens known as "Whitespikes." Due to heavy losses, they call upon people to jump decades into the future and help the cause. Army veteran and current high school science teacher Dan Forester (Pratt) is one of the citizens drafted into active service. Vowing to do what he can to save the world and his family, Dan goes to 2051 to see if there's a way he can help end the war for good.

Related: The Tomorrow War Cast & Character Guide

As a director, McKay is best-known for animated efforts like Robot Chicken and The LEGO Batman Movie , but he demonstrates solid chops making the jump to live-action tentpole fare here. The Tomorrow War features a number of well-crafted action sequences, and even though they may not raise the bar in terms of genre thrills, they're still exciting to watch. Each one contains tense and suspenseful moments, and the action's easy for viewers to follow. The Whitespikes are suitably terrifying sci-fi villains, punctuated by good creature design. They're a step above generic sci-fi aliens and prove to be a scary presence throughout the film. McKay smartly builds up to an eventual reveal (similar to Jaws ), making the Whitespikes' first appearance work to greater effect.

Where The Tomorrow War struggles a bit is with the script, written by Zach Dean. The film does have an interesting premise and it tries to sneak in some social commentary (particularly on the issue of global warming), but it rarely digs beyond the surface in the exploration of its themes. This makes the story, which is partially a mishmash of previous sci-fi movies, play out as more of a by-the-numbers plot, rather than being something special. Still, The Tomorrow World deserves credit for its world-building, as Dean has crafted a universe that could be worth exploring in future installments. Some viewers may be able to spot logical inconsistencies, but overall The Tomorrow War 's plot works as a serviceable foundation, and it does have a handful of touching moments designed to tug at the heartstrings. Dan's dynamic with his daughter Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is the film's emotional core.

In terms of the acting, Pratt does a riff on the usual action hero character viewers should be familiar with by now. His everyman persona works as a gateway into The Tomorrow War's world, but Pratt's arguably outshined by the supporting cast. In particular, Sam Richardson is a definite standout as Charlie, one of the civilians Dan fights alongside with. Charlie is a fun fish-out-of-water character, responsible for levity and laughs. J.K. Simmons also makes the most of his screen time as Dan's estranged father, James, giving the part necessary gravitas another actor may not have. That said, a number of characters in the film aren't fully fleshed out, feeling as if they're there to simply fill out expected roles in a movie like this. Admittedly, The Tomorrow War isn't aiming to be a deep character study, but it doesn't have a wholly well-rounded ensemble audiences can truly get attached to.

As evidenced by The Tomorrow War breaking Amazon Prime streaming records, the film is achieving great success on the platform. This is the kind of big-budget movie that may have gotten lost in the shuffle at the box office in a traditional moviegoing year, but it's right at home as a streaming release where audiences can watch it from the comfort of home. The Tomorrow War is a fun entry into the sci-fi/time travel genre, though the pieces never add up to something all that memorable. Those who are interested in the film should check it out, as The Tomorrow War is certainly worth a watch one day this summer - even with a number of high-profile releases making their way to theaters.

Next: The Tomorrow War Official Movie Trailer

The Tomorrow War is now streaming on Amazon Prime. It is 138 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language and some suggestive references.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments!

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‘The Tomorrow War’ Review: Future Schlock

Chris Pratt leaps to 2051 to save our planet from aliens in this hyperventilating sci-fi spectacle.

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

It is never good news when a phalanx of armed, balaclava-wearing dudes falls from the sky in the middle of a World Cup soccer game.

“We are you 30 years in the future,” their leader announces to the stunned crowd. “You are our last hope.” Heeding the call is a high school biology teacher named Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Dan has a doting wife (Betty Gilpin), an adoring young daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) and — because action heroes rarely embark on wholesale slaughter without some unhealed psychological hurt — the requisite estranged father (J.K. Simmons).

Dan also believes that his life has a special purpose, and so does “The Tomorrow War,” Chris McKay’s time-travel spectacle in which clichés rain as fast and as furiously as bullets. In 2051, an alien civilization is in the process of gobbling up humanity, requiring a worldwide draft of present-day citizens who will “jump” into the future to join the war effort. This process — which resembles the Rapture, except the destination is hell instead of heaven — dumps the terrified conscripts on a post-apocalyptic Miami beach. From there, Dan and a handful of confreres (including an amusing Sam Richardson and Mary Lynn Rajskub) battle a welter of special effects to reach an undersea laboratory where a military scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) is developing an alien-fighting toxin.

Sucking ideas from across the sci-fi spectrum — “Alien,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Starship Troopers,” “Jumper,” I could go on — Zach Dean’s screenplay grows more ludicrous by the minute. People are launched into the mayhem without basic training (Richardson’s character can’t even load a gun). And when saving the world requires the assistance of a volcanologist, the sole option is a 12-year-old boy. (Dean does deserve credit, though, for a plot that both hints at global warming and insists scientists will be our salvation.)

As for the extraterrestrials, we’re almost an hour in before we see one: Bleached, tentacled and maximally toothy, they’re so exhaustingly aggressive it’s a relief to learn that, like the Creator, they’re only active for six days a week. That’s about as long as this 140-minute assault feels, with its crude dialogue (“We are food, and they are hungry”), overexcited score and characters so formulaic they might as well be cereal-box figurines. “The Tomorrow War” is betting its flash will blind us to its vacuity. And why not? It worked for “Avatar.”

The Tomorrow War Rated PG-13 for death, destruction and alien abuse. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes. Watch on Amazon.

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The Tomorrow War review: Chris Pratt fights for the future in enjoyably absurd action flick

Leah Greenblatt is the critic at large at Entertainment Weekly , covering movies, music, books, and theater. She is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, and has been writing for EW since 2004.

The Tomorrow War sets its time-jump coordinates somewhere between 2050 and 2022, though hanging in the panicked gun-smoke air is the distinct whiff of many big-screen dystopias (dystopii?) gone before: a vapor trail of Interstellar , a fragrant chunk of Starship Troopers , a fun-size War of the Worlds . If the movie (on Amazon Prime Video this Friday) works better as a lightly batty comedy than a tentpole thriller, that's probably down to logic and budget, in that it doesn't seem to have a lot of either. But it does, in its cheap-and-cheerful way, have fun.

Erstwhile Star-Lord Chris Pratt has been demoted here to the body of an ordinary earthling, a woolly-cardiganed suburban dad and high school science teacher named Dan Forester. His wife ( GLOW 's underused Betty Gilpin ) and daughter (Ryan Kiera) both support his bigger dreams beyond the classroom, but a startling announcement in the midst of a televised World Cup match puts the brakes on pretty much everything. An alien invasion is coming, and the concerned citizen-warriors of 2050 have traveled back in time to deliver both a dire warning and a recruitment ad: The only way to prevent total annihilation 28 years hence is to start fighting back like, yesterday.

To do that they'll need to feed all the circa-2022 bodies they can into the rudimentary beam-me-up machine that is their only portal to the future apocalypse. And so Dan becomes one of millions drafted into compulsory service — and discovers a group of suspiciously graying fellow recruits, among them 24 's Mary Lynn Rajskub and Veep 's Sam Richardson. Their soft-belled midlife demographic doesn't make much sense for soldiering, but it does track for the paradoxes of time travel; the risk of ripping some kind of hole in the universe by running into yourself is considerably less if you'll almost certainly be dead 30 years hence.

With a few scant hours of training — essentially, "here's a big gun, and good luck" — the amateur troops are deployed for their seven-day stint in an end-times hellscape ruled by skittering homicidal insects whose sole purpose seems to be survival, and whose main food group for fueling up is people. Dan, naturally, becomes de facto leader thanks to his long-ago days in Special Forces, and is soon leading a rescue mission directed by a future-world commander ( Yvonne Strahovski , of The Handmaid's Tale ) who may have — as you might have guessed by the first two minutes of the trailer, or any passing familiarity with the laws of story synergy — a more personal connection to his past.

The aliens themselves are revealed so early and often that they hardly register on any real terror Richter scale: big ugly bugs with rows of razorblade teeth, pincered claws, and the herky-jerky movements of a CG starter kit. The action, as frantic and insistent as it is, lives largely in extended bursts of video-game chaos and deathless lines of dialogue like "Someone get a harpoon on that tentacle!" Which is a lot more fun, frankly, than the script's nonsense mythology and its earnest stump speeches on family and loyalty and One Man to Save Them All.

Director Chris McKay ( Robot Chicken , The Lego Batman Movie ) has forged his career in absurdist comedy, and the movie is best when it lets its weirdo flag fly, whether that's J.K. Simmons as Dan's hippie dropout dad riffing on the sexual temptations of Stevie Nicks or Richardson's geology professor–turned–hapless recruit, doing the best he can to make sense of a world where he's forced to handle semiautomatic weapons instead of old rocks and research grants.

Eventually the storyline dissolves into soft-focus sentiment and a final, snowy set piece whose execution is so patently ludicrous a 1970s Bond villain might file for intellectual property rights (though the climate-change message is sneakily on point). Until then it's enough, almost, just to watch Pratt & Co. race and banter and blast their way through Tomorrow 's futures past. Grade: B-

(Video courtesy of Amazon)

Movie Review – The Tomorrow War (2021)

July 1, 2021 by Robert Kojder

The Tomorrow War , 2021.

Directed by Chris McKay Starring Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Theo Von, Jasmine Mathews, Seychelle Gabriel, Alan Trong, Chibuikem Uche, Alexis Louder, Mike Mitchell, Edwin Hodge, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Keith Powers, Felisha Terrell, Melissa Saint-Amand, Gary Weeks, Rose Bianco, Gissette E. Valentin, David Maldonado, Olaolu Winfunke, Piper Collins, Matthew Cornwell, Eric Graise, Ashlyn Moore, Christina Bach, and Jared Shaw.

A family man is drafted to fight in a future war where the fate of humanity relies on his ability to confront the past.

It’s a relief that The Tomorrow War doesn’t get lost in a barrage of futuristic mumbo-jumbo explanations regarding the specifics of humans going 30 years into the future to help fight back against an alien invasion. There are certainly questions to be had involving the interactions between past and present (some of them answered), but the direction from Chris McKay ( The LEGO Batman Movie ) and Zach Dean’s screenplay is wise to focus on multi-generational effects and rifts, specifically between the Foresters who have a history of military backgrounds. There’s an earned central theme of second chances on both a smaller human scale and the global extinction scale that, while never necessarily deep, collides in a straightforward and crowd-pleasing spectacle way that’s not afraid to embrace its ridiculousness.

Chris Pratt is Dan Forester, a former soldier that developed a passion for biology out in the field. Leaving that life behind in pursuit of his passion doesn’t go as planned for various reasons. For starters, he doesn’t meet the required experience for the job he is counting on. Then there’s the world suddenly thrust into turmoil from the arrival of those from the future warning of the impending attack, putting in motion worldwide recruitment for the titular future war. While the concept of a world united entered into a global draft has been done before, it’s executed slightly differently here in a manner that plays to Chris McKay’s comedic strengths.

Many of these recruits are not experienced soldiers, but rather average Joes working office jobs, let alone having some form of weapons training. Due to the urgency of resistance, there’s also no time to put anyone through introductory courses, forcing Dan to pair up and look after a combination of warriors (Edwin Hodge playing a cancer-stricken man who would instead go out on the battlefield than a hospital bed) and rookies (Sam Richardson as the head of an energy company). Surprisingly, the attempted humor Chris McKay goes for within the dynamic doesn’t always land (it usually comes across as at odds with the seriousness and suspenseful presentation, even when Chris Pratt is occasionally cracking jokes), but the unlikely heroes approach relatively works anyway because the characters are likable, and due to the impressive staging of the action sequences that are putting every special-effects dollar to use to create something visually bombastic.

Some of these set pieces are built on fear of the unknown (it’s worth applauding that the film holds off until around 45 minutes in before unveiling what the male gender of this strange species looks like, and even longer for the much deadlier females), others play into chaotic destruction and explosions galore. In contrast, the climactic battle is one of preparation and tactics with an exciting banger of a final fight. Without saying much, there’s a moment where it seems like the heroes have won, except they haven’t, and it sucks the life right out of Dan with Chris Pratt subtly dropping to his knees from fatigue and desperation, wondering what more can be done.

That’s also not to say that The Tomorrow War is only worth seeing strictly for carnage between humans and aliens; more that these filmmakers understand delivering on that front will heighten the impact of predictable emotional beats surrounding this family in both the present and future. Dan is reluctant to return to military life before deploying into the future (imaginatively done through an inverted purple-glowing portal relying on rushed technology that doesn’t guarantee people will land safely on the other side). As a result, he’s encouraged by his wife Emmy (Betty Gilpin) to make amends with his estranged ex-military turned government conspiracy theorist father (J.K. Simmons) that abandoned him, someone capable of unlocking the tracking mechanism ensuring Dan serves his seven-day stint in the future. Needless to say, the meeting doesn’t go off peacefully.

Dan also has a bright young daughter named Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) that also happens to be a commander in the future war (now played by a supremely badass Yvonne Strahovski) who has taken after his love for biology, racing against time to develop a toxin capable of wiping out the alien race. Naturally, this revelation is a jolt to Dan’s mind, but there is no time for bonding or processing past, present, and future. As Dan tries to save his world by protecting the future world, it also becomes clear that he was selected to fight in the war for a greater purpose, which is also a somewhat apparent reason, but the strong performances, well-paced divulging of information, and few quiet downtime segments inject some heart alongside the intensity of survival.

Admittedly, there are plenty of instances where logic, plausibility, and continuity between timelines come into question. That’s also pretty much a given for anything dealing with time travel and multiple timelines. However, The Tomorrow War sticks to the essential details while allowing its charismatic ensemble and extravagant action to stand out at the forefront so competently that it’s easy to overlook how it works. It’s pleasant to watch a time travel war movie against aliens more concerned with characters and fun rather than obsessive details on plot mechanics. Don’t put The Tomorrow War off until tomorrow.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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The Tomorrow War May Be Dumb, But It’s Also Fast, Loud, and Fun

There are two types of people in this world: Those who will see a film like The Tomorrow War (now out on Amazon Prime Video) and run for the hills, screaming, “Dear God! The stupid! It burns!” Then there are those who will see a film like The Tomorrow War , in all its idiotic glory, and give little yelps of joy. I sometimes fancy myself more the first type of person, but who am I kidding? I took one look at The Tomorrow War ’s dopey premise and knew I was all in. The tree of cinema must be refreshed from time to time with the popcorn-scented manna of movie stars traveling through time to fight aliens.

Is Chris Pratt a movie star, though? He’s certainly done well with both his Marvel and Jurassic World outings, whatever we may think of the films themselves. But there has been a disconnect: Even as he’s fashioned himself over the years into a wisecracking, low-rent Harrison Ford type, as an actor Pratt tends to give off a more earnest and relatable dim-bulb vibe. He’s not a sly, above-it-all jokester. There’s a certain struggling-with-basic-concepts quality to the way he furrows that brow, an I’m-not-sure-what-to-do-with-myself physicality to his movements. These aren’t bad things; quite the contrary, I think they’re secretly at the heart of his Everyman appeal. And they work to his advantage in The Tomorrow War , even though he’s technically playing someone who is supposed to be extremely smart, possibly even brilliant. The film opens on his bewildered face, mid-fall, as he plummets into a pool in a nondescript, war-torn futuristic landscape. And he basically keeps that befuddled expression throughout the picture, which nicely reflects our feelings about what we’re seeing, too.

Pratt’s character, Dan Forester, is an Iraq War vet and high-school science teacher struggling (and failing) to find a better job for himself in the film’s present of 2022. He has big dreams, but no way to achieve them, and the only person to believe in him wholeheartedly is his 9-year-old daughter, Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). That opening flash-forward is a hint of what’s in store for Dan, however. Twenty-eight years into the future, the world has been overrun by a terrifying race of creatures known as the White Spikes. Humanity is on its last legs, and in a final gasp of desperation, the people of 2050 have reached out to the past — to the year 2022, specifically — to recruit more humans to travel into the future and help fight the alien invaders. (If you already have questions, you might want to steer clear of this picture.)

Within a year, the world’s armies have been depleted and a global draft has been instituted. Those chosen are sent into the future for seven-day periods; the survivors are then sent back, most of them with horrifying stories about what they saw and experienced. Dan’s wife, played by Betty Gilpin, is a therapist whom we see working with the traumatized survivors of the Tomorrow War. When Dan is called up, she urges him to avoid the draft — she knows what horrors await him on the other side of the century.

The imminent death of humanity three decades into the future has sapped the spirt of the present: Riots break out, protests flare up over the fact that we are fighting and dying in a war that hasn’t even started yet. All the kids in Dan’s class appear to have given up on life itself. That the screens in his classroom are flashing factoids about climate change — about loss of habitat and the melting of the glaciers — are not coincidental. The Tomorrow War may be dumb in lots of ways, but it’s savvy in how it connects its sci-fi despair over a dying, somewhat distant future to our real-life despair over what our next several decades might look like. (This idea becomes even more pointed in the film’s final act, but let’s not spoil that.)

The anticipation of what 2050 will look like is built up nicely, and once Dan gets there, The Tomorrow War becomes a gonzo, breakneck, CGI slaughterfest, as he and his untrained, unprepared crew are tossed into the midst of a battle that’s basically already been lost. The White Spikes are genuinely terrifying beasts — ghostly, tentacular, giant insectoids with beak-like mouths filled with fangs, who swarm like supersonic zombie flies. (These things would give Cthulhu nightmares.) Watching them lay waste to assorted soldiers and vehicles in the background of nearly every shot does a number on us; we half expect them to be outside our own windows, chowing down on the neighbors.

The film unfolds as a series of rapid-fire video-game-like scenarios: You have to find this group of people, then retrieve this object, then get this other object out of this place before it’s too late, then blow away this many monsters in this amount of time, etc., all without getting eaten yourself. Ordinarily, that would be cause for concern — tedium and repetition are corrosive to action movies, as Army of the Dead reminded us a couple of months ago — but the film adds variation, urgency, and humor. Director Chris McKay was previously part of the teams that gave us The LEGO Movie and its subsequent iterations , so he knows to keep things light and fast. It helps too that a decent number of supporting parts are played by comic actors like Sam Richardson, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Mike Mitchell, which also reminds us not to take any of this too seriously. (And let’s not forget that Pratt himself had his breakthrough role on Parks and Recreation ; his sensibility is inherently comedic, even when he’s doing serious parts.)

I’m not sure if this next bit is a spoiler; it occurs before the halfway point of the film, but proceed at your own peril. At the head of what remains of humanity’s forces in the future is Colonel Forester (Yvonne Strahovski), who we soon learn is, in fact, Dan’s daughter Muri, all grown up and kicking ass. She has organized this project to reach into the past, and she has sought the youthful spirit of her dad out after all these years, to help her with humanity’s last stand against the White Spikes before all hope is lost forever.

It’s a silly twist, but it works, not only because the movie has already tenderized us with all that running and exploding and dying, but also because Strahovski and Pratt have interesting chemistry: She seems to know too much, and he seems not to know anything at all. So, it’s Edge of Tomorrow meets Interstellar meets Aliens meets Tenet meets Independence Day , with their brains removed. But it’s still tremendous fun, because this thing moves . Let’s face it: If it slowed down, the audience might start asking too many questions. The Tomorrow War is just as stupid as it needs to be.

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The Tomorrow War review – time stretches in Chris Pratt’s alien-invasion sci-fi

Pratt plays a teacher turned pre-emptive conscript for a future war with aliens in this overlong and derivative actioner

W e’ve come an awfully long way since Chris Pratt was the goofy comic turn Andy Dwyer in TV’s Parks and Recreation, pretending to be top-secret FBI agent Burt Macklin. These days he’s got the chops to be a tough, chiselled action lead who removes his shirt to reveal some serious work with the personal trainer, and this is how he’s presented in this great big overstuffed and overlong sci-fi action thriller from former animation director Chris McKay. In Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, Pratt had at least some residue of his former comedy existence, and to be fair there are one or two funny lines here (coming largely from JK Simmons, playing Pratt’s grumpy yet adorable dad), but this is a very earnest and generic lead performance.

Pratt plays Dan Forester, an idealistic soldier-turned-high school teacher with a wife and young daughter; he lives in an America that is suddenly terrified by visitors from the future who reveal that in 30 years’ time Earth will be attacked by weird, white, lizard-like creatures (not a million miles away from those in the sci-fi horror A Quiet Place). Humanity is so low on soldiers that they have to time-travel into the past to recruit more personnel and bring them into the future to fight this “tomorrow war” against the alien creatures. And Dan is duly drafted into the head-spinningly weird conflict, coming into contact with fellow warriors like cheerfully nerdy Charlie (Sam Richardson), tough and cynical Dorian (Edwin Hodge) and also Norah (Mary Lynn Rajskub). But most importantly there is the charismatic female commanding officer, played by Yvonne Strahovski (from The Handmaid’s Tale). The encounter messes with Dan’s mind: you’ve heard of back to the future, but this is forward to the past, or maybe sideways to the next generation.

Inevitably, we are confronted with the possibility of having to travel right back into the past to fight the war on the home turf of the present day in some kind of pre-emptive sense – shades of The Terminator – and as with all “time travel” movies we have to ignore the logical impossibilities that this involves. The film seems to go on and on like something by Wagner; but it finally ends, thanks to some vital expertise provided by one of Dan’s high school students, with a plot turn which perhaps owes something to the final act of the classic comedy Galaxy Quest. It all feels like a heavy meal, and the action scenes and the creature effects are very derivative.

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The Tomorrow War review – a terror machine that overstays it’s welcome

This review of Amazon Original film The Tomorrow War does not contain spoilers.

Nothing seems super out of the ordinary in The Tomorrow War . I’m serious. Yes, there is a relentless amount of action from many pissed-off aliens in desperate need of a blood sugar high, and we are that tasty treat. That’s nothing new. The future still looks the same in this movie. The guys get older, yet the women stay young. A scene portrays a minority as a coward or selfish, then redeemed layer by dying off quickly so the great white hope can win the battle. The last third is a playbook of cornball action films. Yet, I found myself wrapped up by its break-neck pace. It’s a lesson in overstaying one’s welcome.

Chris Pratt stars as Dan Forester, a retired veteran who is teaching high school science. He is married to his beautiful wife, Emmy (Betty Gilpin), a clinical social worker at the local VA hospital. They are raising their seven-year-old daughter, Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who loves soccer. As they take-in a game together on television, as he promised, suddenly a team of United States soldiers from the future leaps out of a cloud of purple haze on the soccer field. Their leader, Lt. Hart (played by The Rookie’ s Jasmine Mathews), has a message for them: We are their only hope.

From there, a worldwide draft is imposed. Anyone over 18, any health condition, it doesn’t matter. We are talking about 50 years old out of shape mothers strapping up their boots and given a week to learn how to be Rambo. You can thank Gloria Steinem. She won the battle on gender rights for everyone. Soon, only 500,000 people are left on earth (Yet, the national media outlets are still broadcasting. I bet Nielsen will have a field day with that sweeps week). Forester is drafted and “jumped” into tomorrow’s war. If he make it a week, he can come back. That’s if he survives that long.

Director Chris McKay ( The Lego Batman Movie ) spared no expense with the adrenaline that fuels the first two acts. The action is relentless. The creatures are some of the most frightening on film you might ever see. Your palms will sweat, you’ll be leaving a dent in your armrest (or a loved one). They had something with The Tomorrow War . A genuine tension and suspense that will have you ignoring some obvious flaws. A decent plot point involving The Handmaid’s Tale ‘s Yvonne Strahovski gives the film a bit more emotional heft than expected.

Then, strangely, Deadfall scribe Zach Dean’s script keeps going. It could have ended there. It should have ended there. Instead, it uses the same compulsion by most major studios. They take an extra forty minutes, creating an unnecessary last stand. It begins to wander in big-budget studio banality. Even when the creatures are running around like turbo-cheetahs, Pratt and company appear to be walking or jogging without any urgency. It begins to feel like everyone starts to go through the motions.

Yet, I still find myself drawn to the positives of big studio system filmmaking compared to its faults. When you combine that with Pratt’s star wattage, winning, boyish charm, and comic timing in the quieter scenes. Sam Richardson’s very welcome role as the nerdy Charlie delivers the well-placed comic relief Tomorrow sorely needed. Though, you’ll notice how cartoonish and flat most of the characters can be.

Ultimately, The Tomorrow War overstays its welcome. It entertains the audience as much as it lets them down. It has a solid premise (no, this is not Live, Die, Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow ), cool creatures, a star to hang your hat on, but comes crashing down under the weight of its ambition.

Yet, The Tomorrow War almost represents something more. It a big-budget monster blockbuster that we used to take for granted. The film represents what we love about summer. Enjoying a mindless action film and then going to a barbecue. In fact, this is a bit of normalcy in our everyday lives we have once forgotten about.

You can enjoy aspects of a film without giving it a positive review. My job is to grade a film if I approve of it in its totality, which means it is a marginal pass for me. If you are looking for a thrilling, terror machine, The Tomorrow War will satisfy that craving. If you are looking for a complete experience in its entirety, stop the film at the 100-minute mark and walk away happy. I wish I did.

What did you think of Amazon Original film The Tomorrow War? Comment below.

Article by Marc Miller

Marc Miller (also known as M.N. Miller) joined Ready Steady Cut in April 2018 as a Film and TV Critic, publishing over 1,600 articles on the website. Since a young age, Marc dreamed of becoming a legitimate critic and having that famous “Rotten Tomato” approved status – in 2023, he achieved that status.

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The Tomorrow War Review

02 Jul 2021

The Tomorrow War

Chris McKay 's first film as director was The Lego Batman Movie , a film which hilariously undercut DC’s most self-serious superhero by turning him into a preening, microwaved-lobster-eating plastic toy with lines like, “I also have huge pecs and a nine-pack.” It was an animated action movie — for kids! — laced with parody and satire. McKay’s first live-action film isn’t quite the same proposition: it’s a big, blundering, CGI-heavy action sci-fi that works within its genre mould rather than outside it. The Tomorrow War is not entirely without a sense of humour, but as with its noisy, show-offy action sequences, it feels broader, made for the widest audience possible in a way that might inadvertently alienate them.

Emblematic of this tension is Chris Pratt , whose character is a none-more-generic action star: hunky, chunky and chiselled, certainly, but lacking anything distinctive or compelling for us to get behind. Pratt easily sells the ex-military side of his character (it recalls his early role in Zero Dark Thirty ), but never quite convinces in his later career as a nerdy science teacher. When he’s given free rein to crack wise and arch eyebrows in the Guardians universe, he’s electric; when he’s effectively the straight man, as he is here, his natural charisma is a little dulled.

There seems to be uncertainty in terms of which tone to strike. At times, it’s suffocatingly serious: Pratt is faced with daddy issues for maximum emotional motivation — as if the extinction of humanity wasn’t enough to get him out of bed. Dialogue arrives smothered in clichés (“You and me... we’re going to save this world — together,” smoulders Pratt at one point), without ever managing to sprinkle the necessary irony or self-awareness for leavening.

The humour hit-to-miss rate is alarmingly low.

Other times, perhaps conscious of how po-faced it’s all getting, some comic relief is shoehorned in, from capable performers but with mixed results. Sam Richardson, of Veep and I Think You Should Leave fame, brings a puppyish sweetness to his sidekick Charlie (“I think we’re going to be best friends,” he says to Pratt’s character at one point, entirely earnestly), and it’s undeniably refreshing to see non-military beta types being conscripted into the future war. But the humour hit-to-miss rate is alarmingly low.

Shot loudly and expensively, the action has its moments (a slow-motion descent into an apocalyptic alien hellscape is a highlight, even if you feel the CG rendering behind it) and Pratt clearly relishes the opportunity to have at least one Cool Guy Explosion shot. But the aliens here have nothing to them that we haven’t seen before, slithering and screeching onto the screen like the bastard love-children of Venom and the Mimics from Edge Of Tomorrow . With a final act set on a glacier, the pacing starts to feel glacial too; it is approximately half an hour longer than it should be. Even in this final act, there are glimmers of a more promising film. But like tomorrow itself, it never quite arrives.

Movies | 26 05 2021

Movies | 27 04 2021

The Tomorrow War Review

Supremely stupid sci-fi..

The Tomorrow War debuts on Amazon Prime Video on July 2.

It’s been a wild ride from Parks and Recreation to Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World. In a rare feat, Chris Pratt made the leap from character actor to action star, and he did it with an enticing swagger and a gleefully goofy sense of humor. He’d forged a comfy niche where audiences enjoyed watching him boldly swing into action and whip out witticisms. So, what possessed him to sign onto The Tomorrow War, a profoundly insipid and unsatisfying sci-fi action-flick that shows off only what he is not.

Pratt is at his best playing knuckleheads, who are lovable even when arrogant. One crooked grin and we might forgive him all of his trespasses (even when they turn our favorite superheroes to dust). However, in The Tomorrow War, Pratt goes against type, shedding his wise-cracks and cockiness to play a sulking scientist with daddy issues and thwarted ambitions. You see, Dan Forester (Pratt) feels his biology skills are wasted teaching high school science. He dreams of working in a groundbreaking laboratory. But while lamenting to his tall wife (an underused Betty Gilpin) and young daughter Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), the world as he knows it changes forever. A squadron of soldiers from the future trudge through a wormhole and onto a global broadcast to drop a bombshell: 29 years from now, mankind is losing a battle with a ravenous and mysterious alien force called the “white spikes.” Naturally, Dan will be pulled out of his miserable life (with his loving family, steady job, and spacious home) to tromp into a high-stakes battle not only for his daughter’s future but for the future of all mankind.

The original screenplay by Zach Dean is sure to mention that Dan has a history in the military. So, of course, he’s a no-nonsense, born-to-lead hero even when the world is falling apart around him. Couple this with the smarts suggested by his scientist aspirations, and Dan should be a real force in this film. However, Pratt just doesn’t have the range to make it work.

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This is the kind of part you might imagine Tom Cruise playing three decades back: a self-assured but slightly sad man-of-action. Chris Pratt is no Tom Cruise. Without the wise-cracking and cheeky grins, he seems at a loss as to what to do with his face. A resting furrowed brow might be meant to express incredulity, determination, consternation, maybe even constipation. The point is, it’s Pratt’s only move. Whether he’s facing an alien onslaught, confronting his estranged father, or having a heart-to-heart with his heartbroken daughter, Dan furrows that brow. And just like that, the dazzling screen presence that’s launched Pratt into multiple tentpole franchises is extinguished. It’s as if smirks were the source of his star power, and now he’s Samson, shaved bald and unremarkable. By the time a telegraphed plot twist calls on him for pathos, he’s long lost the thread.

Throughout the film, Pratt is outshone by a sprinkling of supporting players who all deserve better. Gilpin, who was riveting in GLOW and The Hunt, brings a welcomed intensity to the thankless role of Dan’s wife, a stock character defined chiefly by her support of her hero husband. Yvonne Strahovski, Edwin Hodge, and Mary Lynn Rajskub play varying degrees of steely to snarky in future battlefields that ache for character. Rocking a burly bod and a grizzled beard, J.K. Simmons delivers spark in a small but potent part as an off-the-grid rogue. But even this paragon of character acting struggles to make Dean’s stale script work, choking on a “metrosexual” joke that is old enough to buy a stiff drink.

The comic relief is chiefly shouldered by VEEP’s Sam Richardson, in a role that could have been Pratt’s not so long ago. Playing an affable everyman who rambles when he’s nervous, Richardson wedges levity into every moment he’s able: before wildly reckless military maneuvers, in between brutal battle scenes, and amid mind-numbing exposition dumps. While his manic energy is welcomed, the bits he’s given are uninspired. Sure, in the moment, it’s funny watching him flee while hollering expletives. But none of the so-called jokes stick long enough to be remembered.

Which is to say, maybe even a true Cruise couldn’t have saved The Tomorrow War. Dean’s script is overstuffed with lazy jokes, sappy speeches, and clunky proclamations like, “We are literally living on borrowed time.” Yet none of this is as bad as the main plot, which is just inexplicably dumb.

In The Tomorrow War, mankind has invented time travel. Specifically, it's a form of time travel that allows people from 2051 to come back to 2022 or vice-versa. They cannot go anytime else. Why not? This very good question is waved away with a nonsense explanation involving a bunch of mixed metaphors about chicken wire, chewing gum, and rivers. Okay. So, what do the people of the future decide to do with this time-shuttle power?

If you’ve ever seen any other time travel movie or TV show ever, you’d think they’d use it to pass along information or tools to help change the intervening 30 years and give humans an advantage against the vicious white spikes. But apparently, the people in The Tomorrow War have totally different pop culture touchstones than we do, because this idea isn’t even suggested before every nation in the world marches their military forces through a glowing blue portal. And when that’s insufficient, conscripted civilians are chucked into the future war without training or even any idea what the aliens look like.

That is a mighty big ask to accept on an Act Two setup. Yet, The Tomorrow War seems totally unaware, barreling into a plotline that makes less and less sense as it spirals to an unimaginative climax of explosions, glossed over casualties, and a final showdown that is mind-numbingly trite.

Maybe you’re not worried about plot and character and are just seeking some cool action sequences and creepy creatures? Here too The Tomorrow War disappoints, seemingly plucking inspiration from everything from Skyline and Independence Day to Cloverfield and Gremlins but pulling away all the wrong lessons. The action sequences are sprawling, full of CG carnage and creatures. Some of these are gross and gloppy in a way that owes a debt to Joe Dante. Others turn a tidal wave of civilian deaths into a grim spectacle. Yet, there’s little art to the pacing or plotting of such sequences, so it all just feels plodding. Even the white spikes that should be ferocious look increasingly silly the longer the camera leers at them. They are a pasty jumble of limbs, tentacles, and mouths that look like a sloppy rip-off from Stranger Things.

The Tomorrow War is astonishingly bad. It’s got a confusing plot, an emotionally shallow hero arc, and monsters more messy than menacing. Then, caked in made-for-TV level visual effects razzle-dazzle, slicked in a sickly low-contrast palette, this movie is downright ugly. Sure, it’s got big and loud action, but nothing to rattle you to your core. I’d say it miscasts Chris Pratt, but he’s an executive producer on the project so he did this to himself. Still, much blame can be laid at the feet of director Chris McKay. It’s astonishing that the helmer of The LEGO Batman Movie followed that vibrant, funny, and wildly entertaining offering with an action movie that is such an inane eyesore. And yet that turn still makes more sense than the plot of The Tomorrow War.

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The tomorrow war, common sense media reviewers.

Scary monsters, explosive violence in sci-fi actioner.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

To be the best, you have to do what no one else is

A veteran is depicted as a hero and a leader. A yo

Terrifying attacking alien monsters, with fangs, d

Married couple kisses.

Strong language includes "d--k," "hell," "s--t," "

Coors beer is shown prominently.

A couple of moments of drinking.

Positive Messages

To be the best, you have to do what no one else is willing to do. We all deserve a second chance. Teamwork is a clear theme. What you learn in school matters and has a real life application.

Positive Role Models

A veteran is depicted as a hero and a leader. A young girl who's interested in science follows her passion and makes a positive impact in the world. Women are depicted as strong and commanding. Lead actors are White; most of the supporting roles are actors of color.

Violence & Scariness

Terrifying attacking alien monsters, with fangs, deadly spikes, and multiple appendages. Heavy artillery directed at monsters, with seemingly endless ammunition. Explosions, bombs, intense war violence. Dead bodies; sympathetic characters are killed. Rough falls, with harsh impacts. Bloody wound, blood smears. Humans are battered, broken, and munched on by aliens; bodies are saved for later. Humans are almost constantly in peril.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language includes "d--k," "hell," "s--t," "ass," "goddamn," "son of a bitch," and "f--k." Exclamatory use of "Jesus" and "God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Tomorrow War is a sci-fi action movie starring Chris Pratt as a man who's sent to the future to fight a war against aliens that are on the verge of destroying humanity. Make no mistake, this is a creature feature -- and the monsters are fanged, spiked, and terrifying. And the war violence is intense, with nonstop gunfire/heavy artillery, explosions, and weapons use, though it's all shown in the context of fighting against an invasive species that's literally eating the human race into extinction. A bloody wound is shown, as are blood smears and corpses. A married couple kisses, there's a little drinking, and one scene has a character saying "s--t" over and over for comedic purposes (there's also one "f--k"). Lead characters are White, but the supporting cast is more diverse. Overall, characters are from all walks of life and make positive contributions with the skills they have -- including women who are assured leaders and kids who love science. Pratt's character, Dan, is ex-military, and the story highlights the value of what he learned in the armed forces. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Kids say (40)

Based on 8 parent reviews

Common sense bias

Fun sci-fi action thriller has gory monster violence, what's the story.

In THE TOMORROW WAR, Dan Forester ( Chris Pratt ) is a military veteran-turned-high school teacher/father who's recruited by time-traveling soldiers from the year 2051 to join them in fighting a war they're currently losing against invading space aliens. Forester will have to reckon with his past in order to help save the world -- and, more importantly, his daughter. As people fight back to save humanity, guns with endless bullets spray faster than it's even possible to count.

Is It Any Good?

Animation director Chris McKay brings the science back to sci-fi while delivering a shoot 'em up monster movie that seems tailor-made for action fans. McKay knows kids -- he's behind The Lego Batman Movie . And he knows older teens, having directed much of Adult Swim's Robot Chicken series. His knack with comedy is also on display in The Tomorrow War, combined with other factors that will appeal to older tweens and teens. First, there's Pratt, who's a consistent draw, even if he isn't quite as funny and relatable here as he is in Guardians of the Galaxy . Second, McKay uses his animation expertise to create ghastly human-eating aliens that will wow kids -- just make sure they're old enough not to have nightmares. Plus, kids are shown to be really smart, making significant contributions to the solution. And Forester is a cool high school science teacher, bringing viewers back to the classroom, where he lays the groundwork for elements that will play out later.

And make no mistake: What The Tomorrow War is really about -- the message that slides in subtly underneath the movie's splashier elements -- is that what you learn in school matters and has a real-life application. In fact, at one point, the film more or less says this clearly. And hopefully kids will pick up on it, because there's not one line of dialogue here that's wasted. If we see someone reveal a key character trait or hear them say something, it will pay off later. Of course, a tight script doesn't necessarily mean that the film makes sense ; it definitely takes leaps in logic. It's also too long, and it ends in a moment of preposterous ridiculousness. But teens may well not care, enjoying it for what it is: a chaotic, video game-like retaliation against an alien coup with a nice father-daughter story layered on top.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in The Tomorrow War . How does the fact that much of it is directed at alien creatures instead of humans affect its impact? Does changing their blood color to yellow make it less upsetting?

How do the characters use their individual skills to succeed as a team? Why is teamwork an important life skill?

How do you think you'd fare if you were suddenly dropped into a battlefield with a gun? Some experts believe that future wars will take place in the lab rather than the battlefield. How does that idea play out in the film?

What would you say are the movie's takeaways? What is it trying to say about second chances?

Movie Details

On DVD or streaming : July 2, 2021
Cast : Chris Pratt , Yvonne Strahovski , J.K. Simmons
Director : Chris McKay
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Amazon Studios
Genre : Science Fiction
Topics : Space and Aliens
Character Strengths : Teamwork
Run time : 140 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language and some suggestive references
Last updated : April 5, 2023

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The Tomorrow War review: Is Chris Pratt's Amazon movie worth a watch?

Star-Lord faces a fight for humanity's future.

England might have enjoyed a glorious victory over Germany earlier this week, but imagine how you'd feel if just before Sterling scored, a bunch of future humans travelled through a portal onto the pitch and announced humanity was doomed.

In terms of a one-line sell for an original sci-fi movie, it's a corker that instantly grabs your attention. Time travel, aliens, and a race against time? We were sold on it immediately, even faster than the time it took for everyone to chant "it's coming home" after England beat Germany.

The Tomorrow War might not fully deliver on its brilliant premise, but it's still an epic and original sci-fi trip that's worth taking.

Our guide through this world is Chris Pratt , somebody who's no stranger to sci-fi adventures – but Dan Forester is no Star-Lord. An army veteran turned high school teacher, he's not a wise-cracking hero and when we meet him, he's dealing with a job rejection and struggling with his role in life.

He doesn't instantly decide to travel into the future to fight some aliens. After the dramatic opening, we jump forward 12 months where we're told that, initially, active military personnel were sent.

However, only 50% of them were qualified due to timey-wimey reasons that we won't spoil here, leading to the first-ever worldwide draft of civilian soldiers for a war that has a 20% survival rate. (Perhaps the most terrifying thing about the movie's future though is that apparently Theresa May and Gordon Brown are back in political power in December 2023.)

With the setup out of the way, it becomes time for Dan to join the future fight in order to save the world for his young daughter and it's in this opening act where The Tomorrow War is at its strongest. Dan isn't instantly in 'save the world' mode and tries to get his estranged – and surprisingly buff – father (JK Simmons) to get him out of it. We know he'll eventually go, but the movie takes an interesting route there at least.

The Tomorrow War also sets up its version of time travel in a cohesive and engaging way in this opening act (although as with any time travel, don't think about it too much). Then it's time to head to 2052 as Dan heads into the future with nervous everyman Charlie (a scene-stealing Sam Richardson) and future war veteran Dorian (Edwin Hodge).

Their arrival into the future is genuinely horrific as it inevitably goes wrong and the first action sequence is terrific, packed with genuine peril and believable civilian soldiers moments. We also get our first glimpse of the movie's menacing aliens, the White Spikes, who are not only relentless, but can also shoot spikes from their bodies (hence the name), and they're realised with excellent visual effects.

But after this strong first hour or so, the movie hits the brakes, and what seemed fresh turns generic. It's here where Dan teams up with Yvonne Strahovski 's scientist and engaging supporting characters Charlie and Dorian get sidelined for a dull subplot, as well as a reveal that any sci-fi fan will see coming a mile off.

It's not helped by the fact that while Chris Pratt has charisma to burn as an action star, Dan is no Star-Lord and quite dull as a lead, outshone by the supporting cast. Given we spend relatively little time with Strahovski's character, the emotional beats don't land as hard as they should, so you'll be left wishing you were following Charlie and Dorian instead.

Things do get back on track in the final third with some fairly ludicrous reveals, but the movie seems to be self-aware enough to be in on the joke. It's a tense and well-staged climax that satisfyingly wraps things up and, ironically given the premise of the movie, doesn't have an eye on the future.

It should be celebrated that The Tomorrow War is an original offering in a summer blockbuster season that is otherwise full of sequels and movies based on existing IP. Given it was originally set for a cinema release , the scale is impressive and it's a testament to its strongest moments that you'll wish you could have seen it on the big screen.

The Tomorrow War might not totally get everything right, especially with its pacing, but it's a thrilling sci-fi adventure all the same. Let's just hope it doesn't happen for real during the Euro 2020 final which England will obviously be in (right?).

The Tomorrow War is out now on Amazon Prime Video .

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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies , attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy , initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.

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Government Bad, Science Good

Explaining the popularity of ‘The Tomorrow War’

The Tomorrow War, the number-one streaming movie in the U.S. for more than a week now, is one of the most derivative sci-fi movies ever made. Even its title borrows from better sci-fi properties. The excellent ‘ Edge of Tomorrow ‘ stars Tom Cruise as a soldier who has infinite lives, just enough to figure out how to defeat bug-like alien invaders. ‘The Forever War,’ a classic sci-fi novel by Joe Haldeman, features a time-traveling soldier trying to defeat bug-like alien invaders. The Tomorrow War stars Chris Pratt as a time-traveling former soldier trying to defeat bug-like alien invaders. At least they didn’t call the movie “Edge of Forever.”

The bug-like alien invaders in The Tomorrow War resemble the bug-like alien invaders from Starship Troopers. They also resemble the xenomorphs in the ‘Alien’ movies. The time jumps in the movie are like the time jumps in ‘Jumper’ or ‘Looper’ or maybe the first ‘Terminator’ movie. The father-daughter-through-time dynamic is like a made-for-TV version of the one in ‘Interstellar.’ The mix of melodrama and quippiness has an ‘Independence Day’ feel to it. The aliens swarm the ramparts like the zombies in ‘World War Z’. And so on.

You can explain the popularity of The Tomorrow War for a number of reasons. It’s on TV. It’s free if you have Amazon Prime. There are guns and other things that go boom. Chris Pratt is a popular movie star and he appears shirtless at least once. Sam Richardson, Richard Splett from Veep, plays a fairly major role and is appealingly funny. A 30-minute set piece, involving a time jump and a harrowing rescue mission in Miami Beach, is a strong, tense short film in the midst of a bloated narrative mess.

The movie glorifies military violence as the solution to all the world’s problems, but it’s also weirdly pro-science. Pratt plays the world’s buffest high-school science teacher, frustrated that he can’t get his dream job in a research lab. His adorable nine-year-old daughter is also clearly a prodigal science genius. Pratt is also, conveniently, an ex-special forces Iraq veteran. So when word comes from the future that humanity needs middle-aged cannon fodder against the aliens, Pratt’s character is the movie version of a power-up.

From there, the movie degenerates into bang-bang and corny dialogue and unearned family sentimentality. And yet in the midst of all the machine-gun bursts and exploding heads, scientific research marches on, in the present and the future. Before I watched The Tomorrow War, I found myself wondering why conservative publications seem to like it so much, and now I know. Its heroes, both Pratt and J.K. Simmons as his Vietnam-veteran father, are brilliant scientists and gun-toting men of action who chafe against the powers that be. Every other character worth their salt is also a scientific genius or someone who loves them.

The Tomorrow War presents the world’s governments, and particularly the U.S. government, as indecisive and naive when it comes to matters of war and science. Deliberately or not, the movie rips that opinion straight out of the position papers of The Heritage Foundation. It’s not an original sentiment, particularly not for science fiction, that most edgelord-y of genres. But in an era where fantastical entertainment tries to be as politically anodyne as possible , that simple idea makes The Tomorrow War stand out. It may even explain why this dumb and only intermittently fun movie is so popular.

Neal Pollack

Book and Film Globe Editor in Chief Neal Pollack is the author of 12 semi-bestselling books of fiction and nonfiction, including the memoirs Alternadad and Stretch , the novels Repeat and Downward-Facing Death , and the cult classic The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature . A Rotten Tomatoes certified reviewer for both film and television, Neal has written articles and humor for every English-language publication except The New Yorker. Neal lives in Austin, Texas, and is a three-time Jeopardy! champion.

2 thoughts on “ Government Bad, Science Good ”

Excellent take on our battle with global warming. We are currently releasing the White Spikes (=wild fires, pestilence, algae, floods, super hurricanes, etc.) as the ice thaws. We need to remember global warming is not 300 politicians in DC. It is 300,000,000 Americans driving, consuming, etc. It is 8 billion people who are waiting for the change they should make. Global warming is me, it is you. We must fight for our children’s tomorrow!

I am not entirely certain that’s what the movie is about, but it’s an interesting interpretation.

Review: ‘The Tomorrow War’ Uses Good Premise & Chris Pratt To Make Decent Sci-Fi Movie

Jul 2, 2021, 12:40 PM

BY ANDY FARNSWORTH, KSL NEWSRADIO

SALT LAKE CITY — Keeping track of all the hopeful-blockbuster movies that were originally supposed to come out in 2020, but whose release dates were delayed by the COVID pandemic, has been an adventure in and of itself. “ The Tomorrow War ,” a science fiction/time travel/action movie starring Chris Pratt , is one of those films that’s had quite a journey of its own.

It was originally supposed to hit theaters on Christmas Day 2020, but production delays bumped its release date to late July 2021. It was then pulled from the release calendar altogether for a while. When it resurfaced, Amazon had purchased the distribution rights and is now releasing the movie just in time for the Fourth of July weekend on Amazon Prime.

In “The Tomorrow War,” Pratt plays a high school science teacher and Army veteran named Dan Forester. He and the rest of the globe are shocked when soldiers from the year 2051 appear right in the middle of the World Cup final to tell of a war against an invading species that humans are losing. In response to their plea for help, the world’s governments institute a draft and begin sending present-day soldiers and regular citizens into the future for one-week deployments to fight.

When Dan gets drafted, he decides to go despite the objections of his wife ( Betty Gilpin , best known for Netflix’s “GLOW”) and their young daughter, in part because of some ominous information he learns while being processed for service. Once he does arrive in the future alongside other conscripted people, he must use all his skills to try and stay alive through the week to make it back to his family and with luck help some of his less skilled squad mates survive.

Without spoiling anything, Dan finds out he might also be able to help his commander in the future ( Yvonne Strahovski , famous for “The Handmaid’s Tale” & “Chuck”) find a way to defeat the creatures once and for all.

“The Tomorrow War” boasts a solid premise that was enough to draw me in. I love a good sci-fi/action movie, and time travel is a bonus. While the movie does have familiar elements of many other sci-fi, post-apocalyptic and/or time travel movies, it still does a pretty good job handling its own story without feeling like a straight re-tread of those other films.

This is director Chris McKay ’s first-ever live-action movie (he also directed the “LEGO Batman” movie) but he does a great job of using camera angles, sound and story to create a real tension throughout, especially when it comes to the creatures. One of his best choices was the slow reveal of what the humans in the future were fighting against, ratcheting up the tension, fear and dread that the viewer feels along with the characters on-screen. The special effects on the aliens are pretty decent as well, it doesn’t appear that the production budget was skimpy here.

But the main thing I took from “The Tomorrow War” was a reminder of why Chris Pratt is a bona fide movie star. He just oozes likeability and charm when he wants to, while also convincingly carrying the action scenes. It never ceases to amaze me that the goofy Andy Dwyer from “Parks and Recreation” is a legit, A-list action movie hero. Surprisingly, he’s not even the funniest guy in the movie, either. That honor goes to Sam Richardson ’s character Charlie, who gets almost all of the best lines and nearly steals the show. But in case you were worried, Pratt does have his own funny and clever moments as well.

The rest of the cast is solid, but Pratt & Richardson really stood out. J.K. Simmons was also good as Forester’s father, but sadly not used on-screen nearly enough.

Despite how familiar it feels, “The Tomorrow War” is a solid sci-fi movie that’s worth the effort to seek out and watch, especially for fans of the genre. There are some plot threads left dangling and some characters and scenes that I would have liked to be explored a little more in-depth, but it doesn’t really detract from the overall experience. Besides, who knows if there won’t be an extended version released someday.

The biggest frustration about this movie might be simply that it would look so great on the big screen but you can’t watch it there. It certainly would have been worth a theatrical release, had that been Amazon’s plan. Instead, the film is exclusively streaming with your Amazon Prime subscription. Amazon Prime is a $15-per-month service that gives subscribers access to a big library of free movies & TV shows, as well as free shipping on most orders from Amazon.com.

“The Tomorrow War” is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and gore. It’s mostly alien gore but some people get killed too. There’s also plenty of adult language. I think it’s all going to be a bit much for younger kids and wouldn’t recommend they watch it. The movie is 2 hours & 20 minutes long, but at least you can pause it if you need a bathroom or food break since it’s streaming.

FINAL RATING: TWO & A HALF OUT OF FOUR STARS

Hopefully, you & your family found this review helpful! Andy Farnsworth is the movie and pop culture guy for the KSL 5 Today morning news show and also hosts the Fan Effect podcast for KSL NewsRadio . Check out some of his other in-depth reviews of movies and streaming TV series on KSLTV.com

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THE MOVIE CULTURE

The Tomorrow War Movie Review & Summary: This Sci-fi Blockbuster Creates Thrill With Almost Everything

The Tomorrow War is a Sci-fi blockbuster, directed by Chris McKay. It has a phenomenal cast and an incredibly intriguing idea which serves as a base for its tremendous action sequences.

The Tomorrow War Movie Plot

The Tomorrow War is all about a war with the future. More specifically, the aliens who invade earth in the future. Dan and his team have to proactively work together in order to come up with a solution which could end it for good and in turn, save humanity.

The Tomorrow War Movie Cast

Chris Pratt as Dan Forester
Yvonne Strahovski as Romeo Command
J.K. Simmons as James Forester
Sam Richardson as Charlie
Betty Gilpin as Betty Forester

The Tomorrow War Movie Review

The Tomorrow War is a Science Fiction which forces the protagonists to go into the future to prevent a war from happening in the past. It packs a great concept and some really well choreographed and anxiety inducing action scenes, but sadly, the same can’t be said about its utilization of the concept and how it weaves a narrative out of it.

Chris Pratt is the heart and soul of this movie, and we follow him as he fights these monsters from the future and for most part, all of them are fighting a losing battle. Somewhere in the story of this battle lies a deep and emotional fatherly impact wherein one person selfishly goes to the future in order to prevent his daughter from falling to that same horrid fate.

I would have liked a more concise narrative which flowed better, almost like Edge of Tomorrow and even though the action in this is at par, if not better, the story still lags behind.

We follow the character of Dan (Played by Chris Pratt) in The Tomorrow War. He has lived a simple life, working a decent job as a teacher, but his real talent for science and chemistry lies wasted. In spite of trying so hard to acquire a job which aligns with his deepest passion, his bad luck forces him to go back to school.

So one fine evening, a football stadium in the US gets invaded by a portal and what comes out of it are humans, but from the future. They proclaim that an alien species has invaded the world and the only way to prevent it is to stop it in the future and end the conflict for good.

The prevalent dynamic of kids and youngsters being forced to go in the war is turned upside down as now it is the adults who have to go into the year 2051, for a week, and kill as many monsters as they possibly can. Some are there because of their own personal volition and the others are forced against their will. Each living man and woman is turned into a soldier, and for one week, their life is controlled by a thin fate.

The Tomorrow War Movie: Breathtaking Action Set Pieces

The Tomorrow War has some insane action sequences which don’t just create fights for the sake of it. Everything feels planned and they fit the narrative that the movie is trying to establish. From that entry into 2051 right into a swimming pool with heads bashing on the ledges, the floor and many who completely miss the pool, the brutality of this situation comes into the picture.

It becomes increasingly clear as to how unprepared and desperate the population is that they have no option whatsoever to stop those accidental deaths. Moreover, they don’t even reference those deaths and it just becomes another workplace accident like the thousand other workplace accidents that might have already taken place.

It is dark and not without its stakes. Dan’s experience as a Navy Seal is what keeps him going and promotes him as the self-proclaimed leader of the group as he tries to get the group out of the building, and into the war.

Monsters feel like a blend of Edge of Tomorrow and a Guillermo Del Toro creature, yet they still carry their own gimmicks and character. The one thing that I found really unique and badass was their ability to shoot projectiles from their claws and watching those mini blades stab people in full velocity felt really fresh and unlike anything I have seen before. Their Presence feels menacing and works terrifically as a way of building an incredible amount of tension and anxiety.

Chris Pratt Talks About Producing, Working in CGI and The Element of Fatherhood in ‘The Tomorrow War’

The Tomorrow War Movie: A Rather Muddled Climax

Coming back to the action sequences, my favourite one has to be when they try to trap one of the creatures in a pit in the middle of an infested landscape. The CGI and the visual effects flows so smoothly with the choreography of the sequence and watching Chris Pratt singlehandedly tackle this ginormous hunk of a creature with his honed skill set was spectacular.

And obviously, all of these scenes wouldn’t have been the same without that fantastic score by Lorne Balfe. It creates a sense of victory as they get away from an island full of aliens, but it also makes you emotional as characters have to watch their closest allies and children die in front of their eyes.

The concept however, carries a lot of plot holes in itself. It was to be expected that even the most original ideas carry flaws, but the main issue The Tomorrow War succumbs to is its inability to effectively weave the narrative together. It falls prey to some pacing issues and the tension and anxiety it builds with the better part of the movie get lost in its hazy climax.

The slope of excitement which went upward throughout the movie, comes falling down as the climax doesn’t manage to justify the glamour it dished us before. Not just the climax but the events leading up to it feel sudden and unrealized, and quite frankly, silly.

It tries to jumble between light-hearted plot arcs and the yada-yadas of Sci-Fi and it doesn’t necessarily succeed in balancing them. The Father Son portrayal of Chris Pratt’s and J.K. Simmons’s character takes priority, but my investment in Dan’s and his daughter’s relationship was far greater than his and his father’s relationship, so I ended up feeling weirdly confused with the direction that it took.

The other minute plot holes are many in this film, but again, picking out plot holes in a time travel movie is like barking at a moving car, it serves no purpose. Some films do it better, some films do it weird, and The Tomorrow War kinda tips towards the prior.

The Tomorrow War is still an amazing Science Fiction which is epic for almost the entire runtime. Chris Pratt gives a terrific performance as he successfully jumbles between playing a badass soldier and a broken father and son. It is bound to be a treat for die hard Chris Pratt fans, and the connoisseurs of Science-Fiction will have a fairly good time with the build-up of the movie, however I can’t really say the same about its final act. It is a proper blockbuster which will definitely serve as a bang for your Amazon Prime Video Membership.

The Movie Culture Synopsis

Chris Pratt rules The Tomorrow War with one of his best performances till date in a Sci-Fi offering. Chris McKay takes a wild jump from directing animated movies to a full-fledged blockbuster which definitely serves its purpose. It hits hard and amazes you at many points, even when the story gets muddled as it reaches the end.

Watching this on the biggest screen possible will definitely blow you away with its sheer scale and scope, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a mix of mindful and mindless action.

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Film review: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Legendary cinema titans team up and go to war in bonkers crossover epic…

Echoing the resilience of its titular ancient beasts, 2021’s Godzilla Vs. Kong managed to adapt, survive and even thrive in the face of adversity. A big hit when it was released simultaneously in cinemas and on streaming platforms, it claimed pandemic box office records in the process – something even Christopher Nolan’s Tenet couldn’t do.

Unsurprisingly, then, the Titans are back. This time they’ve been given even more screen time, new allies and antagonists, and a dramatic expansion of the lore surrounding them. Also returning for the ride is director Adam Wingard, who seems hellbent on making this follow-up as big, bright and absolutely bananas as possible. It's a task he’s more than equal to in a film that’s like a cartoon come to life in all the best ways.

Story-wise, it would be spoilerific to reveal too much, though events centre around a new threat to the Hollow Earth, the subterranean realm Kong has made his home. This results in our heroes teaming up, though Kong is very much the focus this time around, which is no bad thing.

For all Godzilla’s atomic-breathed antics, he’s not exactly emotive. Kong, however, has pathos and an expressive face – he’s a misunderstood loner desperate to find others like him. He soon does, though with the arrival of Skar King – a brutal simian wielding a whip made from a giant spine – he may wish he hadn’t.

Kong’s journey here brings welcome heart, because like other entries in this MonsterVerse franchise, the human side of things is rather short-changed. Who’s really watching this for the people, though, however talented they are? Admittedly, Dan Stevens is an absolute hoot as Trapper, a cocksure wisecracker straight out of the ’80s action movie playbook, but his talented castmates, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry, are largely relegated to being vessels for the increasingly complicated exposition.

This would probably be less of a complaint if it wasn’t for the existence of last year’s Godzilla Minus One. Made by Toho, Godzilla’s creative home in Japan for 70 years, it was a critical and commercial success – not to mention an Academy Award winner for Best Visual Effects. More importantly, it's as much about PTSD, survivor’s guilt and identifying one’s purpose as it was about a humongous lizard smashing up buildings.

That film is set in a different time, though, and, with its comments on the devastation wrought upon a country’s psyche by the Second World War, a drastically different context. It’s testament to the flexibility of Godzilla as an idea that these two films can exist simultaneously.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire isn’t nearly that deep - and that’s absolutely fine. With the accompanying Apple TV+ series, Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters, doing the heavy lifting in terms of character and historical development, we’re free to focus on the sight of globe-trotting dust ups. And if those don’t appeal to you, then, honestly, what does?

While criticism is often levelled at the bewildering amount of CGI in films like this, The New Empire manages to make it look beautiful. Like Thor Ragnarok did for the Marvel series, it’s shot through with an extraordinary colour palette – from the brilliant blue of Kong’s axe, to the luminous pink infusing Godzilla’s body this time around.

Get ready to have your cynicism stomped on, because this is a spectacular rock opera of a monster movie, replete with destruction, surprises and more than a little silliness – surely what the biggest cinema screens were made for…?

Verdict: 4/5

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is released on March 29 via Warner Bros

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‘Civil War’ Review: Alex Garland’s Grim and Nauseatingly Violent Nightmare Imagines What’s Next for America

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The filmmaking style of Alex Garland’s “ Civil War ” is, in many ways, the negative image of Jonathan Glazer’s “ The Zone of Interest. ” Both films deal with dehumanization and desensitization to the suffering of others, but where Jonathan Glazer’s film does this with absence and restraint, Garland’s assaults the viewer with nauseating intensity. Shaky camerawork enhances the you-are-there feeling of the film’s combat scenes, and every gunshot — and there are a lot of them — is mixed loud enough to make your ears ring.

In real life, America is growing crueler and more divided by the day, and the social fabric of the country is disintegrating along with its infrastructure. But “Civil War” isn’t a plea for empathy, or even civility. It simply follows this trend to its logical end point, which is a country where militiamen with automatic weapons shoot strangers on sight and torture their old high school classmates in the burned-out shells of abandoned car washes. Everyone who isn’t directly affected by the violence pretends it isn’t happening, in the name of “stay[ing] out” of politics — a stance that the film condemns more strongly than any.

Jessie will receive a traumatic education in the life of a war correspondent over the next few days, as she tags along with Lee, her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura), and her mentor Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) in their beat-up white press van on what’s technically a road trip — although that term seems a little too pleasant for what’s happening here. They set off on a roundabout route from New York to D.C. that takes them through Pennsylvania and West Virginia and finally down to Charlottesville, the rather on-the-nose front line of a war that’s emboldened white Americans to execute anyone they deem an “other.”

This dynamic plays out in a scene that juxtaposes the warm yellow sunlight and delicate wildflowers of a spring day with a nightmarish tangle of bodies in a mass grave, overseen by a soldier played by Jesse Plemons whose whimsical red plastic sunglasses both contrast with and highlight his casual sadism. The film’s blaring needle drops have a similar, if less focused, effect: Pop music is usually fun, which makes its inclusion here disquieting, because there’s nothing fun about this film. It has some darkly surreal moments, sure. Maybe even a barking, joyless laugh or two. But it’s not fun .

One thing that works in “Civil War” is bringing the devastation of war home: Seeing American cities reduced to bombed-out rubble is shocking, which leads to a sobering reminder that this is already what life is like for many around the world. Today, it’s the people of Gaza. Tomorrow, it’ll be someone else. The framework of this movie may be science fiction, but the chaotic, morally bankrupt reality of war isn’t. It’s a return to form for its director after the misstep of “Men,” a film that’s grim and harrowing by design. The question is, is the emptiness that sets in once the shock has worn off intentional as well?

“Civil War” premiered at SXSW 2024. A24 will release it in theaters on Friday, April 12.

How Alex Garland and His Cast Created the Sobering Dystopia of Civil War

O utside of Atlanta, a creaky white van weaved down a highway lined with abandoned cars. A helicopter sat in the parking lot of a charred JCPenney. Armed guards in military fatigues patrolled checkpoints. A death squad dumped corpses into a mass grave. Artillery boomed in the offing.

It was all part of a movie set, but to the actors starring in Civil War, felt all too real. The new film, opening in theaters April 12, takes place in a near-future United States ravaged by conflict. California and Texas, which make up the so-called Western Forces, have seceded from the union in response to an authoritarian third-term President who has jettisoned the Constitution, disbanded the FBI, authorized airstrikes on his own citizens, and now aims to “eliminate the final pockets of resistance.” To create as credible a dystopia as possible, director Alex Garland and the crew turned parts of the Atlanta region into a soberingly plausible hot spot.

“It felt very disturbing,” says Kirsten Dunst , one of the leads, of the film’s blurring with reality. “Toward the end, it was all the noise and the gunfire, and then just looking at the news and seeing that there’s another school shooting.”

By the time Civil War premiered at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in mid-March, it had already generated some heat online. Reddit commenters debated whether invoking such severe domestic turbulence is irresponsible at a time when the nation’s political divisions have reached a fever pitch. One person worried it “might be interpreted as a role model to MAGA groups if not portrayed carefully.” Garland, the British science-fiction ace who made Ex Machina and Annihilation , anticipated polarized reactions. In a sense, they’re why he made Civil War in the first place. “It’s really a film about why polarization is not a great thing,” he says. “It’s trying to have a conversation. It’s trying to find common ground.”

On top of everything else, Civil War is also an intimate character study. Dunst plays Lee, a jaded photojournalist traveling with three colleagues—two reporters ( Wagner Moura of Narcos fame and Lady Bird ’s Stephen McKinley Henderson) and a novice photographer ( Priscilla ’s Cailee Spaeny)—from New York City to Washington, D.C., which Moura’s grizzled ringleader predicts is on the cusp of falling. There, they hope to question a President ( Nick Offerman ) who hasn’t given an interview in more than a year. The journey through a nation at war with itself is a circuitous, 857-mile odyssey, much like a video game in which the hero must evade death or capture by antagonists. In this case, those foes are power-hungry goons wielding carbines. Garland based these threats and detours (which, if you’re doing math, nearly quadrupled the length of the journey) on real-world analogues, like a thug, played by Jesse Plemons , whose MO is loosely inspired by the Khmer Rouge, the totalitarian movement that took over Cambodia in 1975.

Budgeted at $50 million, Civil War is the most expensive movie A24 has released, teeing up a more commercial era for the trendy indie studio that built its renown on auteur-driven projects like The Zone of Interest , Everything Everywhere All at Once , and Moonlight. But unlike some sweeping apocalyptic blockbuster or The Last of Us –style genre hybrid, its psychodrama doesn’t incorporate fantasy tropes. You won’t find any zombies here. Lee becomes a reluctant mentor to Spaeny’s Jessie, who quickly notes that she shares a name with distinguished World War II photojournalist Lee Miller (soon to be portrayed by Kate Winslet in a biopic).

Garland drafted the film during 2020’s COVID-19 lockdowns . He’d contracted the disease early on. Upon emerging from quarantine in Gloucestershire, England, he stepped into what he calls a “reverse Narnia.” The world around him felt strange, paranoid, and divided. He wrote the script that spring, anticipating a future further riven by sectarian strife. He mapped out a fictional backstory to the film’s events but omits most of it from the screen. The year Civil War takes place is unspecified, and although the President seems to have a Trumpian view of the Constitution’s impermanence, there is no firm left-vs.-right ideology at play. Even the actors say they weren’t given much context. “We kind of built what happened before in our own minds,” Moura recalls. “We never really spoke about it.” Even though Civil War forgoes Garland’s usual sci-fi lens, it shares with his previous work a sense that life has spiraled beyond our control. Withholding the how and why is kind of the Garland way.

De-emphasizing the political ticktock lets Civil War home in on its conflict’s human toll. As the quartet gets closer to D.C., their steely exteriors crack—and yet their pursuit remains steadfast, even if it could result in death. It’s a higher calling, and perhaps an adrenaline addiction. Garland made the arduous choice to shoot the movie chronologically, so the intensity the actors experienced was constantly mounting. “I’ve never been scared like that before, and I’ve never felt more alive,” Jessie declares after an especially harrowing chapter.

Garland’s crew bolted eight small cameras to the protagonists’ van. Because so many scenes occurred in the car, the production felt profoundly intimate. Spaeny likens the road scenes to a play. But unlike theater, or even a typical movie shoot, Civil War changed locations every few days as the characters’ trek progressed, introducing constant logistical puzzles for the producers and craftspeople to solve.

The third act, filmed at Tyler Perry’s 330-acre Atlanta studio, which contains a replica of the White House, is explosive—literally. Choppers drop bombs, buildings catch fire, Humvees roll in, smoke clogs the night sky. Garland used visual effects to blow up the Lincoln Memorial as the journalists face guerrillas closing in on the capital. To prepare, the cast watched the 2018 documentary Under the Wire, which chronicles war correspondents in Syria. Dunst and Spaeny trained with photographers to master camera functions so they’d seem seasoned even as chaos erupted. “That was my biggest fear: not looking comfortable or like this is something that’s a part of my body,” says Dunst, who studied under Austin-based shutterbug Greg Giannukos. Garland also enlisted Ray Mendoza, a former Navy SEAL, as a military adviser; Mendoza choreographed the final sequence and hired veterans as extras.

The movie’s verisimilitude is what got the internet commentariat buzzing when Civil War ’s trailer debuted in December. Some, upon learning the conflict’s origins aren’t more explicit, might accuse the movie of pulling punches. But Garland sought to avoid a “lecture” about the state of the nation. “If you’re honest, you don’t need to be told because you already know,” at least vaguely, what caused the turmoil, he says. “There’s a lot of films that tell everything to everyone and make everything completely digestible. I’m not particularly interested in doing it because it feels oppositional to engagement. ‘Left vs. right’ closes down the conversation. That is the problem with polarization.”

Even the idea that Texas and California, which rarely agree on anything, would both secede is a rebuttal to the disunity that Civil War critiques. Why, Garland asks, is it so hard to believe that two disparate states would rebel against a fascist government remaking America in the President’s image? Secession movements in both Texas (dubbed “Texit”) and California (“CalExit”) have sprung up recently, with the latter conceptualizing an “alternative to potential civil violence and civil war in the country.”

If the movie preaches anything, it’s a pacifist gospel. Hollywood sometimes struggles to separate the repugnance of war from the glorification of it. Here, the thesis is unmistakable. “It’s an antiwar film, which is problematic to do because cinema doesn’t necessarily want to be antiwar,” Garland says, reflecting a not-uncommon concern among pundits that the thrill of seeing warfare on a big screen numbs audiences. But from where Garland sits, at least, it demands to be seen. As the subhead on Rolling Stone’ s SXSW review blared, "No, it’s not a documentary—yet."

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