Film Review: "The Tomorrow War" (2021).

From the director of The Lego Batman Movie comes The Tomorrow War. This military science fiction film directed by Chris McKay and written by Zach Dean. Time travelers arrive from 2051 to deliver an urgent message: 30 years in the future mankind is losing a war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians to be transported to the future and join the fight. Determined to save the world for his daughter, Dan Forester teams up with a brilliant scientist and his estranged father to rewrite the planet’s fate.

In February 2019, it was announced that Chris Pratt was in negotiations to star in a military science fiction film titled Ghost Draft (later retitled as The Tomorrow War) and with McKay hired to direct. By early September, Yvonne Strahovski, J. K. Simmons, and Betty Gilpin rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early January 2020. Filming took place in Georgia, Atlanta and Miami, Florida, USA, as well as Iceland. The film was initially scheduled for a December 25, 2020 release date by Paramount Pictures, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was rescheduled to July 23, 2021, taking the release date of Mission: Impossible 7, then later pulled from the schedule again. In January 2021, Amazon Studios was in final talks to acquire the film for around $200 million. In April 2021, it was announced that Amazon had officially acquired the film, and set it to be released on Amazon Prime Video on July 2, 2021.

The film stars Pratt, Strahovski, Simmons, and Gilpin. The strength of the lead performances and the inventive use of sci-fi conventions make this better than the usual mainstream fare. This is the best we've seen from Pratt in years, and Strahovski wears her heroism well.

The first two reels are packed with energy and invention it's only when the conventions that made the story enticing are put aside in the last reel that the movie becomes a standard science fiction action flick. Unexpectedly clever surprises keep the anticipation and mystification rolling, while the action sequences are plentiful and intense. On face value, the film deals with familiar tropes - of a war for the planet and time loops and alien invasions - but it's brilliantly executed with some fantastic combat sequences. McKay deftly orchestrates the destruction, ensuring it doesn't sink into mind-numbing Transformers fare. Pratt and Strahovski invest a great deal of heart in their action heroics. The film is a fun, rip-roaring sci-fi actioner. It has explosions and gunfire and aliens, yet it's also very smart with a wicked sense of humor. Though the film threatens to become a repetitive bore, yet at each plausible juncture, its formula veers inextricably into new facets of intrigue, at least enough to keep wandering attention spans at bay. The film deserves praise and viewers. It is proof that calculated cynicism and recycled content aren't the only ways to deliver big-budget, mainstream entertainment.

Simon says The Tomorrow War receives:

Also, see my review for The Lego Batman Movie.