My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ On the trip down to LA, my friends decided to watch The Tomorrow War. Beforehand, I had no idea what the movie was (all I knew was that 2 hours into the drive, I’m pretty bored, so anything would be nice to watch). Well, as 2 more hours of the trip progressed, I realized I was in for a sci-fi war film treat. Despite what a lot of critics say, The Tomorrow War was a true gem. Right out of the gate, I want to say that Chris Pratt surprised me with this film. Generally, when you think of Pratt, you think of his more comedic roles: Star-Lord, Emett, Mario, maybe even Garfield. But in a film that really focuses on dramatic aspects and darkly serious (yet still action-packed) situations, Pratt shines in a way that you wouldn’t expect him to. This was a new side of Pratt that I was totally shocked to see: a serious character with real motivation. The way he wants to be a good dad, his fear of entering combat again, the anger he has at his own dad – these are all things that are real and hit close to home. He’s not making you laugh this time; he’s making you stop and pause. Think and connect. That’s what Pratt excels in The Tomorrow War. Likewise, the plot and symbolism is fantastic. I especially love the time travel aspect and how both time periods are connected to by the Jumplink yet are both progressing (or as one character put it, “rafting”) to a catastrophic event. For the present, that is the eventual onset of Whitespikes; for the future, it’s the eventual victory of the Whitespikes. Dread is a centrifugal component of the film’s tone, as the world panics and suffers in very real ways. Particularly, I found the anti-war protests and news footage during the film to highlight the reality of the situation; it isn’t a movie where there’s a group of main characters fighting for their lives, it’s a movie where the whole world is fighting for survival and peace of mind. This effectively fleshes out the film and really makes the viewer connect. Moreover, failure as a father figure is a key idea throughout the film. Dan (Chris Pratt) feels like his father James (J.K. Simmons) simply abandoned him selfishly, while he currently does the same thing to his own daughter (who (spoilers) in the future reveals that Dan eventually abandoned his own family, at least in this timeline). But Dan aims to fix things, which is best symbolized by a scene where he and his daughter in the future try to find the poison to kill all Whitespikes, and the computer continues to read different percentages of “bond”, both chemical (as relating to the Whitespikes) and relational (as relating between Dan and his daughter). The cycle of neglect and dysfunction is a powerful theme in the film, and the presence of the Whitespike aliens surely serves to empower that. While at first glance they look like a weird albino Xenomorph horse (?) gone wrong (terribly, terribly wrong) that has a bloodthirsty desire to maim and kill and maim and kill, the very destructive nature of themselves is symbolic of the evils in life. The Whitespikes are those evil things that take away from us and destroy our relationships, ruin our family, kill our future. They overrun everything until everything is destroyed and they serve one purpose: to eat away. So, what director Chris McKay does here is create a monstrous villain species that goes beyond simple scares and violence and serves to propel the story forward. I would also like to note that the special effects in the film were fantastic. Like the Whitespikes had perfect creature design and the set designs were *chef’s kiss* amazing. Particularly, the, uh, violence in the film was very well-made (perhaps I was a little surprised (and a little queasy) to see high levels of brutality in a PG-13 film), which really made the climactic scene at the end all the more powerful. Anyway, I really loved this film, and there’s nothing to criticize about it. It’s definitely worth a rewatch and The Tomorrow War is one of those rare action films that thinks for itself and knows exactly what it’s doing. What I watched it on: Prime? (on my friend's phone) Other critics: Rotten Tomatoes: 52% Metacritic: 45, "mixed or average reviews"
I really want to get a Whitespike plushie. Wouldn't that be cute and cuddly? ;3 More reviews coming soon! #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war #movie #review #film #critic #shadow #shadowsight #tomorrow #war
