Netflix And Chill: The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

While it is a silly and entertaining blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow also does a good job of showing idiots why global warming is still a major problem, even if it feels like our weather is generally getting colder and wetter. Climate change deniers like to point to bad weather as an argument against global warming. It is, in fact, actually a strong indicator of the way things are headed.

Things get very bad for us humans as the weather gets a lot worse and temperatures plummet. This is an exaggerated scenario, of course, but it’s all done to show humans trying to overcome overwhelming odds to survive a snap ice age. Dennis Quaid is the scientists who has been warning about this kind of thing happening for a long time, and Jake Gyllenhaal is his son, stuck in New York City with a mixed group of people all trying to stay warm and stay alive. There is some very bad weather, there is a need for penicillin, and there are some escaped zoo animals adding to their problems.

Few people, if any, have enjoyed destroying our world as much as Roland Emmerich. He used to be content with aliens and monsters, but has now used the environment numerous times to create tales of humans struggling to survive in increasingly inhospitable conditions. Having co-written this screenplay with Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Emmerich delivers a fantastic mix of spectacle and human interest. It's cheesy, it's ridiculous, it's increasingly unbelievable as we head to the big ending, but it's damn entertaining.

The special effects, mostly created using CGI, hold up surprisingly well, even the wandering and vicious wolves that I used to point to as the weakest part of the film. If there's one thing that Emmerich is good at then it's creating at least one unforgettable movie moment/image, and this film has more than one. Whether it's a tidal wave looking to flood a major city, a major bit of tornado damage, or the Statue Of Liberty covered in snow and ice, The Day After Tomorrow fills out the 124-minute runtime with one great movie moment after another. 

Quaid and Gyllenhaal are both very good as they take turns carrying the film on their shoulders. Both actors have an innate appeal, and both give performances that never seem to be winking or implying that they are "slumming it". There's also some decent support from Emmy Rossum (who ends up in need of that penicillin), Austin Nichols, Dash Mihok, and Jay O. Sanders, even if you suspect that not everyone is going to make it to the end credits. Elsewhere, familiar faces like Sela Ward, Adrian Lester Sasha Roiz, Kenneth Welsh, and Ian Holm (a real highlight here) do their bit to sell the unfolding apocalyptic scenario.

You will see many people dismissing this as a spectacle movie that hasn't aged too well, but I would strongly disagree. I think it is, quite frankly, a brilliant blockbuster that takes the standard Emmerich template (small set-pieces interspersed with character moments on the way to more and more spectacular destruction) and applies it to numerous weather anomalies that are as well-utilised as they are well-realised. Maybe not as good as the director's high point, Independence Day, but it's only a step or two behind it, in my opinion.

9/10

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Replicas (2018)

It's a familiar tale. A scientist tries to figure out how to breathe proper life into a creation. It's just not happening. Then his loved ones die in a car accident. The scientist uses all of the resources at his disposal to bring them back to life, with the exception of one (because he doesn't have enough equipment). Everyone seems moderately happy while we wait for the inevitable trouble to start.

That's everything you need to know about this sci-fi movie starring Keanu Reeves in the main role. He plays Will Foster, a man who will go to great lengths to have more time with his family. He's helped in his secret mission by Ed (Thomas Middleditch), and the two men have to avoid piquing the curiosity of their boss, Jones (John Ortiz).

The screenplay by Chad St. John, building on a story by Stephen Hamel, sets up an interesting premise in the first half that is then wasted, with no consideration given to some of the more complex ideas that could have been the focus of a sharper and smarter movie. And that's before I start commenting on the actual dialogue, which is pretty awful.

Director Jeffrey Nachmanoff adds nothing to the material, in terms of skill or style. Looking at his filmography, which is mainly made up of a couple of movies and then intermittent TV work, it seems that this is his usual level. In fact, given his career path, I am amazed that he had a chance to helm this. Considering the many ways in which the plot could have been steered, this would seem to be an obvious fit for a director with a proven track record. I could name a dozen directors who may have made something more of this, which just makes me slightly sadder for what we ended up with.

Reeves seems to be going along on autopilot in his role, unsurprisingly, and Ortiz is the same, perhaps even slightly worse at times. Alice Eve is a bit better, but given a lot less to do, in the role of the deceased wife/mother. Middleditch is the only one doing something that livens up a few scenes, however, and it's a shame that his role couldn't be expanded.

Annoyingly, there's STILL almost enough here to allow me to enjoy this. The first act poses some interesting questions, most of which it fails to answer, but then it plods along for the middle section, and even most of the finale. Fortunately, there are one or two moments in the very last scenes that are entertaining enough to almost fool you into thinking that you've enjoyed the movie by the time the end credits roll.

Anyone not as obsessed with Keanu Reeves as I am can feel free to remove a point from my rating.

4/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.