The Tomorrow War (2021)

 The Tomorrow War (2021)

 

5/10

Starring

Chris Pratt

Yvonne Strahovski

J. K. Simmons

Betty Gilpin

 

Directed by Chris Laird

 

Contains Spoilers

This is not the best time travel movie out there. Heck, it wouldn’t even make it into many people’s top twenty. But it’s watchable—though ultimately forgettable. The main challenge in the movie arises when everything comes together to save the future. At this point, the movie abandons its seriousness and dives into some unnecessary, nonsensical jabs at other countries, throwing in a heap of mumbo jumbo. Yes, Hollywood, we get it: if the world is ending, the U.S.A. will swoop in to save the day.

The movie has its share of plot holes, as most time travel movies do. If James (Chris Pratt) is supposed to be the key to saving the world, then his daughter’s future shouldn’t have been so bleak in the first place. But maybe that was the "original" timeline, and his actions created an alternate one. If that’s the case, then the movie implies multiple timelines—something that isn’t addressed at all and doesn’t sit well with the plot. And honestly, why was James the one who had to carry the vial back to the past? Literally anyone could have done it.

The story is set in a future where humanity is on the brink of extinction, with only about half a million people left on Earth. The crisis began in 2048 when alien creatures called Whitespikes started consuming humans. In 2051, a team from the future travels back to 2022 to recruit people to join their fight for survival. Enter James, a family man and biologist who previously served in Iraq. The missions are incredibly deadly, with sky-high death tolls, and soon, citizens are being drafted. James is among them.

In the future, James encounters a terrifying alien beast that threatens humanity’s survival. During his mission, he reunites with someone from his past. Together, they must create a toxin to kill the Whitespikes in the past and rewrite the future.

When it comes to action, the movie borrows heavily from 1990s sci-fi, with its explosions, frantic running, and relentless alien attacks. It’s wild and destructive, as you’d expect. However, the movie could have been better if some of the lengthy dialogues had been trimmed. Hollywood seems to have abandoned the idea of concise storytelling—if it’s not two hours long, it’s apparently not worth releasing.

You can stream this movie on Amazon. While it might have flopped at the box office in the pre-streaming era, a sequel is already in the works. I can’t help but wonder what they’ll come up with next.