The Tomorrow War

Evie Totty: “It was ok.”

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

I really liked this movie - but it won't be a classic Sci-Fi by any stretch of the imagination.

Set in 2021 (I think) and 2050 (I know) - this story is about our children and grandchildren facing an enemy so monstrous (literally) that the human race has all but been wiped out - less than 60k remain out of billions. They have created a method of time travel to come to the present time and recruit citizens to join the fight in the future. The situation is so dire, global leaders have enacted a draft. If your number comes up and you meet certain criteria - of which military experience is not one of them - you are given a gun and sent to the battle. If you are considered "alive" (yes - quotes are necessary here) after seven days, you are brought back to the present and your tour is complete.

Chris Pratt plays a science teacher with a military past who is looking for a new position and not having any luck so his - and his family's - immediate future is uncertain. He has a daughter whom he is obviously devoted to and is always finding ways to include science in his day-to-day interactions with her.

Needless to say, his number comes up, he meets the criteria, and is sent to the future. His past training is an advantage and helps keeps him alive. (Not really a spoiler, because without him, there'd be no movie.)

He finds out the aliens who are on the verge of rendering the human race extinct came without warning and the rest of the movie deals with devising a way to prevent this tragedy from occurring in the present day.

It was an enjoyable movie to watch - plenty of action and tender moments with an attempt to get the viewer to appreciate what they have and not take it for granted. The final narration by Pratt's character moved me so much, it made me cry - but that's just me. I cry over almost anything remotely emotional in film.

Definitely worth the watch. Had it been released in the theater, it probably would have made a lot of money opening weekend and dropped off quickly. I gave it an 'ok', falling in my scale of 'Watch it' - but I kind of want to watch it again, just to see things played out with the knowledge of what is to come.

I would like to add that J.K. Simmons has a small, but powerful part. Always a pleasure to see on the screen.

− July 12, 2021 • more by Evie • log in or create an account to reply

Scott Hardie: I probably won't see this, as the reviews and its own trailer don't make it look appealing. So I have to know:

1) How are there still world leaders on an Earth with only 60k people? That's more like a small-town mayor per country.

2) Why would they draft people without military experience if they have their choice of anyone on Earth who ever lived? Are there not literally millions upon millions of soldiers available?

3) If they have time travel technology, why aren't they working on preventing the alien invasion instead of fighting back? I realize that the film depends on this (and I assume that there's some twist ending like the "aliens" turn out to be us mucking around with time or something), but it still doesn't make sense. − July 18, 2021 • more by Scott