Tomorrow war review

Tinashe Kusema

IT goes without say that 2021 has been the year of surprise hits with DC’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ and Ryan Reynold’s “Free Guy’ amongst the more shocking of the litter.

After the colossal flop that was 2016’s “Suicide Squad”, John Cena is one of the reason why the sequel has done so well.

The wrestler-turned-actor’s take as “Peacemaker” has been such a huge hit amongst critics and fans alike that the decision to sanction a miniseries based on the character has turned out to be a stroke of genius.

The HBOMax series is set to premiere in January.

I am going to reserve my judgement on the Ryan Reynold action-comedy ‘Free Guy’, as I haven’t seen it yet.

However, the internet has been buzzing over the movie since its release in August.

Funny enough, this week’s review has nothing to do with either film, and neither is it some analysis of the year’s best and worst movies.

“Tomorrow War” is clearly one of the breakout hits of the year 2021, at least, in my eyes.

 The film follows Dan Forester Jnr (Chris Pratt), an army veteran and now biology teacher, who gets drafted into a war almost three decades into the future.

The year is 2022, and a platoon of soldiers interrupt a televised football game to inform the world that an alien species has declared war on the human race and is winning.

However, the catch comes in the form that said war is occurring some 29 years in the future.

As the alien creatures, known as Whitespikes, nears victory, the human race creates a time machine (Jumplink) with the hope of going back in time to recruit more people to join the fight.

Their efforts fail spectacularly, at first, and it is up to Forester and a small squadron of ordinary men and women to save the day.

Forester joins the war, meets up with his now grown-up daughter Muri Forester (Yvonne Strahovski) and the two put their scientific heads together to identify and exploit the aliens’ one weakness.

As interesting as the premise sounds, it’s important to note that it is not the most original idea.

In fact, the movie is full of snippets and nods to the many science-fiction movies that came before it.

The only difference is in the execution.

Also, there is the added bonus of stellar performances, and a delicate blend of action and drama which helps elevate the movie.

Chris Pratt puts up a vintage Chris Pratt performance and brings both a level of charm and believability to the Dan Forester character.

The Marvel man carries on his fine form of leading men performances, and is helped by commendable supporting acts in Strahovski, Sam Richardson (Charlie), J.K Simmons (Dan Forester Snr) and Edwin Hodge (Dorian).

Pratt and Strahovski carry the bulk of the heavy load, as the hardnosed father and daughter duo who also have a fractured relationship to mend while the world approaches its end.

Here, Strahovski shines the brightest.

Simmons and Hodge are the tough guys of the film, while Richardson is the comic relief.

Everyone has a part to play, and they all execute their roles perfectly.

The action scenes are top drawer, while the alien design is almost perfect.

 It’s quite a shame that the movie was released during the Covid-19 era, as I am pretty sure that it would have done good business at the box office.

 To date, the movie has only earned a measly US$18 million, having worked on a budget of about US$200 million.