‘The Tomorrow War’ Review

Time travel can always be a tricky topic to tackle in sci-fi films. If done poorly, it can create a ton of plot holes that can bring down the whole movie. Back to the Future is the go-to time travel movie and while it’s not a scientifically accurate portrayal, it’s simple enough to the point that the audience doesn’t question it too much. The Tomorrow War has a time travel plot that’s riddled with holes but has enough cool action moments to make up for it. 

Premise

In the near future, Earth is visited by an army from the future. The army has arrived as the Earth has become ensnared in a war with an alien species that has overwhelmed the planet. The only way to win is to send people from the present to the future to fight and save Earth. So, a worldwide draft begins and regular people are chosen and sent to the future. This includes our lead character, Dan, played by Chris Pratt. 

Review

The Tomorrow War is certainly an enjoyable action film. It has a lot of great spectacle, creative visuals, and likable characters. The concept is interesting but slightly falls apart in execution. It begins simple enough but becomes too convoluted for its own good as the movie progresses. 

This film is riddled with plot holes. I try to never nitpick films while I’m watching them because it hinders my enjoyment of them, but these were noticeable even for me. The time travel rules here sometimes don’t make a lot of sense. Certain character choices also don’t feel natural or are just plain stupid. There are also many ridiculously convenient ways where characters find out new information to further the plot.

Pratt is good in the film and does enough in the lead role to keep you invested in his character. It does help that Pratt usually comes off as a charming personality. Betty Gilpin plays his wife and while she gives a good performance, her character just isn’t given much to do, besides playing the wife character. Yvonne Strahovski plays a soldier in the future who has a certain attachment to Pratt. Strahovski is also really good and plays off of Pratt well. J.K. Simmons also appears in a small role as Pratt’s estranged father, but he’s great per usual.

Director Chris McKay does a decent job of helming the action scenes, with plenty of fast-paced sequences that have a lot of cool visuals and gunfights. The effects look good for the most part and the design of the aliens is really cool. The aliens work best when they’re in a solo fight rather than in a large horde. The way they’re introduced is great and reminds me of many scenes from Aliens. It can briefly be a sci-fi horror movie in the middle of the larger action scenes. 

While the action kept me invested in The Tomorrow War, the pacing can be slow at times, especially towards the third act. At the end of the second act, I thought the movie was going to end soon, but a new discovery leads to the real climax, which means that there is another 40 minutes left. The climax isn’t bad, but it feels forced into a movie that could’ve been over. The film could’ve been trimmed by 20 minutes.

Final Verdict

Overall, I definitely enjoyed The Tomorrow War. It’s not something I can see myself rewatching over and over, but it’s a solid sci-fi action movie. I wish the script was more polished because the premise itself sets up a movie that could’ve been amazing. It’s streaming on Amazon Prime, so if you have access to it, I’d still recommend checking it out. 

Final score: 3.5/5