Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with my look at Roland Emmerich's big summer blow-em-up spectacle THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW.
Is the film a cheesefest? Sure, it is. Does it have a strong environmental political agenda? Sure, it does. Is it entertaining? You bet.
Listen, this movie wears its heart on its sleeve. The political message, the jabs at Bush and Cheney are thinly veiled. The sappy emotions are turned up 100%. The science is radical, but still in the realm of possibility... and more importantly the film lives by the rules it sets up for itself. It's a summer spectacle film with a strong message. The message in ID4 was unity and patriotism, the message in THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW is beware the wrath of mother nature. Treat her right or she'll cleanse herself and you certainly won't like the results.
Believe in the message or don't, that's fine, but the movie really is about spectacle entertainment and it is an entertaining spectacle. Some dialogue is the most balls-out cheesy shit I've heard in a long time, but it fits the movie. The visuals are strong, the disaster is enormous and visually very appealing. The coincidences are large, but acceptable if you can get the fact that you're watching a Science Fiction movie.
The performances are more or less over the top. Dennis Quaid isn't my favorite actor and has some weird facial expressions that make me laugh, but he pulls off the lead in the film, the kind of everyman guy. Jake Gyllenhaal steals the movie, though. His story line in New York was what made the movie an enjoyable experience for me. I liked the relationship between him and his science geek friend (Arjay Smith) and the shy crush he has on the gorgeous Emmy Rossum.
I know there has been some talk about how the movie gets boring at the middle part, after the initial disasters. I don't understand that myself because I thought the movie really came into its own during the second half. Of course the majority of of the second half deals with Gyllenhaal and his group, which was my favorite story line... I guess I'm just a sucker for groups of people in survivalist situations, like POSEIDON ADVENTURE or THE TOWERING INFERNO, because my favorite part of the film was the mission to get medicine (you'll know it when you see it)in the last act.
Honestly, this movie is very entertaining and a tad ridiculous, but not to such a level where it'll keep you from enjoying yourself, unless you absolutely refuse to accept what this movie is: a survivalist spectacle. If you get caught up in the science or the politics then that's your own fault. The movie is what it is... it puts everything on the table and never tries to be sneaky about its message, but it also realizes that its first job is to entertain.
I'd recommend a matinee to just about everyone. If you dig survivalist disaster flicks then this won't disappoint, even with all the cheesy dialogue and line delivery!
-Quint
