The Day After The Day After Tomorrow

Rating: 4/10 (13 November 2009)

Emmerich has basically made a sequel to his movie "The Day After Tomorrow". When I saw the trailer, I was astounded for the first time since perhaps "The Phantom Menace". I remember the huge crowds on opening day of "Independence Day". The lengthy trailer for 2012 showed extended sequences that rivaled anything seen, even in "TDAT". But the question in my mind was, what else did the movie have to offer that wasn't already seen in the jaw dropping trailer? The answer is - zilch. I was appalled that they literally put all the money shots in the trailer, and had very little left to make us fork over the 9 bucks. Out of a 2 1/2+ hour movie, you get about 10 minutes of FX shots. No kidding. The rest is filler that is worse than the worst daytime soap opera. There are overlong and boring dialogue scenes of divorced parents and their kids trying to get along. Been there and done that way too many times. Yes, the end of the world is pretty boring. In 2012 sit in airplanes for hours upon end, or spend extended periods of time staring at computer screens with your cliché simulations and other mumbo jumbo. In "TDAT", you had Jake Gyllenhaal and Emmy Rossum get all cute and cuddly, there is no such chemistry between Cusack and ex-wife, or between the President's daughter and the chief scientist.
This movie could have taken a different perspective on such obvious material, but seemed obligated to give the standard speeches as we grapple with losing our loved ones. That's what also makes this movie no fun, there is an understandable but generally overly depressing chain of events, as no one gets through the big event without some downers. The movie this most reminded me of was the extra boring TV cut of "Earthquake". It has a similar arc, spending endless time setting up characters that are quickly forgettable. Then only to have the big moment come and go in just a bat of an eye. I am actually stunned that nobody pressured Emmerich to trim the film down to a more reasonable length. It would give the theaters more showings and the audiences some more of their lives back.