"On the Nose Dialogue"

Rating: Null/10 (26 June 2004)

I don't have much to add to what's already been said here, but this movie is very guilty of what's called "on the nose dialogue." A very rough translation of that is.... the characters are saying, in a wooden way, exactly what was the situation in front of them without any interesting subtext. Or, in cliché's without any buildup (which is worse than a cliché' that isn't at least earned along the way.
For example, in TDAT, the world is coming to an end and Jack Hall is asleep on a coach in the office, after having worked for 24 hours straight, and someone asks his assistant, "Does he always work this hard." What dedication.
Plot wise, I'm missing something. Why does Jack have to "walk" from DC to NYC to save his son. Jack's presence would not, and doesn't change anything.
The special effects were fantastic, but this script wouldn't have gotten past a "reader" at a studio. It did in this case because the writer, director, and producer were one and the same.