Even worse than Independence Day

Rating: Null/10 (8 October 2004)

Now, don't get me wrong. I thought Independence Day was an incredibly stupid, pointless movie, and also ridiculously patriotic, although this director is actually German, not American!! But my main problem with The Day after Tomorrow, is that, although the main premise of sudden climate changes due to the effects of global warming may be grossly exaggerated and therefore maybe not entirely true, at least this was a serious, existent subject. And Emmerich took this subject and turned it into Independence Day, damn him! When I think of all the interviews he gave before the movie premiered in Germany, stating his deep concern for our environment and especially the American attitude towards steps to protect it, like the Kyoto protocol, I really believed him! And there he was, on the DVD in an interview, stating he originally wasn't attracted to TDAT, "because I thought it was just like Independence Day. But then I thought, no, this story is different, because I never really believed in aliens attacking Earth." Duh! That must be the dumbest thing I've ever heard a director say, and it ruined this film for me completely. However, despite my issues with Roland Emmerich, I must say Jake Gyllenhaal did a really good job with his role, Dennis Quaid tried to rise above the cheesy dialogue (scriptwriting just isn't R.E.'s forte), and the CGI are fantastic! Both the tornado storms in LA as well as New York first drowning, then freezing over, were really well executed, and very impressive. So, I guess, if you are looking for a great visual to sudden climate change, this is your movie. If you're interested in the human development during major catastrophes, any other movie will deliver more credible stories.