A simple formula: Pay less for the script and talent = pay more for the effects

Rating: Null/10 (29 May 2004)

I was utterly blown away by the special effects in The Day After Tomorrow. I was astonished at how natural and fluid the CGI was in this film. It actually made it difficult to determine what was real and what was created. That being said, this movie is abysmal. The plot is second rate, the subplots were ridiculous, and although the theory behind the fiction was interesting, the execution was laughable. Don't get me started on the acting
The Day After Tomorrow is yet another in a long string of Man Vs. the awesome-power-of-some-incredibly-large-force-that-we-can't-control-or-predict. It is brought to you by Writer, Director, Producer Roland Emmerich (Godzilla, Independence Day, Stargate) who started it all back in 1996 with Independence Day. Back then, we were going to get decimated by aliens. Since then, mankind has faced destruction by two meteors, a perfect storm, more aliens, a virus or two, a large green Monster named Godzilla, abnormally large and voracious insects, two Volcanic eruptions, and the Earth herself. This is a tired plot that should be shelved for more imaginative ones.
The plot synopsis is simple: We are consumer pigs that destroyed the Earth without thought to consequence, and now the beast will strike back against us. This time, it does it in the form of a global climate shift that takes place over 24 hours, rather than the scientifically held belief of a few centuries. This climate shift swells the seas with melting polar ice caps, followed by a -200 degree Fahrenheit storm that instantly freezes everything it catches, except for a small group of highschoolers, and a two dudes in a Wendy's.
Were there characters in this film? I almost forgot. Jack Hall, played by Dennis Quaid (Cold Creek Manor, Traffic, Frequency), is one of those guys who finds refuge in a Wendy's, while his son, Sam Hall, played by Jake Gyllenhaal (The Good Girl, Bubble Boy, Donnie Darko), is one of the high school students trapped in the New York Central Library. I'm sure there were other stars in this film, but it doesn't matter. You won't remember them anyway. They are just faces that didn't get frozen.
What you will remember, however, are the special effects. They are miraculous, at minimum. It is almost impossible to determine where the true filming occurred and where the CGI begins. They will be the industry yardstick by which all future films will be measured.
If you have any desire at all to see this film, do not miss it on the big screen. The sound and visual effects will shake you alive. Don't expect to be shaken by the acting talents or plot devices, and try not to laugh at the pathetic dialogue. If you are a nit-picker, stick with ST:NG, you will be bored silly with this script. For the rest of us, enjoy the Special effects.
This film deserves a zero, but because the special effects are so incredible, it is getting a 3. That is in no way an indication that this is a good film, but only an indication that they did one hell of a job putting it all together.