Highly entertaining first-half let down by dull second-half.

Rating: 6/10 (8 June 2008)

Director Roland Emmerich of Independence Day and the shoddy Godzilla Remake fame brings us probably the least accurate but best looking global warming warning to date. Don't worry just yet, Emmerich clearly hasn't got his facts right but this is a movie and for entertainment purposes he must e3xagerate a little. A 30ft tidal wave sweeping through Manhattan? Most of Britain under ice? Tornados in Hollywood? It's a tad stretched but for what it's worth the first 40 minutes of The Day After Tomorrow are sheep brilliance dabbling into emotion and not being afraid to dazzle with its monuments effects.
It's a crying shame then that once those 40 minutes are up the film revels its dull serious side. Jumping from unconvincing problem to unconvincing problem back upped by the ultimately charisma drained Dennis Quaid and a forgivably forgettable performance form Jake Gyllenhal makes The Day After Tomorrow a very mixed bag.
Directed by Roland Emmerich, this mega-budget, special-effects-laden epic revolves around the onset of an international series of crises brought on by the long-term results of the greenhouse effect.
At the eye of the storm is paleoclimatologist (a professor dedicated to the study of weather patterns throughout the ages) Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), who voluntarily takes on the preservation of the world in voluntarily takes on the preservation of the world in the dawn of the next ice age and all the disaster that comes along with it -- violent hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, massive floods, etc.
Hall must also contact his son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhal), who was in the middle of an academic competition in New York City when the chaos begun. In addition to facing the largest-scale onslaught of natural catastrophes in the history of humankind, Jack, in his journey north, must contend with the masses fleeing south in an attempt to resettle in a warmer climate. The Day After Tomorrow also features Emma Rossum, Sela Ward, and Joe Cobden. All of whom do a respectable job at providing the often much needed support.
Director Roland Emmerich has had his ups and he has had his downs. Anybody's whose read my 10,000 BC review will know what I mean by downs and what with that terrible Godzilla remake still leaving a mark its odd how the director of the critically acclaimed Independence Day can sink to such a low quality. With The Day After Tomorrow despite its flaws it does enter the group marked the Directors best what with this and Independence Day being his only real success.
My Final Verdict? If only this movie were 40 minutes long then maybe the ending wouldn't be so darn dull. Even still this is entertaining viewing that should not be missed but never should be taken seriously. Global Warming truly isn't such a problem.