Silly as expected, but undeniably very entertaining.

Rating: Null/10 (29 May 2004)

*** out of ****
I've always been pretty harsh on Roland Emmerich, whose movies are alternately cheesy, brainless, and almost completely ridiculous. But lots of stuff usually get blown up real good with thrilling action scenes and at least half of his films have starred first-rate actors who were above the material (Stargate, The Patriot, and the same goes here for The Day After Tomorrow).
Professor Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) is a climatologists whose latest research in the Antarctic has led him to believe that sooner than later, perhaps in the next 100 years, a major climate shift will occur that will radically the change the face of the Earth. But such long-term problems are dismissed by American politicians, who believe the economy has more pressing and immediate concerns.
Because of his occupation, Jack barely has any opportunity to spend much time with his teenage son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who heads off to New York City to compete in a school "trivia" contest. But as he arrives, the climate abruptly shifts, bringing about massive storms all throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Soon, all of New York is flooded, the water turned to ice, and it begins snowing as the temperature dwindles, bringing about the new Ice Age. Sam and a small group (including Emmy Rossum as a classmate Sam has a crush on) have holed up inside the public library, burning the books to keep warm.
Further research shows that the entire Northern Hemisphere will be part of his Ice Age, leading Jack to advise that any person who can possibly be saved be evacuated to Mexico. Desperate to save his son, Jack and his team set out from Washington, D.C. on a rescue mission, despite the steadily worsening conditions.
The Day After Tomorrow (from here on referred to as TDAT) is no different than any typical film of the natural disaster genre, with only perhaps the special effects to stand out from the rest of the bunch. But given just how spectacular the visuals are, that alone is enough to warrant a recommendation. Yes, the film's premise is outrageous (I'm not going to delve in on the scientific details because I'm certainly no meterological expert), but it's outrageous to the extent that it remains fairly believable in the confines of Hollywood cinema.
The film's two central story lines, Sam's fight for survival and Jack's rescue mission, are both nicely juxtaposed, with leads Dennis Quaid and Jake Gylenhaal delivering decent performances and developing their characters adequately enough that I cared for their plight. Quaid is actually a tad subpar here and there, particularly when he has to utter weather jargon that he doesn't look all that comfortable with, but remains perfectly believable as a determined, caring father.
Most of the acting is a mixture of on and off. Sela Ward does little more than cry and show concern for the danger her ex-husband and son are in, while Emmy Rossum simply looks very cute as Sam's love interest. She also looks like a combo of actresses Anne Hathaway, Rose Byrne, and Brittany Murphy, and yes, that's a good thing. Occasionally awkward and/or unconvincing performances are delivered by Arjay Smith as a super-nerd (who keeps referring to himself as a nerd) and Dash Mihok as one of Jack's partners who has a crush on a Japanese scientist (played by the lovely Tamlyn Tomita).
Those expecting all-out mayhem as the trailers somewhat indicated might be a little disappointed; there are only two large-scale disaster sequences, and only one of them actually works up genuine thrills and suspense, that being the flooding of New York City, which is spectacular and exciting, and probably the highlight of the picture. The twister attack in L.A. is visually impressive, but a little flat considering the focus of the situation keeps shifting from place to place and we don't care for any of the characters caught up in it.
Most of the film is concerned with the survival story of the group holed up in the library, and so long as we find ourselves caught up in their situation, the film remains gripping. Thankfully, there's enough variety in their plight that it doesn't get repetitive (though I have to question the inclusion of wolves to up the ante). A later sequence involving the Eye of the Storm freezing everything in its path is just as memorable and nail-biting as the flooding (though I have to wonder if the freezing process is something people can actually outrun). Roland Emmerich may not know a thing about quality characterizations or writing dialogue, but he knows how to capture destruction and I don't think he's ever been better at it than he has here.
As per any Emmerich film, there's an attempted sense of humor that seems requisite of any crowd-pleasing summer blockbuster. Anybody who's seen Godzilla or The Patriot will know humor also isn't Emmerich's forte, but I was truly surprised by the number of good laughs the film delivered. Sure, most of the humor is still either dumb (the guy's crush on the Japanese scientist) or overemphasized (the fact that Americans are the refugees crossing into Mexico, the very fact that the president looks like Al Gore and the vice president like Dick Cheney), but a lot of it's funnier than I expected.
With all these silly but successful elements blending together, TDAT delivers on two hours of sheer entertainment. Yeah, the environmental message could use a little more subtlety and the final scene, though visually pretty, is also pretty cheesy, but the film moves fast and is always enjoyable, and that's all I ask for from this kind of movie.