Forgettable Fun

Rating: 6/10 (31 May 2004)

My Rating: **1/2 out of ****.
Out of all the movies coming out this month, this one looked the most promising. Van Helsing looked simply awful, Troy looked visually fantastic but the reviews weren't very promising, Shrek 2 didn't look terrible but I am not really compelled to see it either(the first Shrek never needed a sequel), and the comedies (Breakin all the Rules, Raising Helen) looked like crap. The Day After Tomorrow looked like it would be the most entertaining of them all.
If you've seen the preview, you know what to expect. Now see it on the big screen where it is an awesome sight. It's a huge big budget, disaster film that is typical for summer. For the most part, it entertains(at least when the cities are being destroyed).
The special effects in the film are highly impressive. The scenes of L.A. being destroyed by twisters and the flooding of New York City are exciting and look believable. Could you ask for anything more? Well yeah you could.
I am very surprised that director, Roland Emmerich (who brought us the very entertaining Independence Day) didn't do more. When this movie was being advertised I saw London frozen over and Sydney about to be flooded. Why weren't these in the film? I mean Emmerich showed the destruction of three cities in Independence Day. Why only two here?
The reason more cities should have been destroyed is because outside of the disaster sequences and some of the other action sequences, The Day After Tomorrow gives us some really clichéd and uninteresting drama. The doctor staying behind with the cancer patient(that's really corny and should have been cut). The film also shows us one of the most irritating and moronic Vice President I have ever seen in a film(Why does Emmerich always have to have a politician in his disaster films?).
There's also some really lame stuff here. The whole sequence with the wolves attacking on a Russian ship was just plain dumb and it wouldn't have hurt the film if it was cut. In fact, The Day After Tomorrow could have been shorter. Even at a reasonable length(124 minutes), it goes on for too long. Also, they need another closing shot because that last one of earth, though having a point, just comes off rather corny.
The Day After Tomorrow accomplishes what it sets out to do: entertain. Emmerich is a competent enough filmmaker to generate excitement, even though he can't create write worth a damn. There isn't much of a story here and the characters are mostly types(although some of the actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal and Emmy Rossum make their characters likable). Good disaster films need characters for us to care about (to a certain extent, Independence Day accomplished this), The Day After Tomorrow comes up short. Nevertheless, I had a pretty good time while watching the film. It's not something that will remain in your memory long, but it's fun while it lasts.