A true summer film that doesn't promise more than it offers

Rating: 6/10 (28 May 2004)

Whenever you go to see a Roland Emmerich film, you know what to expect and at what level to set your expectations. Whether it was Stargate, Independence Day or Godzilla you know that you will leave the theatre remembering the destruction and special effects, but one day later, you will hardly remember a characters name, any dialogue or even any of the side plots that are always thrown in to get the movie to a two-hour screening.

Roland's latest feature is the disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow which stars veteran actor Dennis Quaid as a climatologist who first identifies and then stands back in horror at the effects of global warming on the earth's environment.
Of course one can't say Â‘the effects of global warming on the earth's environment' in an Emmerich film without expecting buildings to tumble, cars to fly in the air and the sheer destruction of a major American city. On this level, The Day After Tomorrow fulfills its destiny handsomely.

You will no doubt have seen many of the advertisements for the film in trailers or on television spots over the past few weeks. The ads show a giant tidal wave hitting New York, tornados in Los Angeles and the aftermath of the storm, a snowed in and frozen Statue of Liberty. Like most of Roland's films, the best scenes are always in the trailers and are just drawn out longer in the screen version. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just want everyone to remember that they should not expect to see anything of a spectacular sort that hasn't already whetted your appetite enough to get you to buy a ticket in the first place.
The Day After Tomorrow does boast some incredible visuals. It has been only 8 years since Twister rumbled our theatre seats, but TDAT perfects the tornado devastation scene. When multiple funnels appear in Los Angeles, they glide with ease through streets and buildings leaving absolute chaos in their wake without the needless humor of any flying cows. And when a giant wave hits Manhattan, the special effects crew of 1999's Deep Impact probably even bowed in appreciation.
For its two hour running time, what may surprise you is how quickly the time goes by. The weather anomalies happen about 45 minutes into the film and the rest of the movie surrounds a group of New Yorkers trying to survive and the Dennis Quaid character trying to get from Washington to New York to help rescue his son. There are a few other plot points including a female that needs medicine, one of Quaid's entourage that sacrifices himself for the good of the team and a temperature drop that will kill anyone exposed to the conditions in less than 30 seconds.
But we don't really care about all that stuff do we? If someone met you at the work water cooler on Monday and asked you how was the movie, I doubt you would ramble on about how Sam really wanted to tell Laura that he is in love with her.
What we do care about is the attention given to the effects. The bang for the buck. And for the record, there is bang. Lots of it. The Day After Tomorrow takes the disaster film playbook and makes sure it hits every note. Other than the obvious Twister and Deep Impact similarities, you will also find takes on The Poseidon Adventure and even 1974's Earthquake if you were unlucky enough to remember it.
But I have to hand it to Roland, for all the unoriginal thought, he has produced an enjoyable summer movie. You don't really connect with any of the characters, but he doesn't give them any ridiculous dialogue either and that, I consider a saw-off. There is the stereotypical authoritative figures that refuse to listen to the climatologists before things get out of hand, and a who cares (sorry) story about a young patient in a hospital that has been left behind by the evacuation of the city, but since these are not pressure plot points, it really doesn't impact my review of the film whatsoever.
The Day After Tomorrow is really critic proof. Whether I or Ebert or any of the number of editorial snobs like the film or not is not going to affect the turnout on opening weekend and throughout the films' international run. We are far enough removed from September 11, 2001 that we can now see buildings falling and being destroyed again, and thank God there is someone like Roland to give us what we want.
So I give The Day After Tomorrow a reasonable recommendation. You will remember the action sequences, but by the day after tomorrow you will be hard pressed to remember anything else, and isn't that what summer films are for?
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