Tomorrow, When the War Began

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with a video log by Ellie. She asks the camera how she can tell their story. She suggests to herself "from the beginning."
Country high school student Ellie (Caitlin Stasey) sets off on a camping trip to "hell's Gate", with close childhood friend Corrie (Rachel Hurd-Wood), together with Corrie's boyfriend Kevin, Ellie's next-door neighbour Homer, high school crush Lee and friends Robyn and Fiona. After driving Ellie's parents' Land Rover into the mountains, they hike down into a remote valley known as "Hell".
During their second night camping, Ellie wakes to a sky full of military aircraft. Upon arriving back in town, the group finds their homes abandoned, without power, internet and telephone lines down. From the hill overlooking Robyn's house, the group sees that the only lights on in town are at the hospital and showground. Upon reaching the showground, they find that the citizens of the town are being detained by a foreign military group. Ellie witnesses a man being executed with a shot to the head, and in her horror retreats too quickly, being spotted by a searchlight. They flee but are pursued by soldiers into the backyard of a house. Ellie, using Kevin's singlet, lighter and the fuel tank of a ride-on lawn mower, creates an explosion that eliminates the squad.
On return to Corrie's house, they find that Lee and Robyn are missing. Ellie and Corrie witness an RAAF jet fighter being shot down by enemy aircraft. Whilst the group gathers inside to plan for their return to Hell, an enemy helicopter performs a close examination of the house. Homer shoots out the helicopter's searchlight, which retreats after dropping flares. The group barely escape with their lives, after a jet destroys the home.
That night, Ellie and Homer sneak back into town and find Robyn in her house. Lee has been wounded, and is being treated by Dr Clements (Colin Friels), the local dentist, who informs them that the invading forces are bringing in their vehicles and equipment from ships moored in Cobbler's Bay over the Wirrawee Bridge. After a brief skirmish with a pair of armed buggies, Robyn, Homer, Lee and Ellie meet back up at Corrie's home. They decide to return to Hell.
On the way, they stop at a house and are greeted by school mate Chris, who is incredibly stoned and has no idea that a war is going on. Chris joins the group. They return to Hell, with plans to use it as a secluded hideout where the enemy forces will not find them. While there, they hear a radio transmission revealing that Australia has been invaded by "The Coalition Nations" from nearby Asia, who believe that they have a right to the country's vast natural resources and wealth in order to sustain their growing populations. The transmission also reveals one of the three main ports being used to deposit soldiers into the country is nearby Cobbler's Bay, the only exit from which is the Heron Bridge, which the group then makes plans to destroy.
The group sneaks back to Wirrawee, and devise a plan to blow up Heron Bridge. Ellie and Fi steal a petrol tanker from the council depot. They park it near the bridge and, while waiting for the rest of the team to take their positions. After being discovered by guards, they rush to drive the tanker forward under the bridge. The plan necessarily brought forward, Homer and Lee scare a herd of cattle onto the bridge, forcing the sentry guards to flee their posts, allowing Ellie to park the tanker under the bridge unhindered. Working together, they manage to explode the tanker, which utterly destroys the bridge. Corrie however is shot as the group escapes.
Despite certain capture, Kevin decides to drive Corrie, who is seriously wounded, to the hospital and remain by her side. The group return to Hell. Ellie then finishes her video log, revealing their ongoing guerilla war, the necessity to fight, and that they have yet to be found.

Tags: violence, action, murder, romantic

Review:
The cast is good enough and you can't complain about the visuals but the script is flawed, due to the makers eagerness into focusing on the teen- romance aspects of the movie instead of the survival aspect.For instance there is a scene where the gang have a potentially lethal mission going on and 2 girls can't stop chatting about the boys they like, asking if this or that person is a good kisser etc.And stuff like that happens throughout of the movie, so what everyone they know is either dead or prisoners of war does that really mean we can't go on a date right?Yeah...
But when it's not focused on that it's fairly entertaining.The violence is very minimal which takes away a lot of the tension that could have been in the movie, okay it's aimed at teens but still war is never pretty.There's also very little action for it to be listed as a action-movie and the poster makes it look like it's actionpacked as well but it's really not.In the end of the movie which ends with a cliffhanger of sorts it's kind of obvious that it was always intended as a trilogy or something with this movie being the first part.And it appears that the sequel is being made as we speak, I'd watch it but I hope they don't focus on too many love-triangles but of the actual war/survivor-story that time..
DOP Ben Nott has done a superb job of capturing some of the beauty of Australia's bush and mountains, alternating with that serenity, the fast paced action sequences, with gun fights, car chases, explosions and general mayhem.Although there are a number of small technical criticisms I noted, this film still rises way above the average fair, and its 143 minutes duration literally flies past, leaving you a little disappointed for want of more.I have not read the seven book novel series, written by John Marsden, which the film is based on, so I was seeing the film and judging it on its merits, and I know the youth, in particular, who are familiar with the books, will love the film, as will many older folk who do not know Marsden's work.The actors generally put in strong performances; however, there are a few awful character clichés which more than jar, which does disrupt one's involvement momentarily.
In the film the only time they were driving freely was when they were outside of the city limits, where there were never soldiers.When you play close attention to the small details you will notice things like that rather than writing in a review you found the movie "laughable." I loved the human interaction and how the movie was crafted to not just be a war movie, but something much deeper about people from different walks of life coming together for a cause.The acting I felt was also very well done, as well was the script.
"Tomorrow When the war Began" is the First book in the Series known as the "Tomorrow Series", a series of seven books and a further series known as "The Ellie Chronicles" by Australian Author John Marsden.This Book was Year ten English reading for many Australian schools in the late 90's and early 00'sTomorrow when the War Began concerns itself with seven Australian teenage friends from a rural town who go on a camping trip to "Hell" (the name given to the destination), and while on this camping trip find the way to an area many thought myth, a place well hidden, while camping in this newly found place Australia is invaded by an unnamed country, changing their lives forever.The Movie does live up to the books, though it is ten years since I last read them, I still choke up at the thought of several of the scenes depicted in the book, and seeing them on the big screen, depicted as well as I could have hoped has left me yearning for the rest of this series to be as well done.I will be purchasing the DVD as soon as it comes out.Good work.10 out of 10!.
Yeah, it's dumb (good dumb though ;P), but at least it isn't an American movie shot in rural Australia, starring Australian actors portraying clichéd American teen varsity students.
Based off the best selling Australian Teen novel of the same name Tomorrow When The War Began is the first in a series of books by John Marsden about a group of high school students who take a camping trip before school starts and return to find that the country has been invaded by an unknown force, and they make a stand to fight the enemy using guerilla tactics The cinematography and action in this film is fantastic, from the second the first gunshot is fired the adrenaline really picks up and boy does it deliver big time, the explosions in this film are great, and what makes them great is not their size but the debris and characters they send flying, I mean there were pieces of debris that missed characters by cm's and it really ads extra dimension with close calls if this film had been shot in 3D it would have been incredible to see the film just for that.Unfortunately what drags the film is its script, the dialogue is extremely corny and clichéd, and the bulk of the characters are blatant stereotypes and this is apparent with the way the characters are introduced, in fact I can go though each of them right now, Ellie - Farmer's Daughter, Corrie - the lead's best friend, Kevin - The coward, Homer - The rebellious bad boy, Fiona - the pampered city girl, Robyn - The upstanding religious girl, Chris - The stoner, and the biggest stereotype of them all Lee - The Asian, don't believe me about the Asian?
let me give you his character background: He's an expert piano player, his parents own a Chinese restaurant, he moves swiftly like a ninja as evident when he's climbing down a mountain, he stops a fast moving snake with a stick in one strike, he speaks one or two proverbs I mean I was half expecting him to bust out some Kung Fu with the way the filmmakers were treating his character thank god they didn't go that far.On the topic of the characters the one that really stood out for me performance wise was the character of Homer, Actor Deniz Akdeniz handles his character really well being as charismatic and witty and probably has the second most character development out of all the characters next to Ellie.To be fair though this is the first in a series of books so there is defiantly room for improvement if the next movie comes out.
Notice I said "if" not "when" that's because being an Australian film it has to do really well domestically if it has even a chance of getting made, if it doesn't do well bye bye The Dead of The Night (the next movie in the series) Overall the film is enjoyable despite the poor dialogue, it defiantly needs a better script writer for the next film, though leave him doing the action, Stuart Beattie did that well and pretty good for a directing debut.7/10.
When they return, they find their country invaded by an unknown force, their families forced into a concentration camp, and take it upon themselves to begin a resistance movement.I have not read the book, but as an Australian I really wanted to enjoy this movie, and I did, but I also came away thinking that it could be a lot better.
The film does not start quickly.The action scenes are generally implausible: petrol explosions are all too frequent: a crime to intelligence that Hollywood itself has committed numerous times but don't we know better than that now?
Only one character - Robyn Mathers - actually looked like a real school girl (except her clothes were so cliché-conservative Christian that even she looks a little unbelievable).Action scenes were implausible: I like the idea of a movie where a bunch of teenagers outwit an invading force.
My boyfriend had been nagging me for weeks saying that we had to go watch "Tomorow when the war began" as soon as it came out, i really did not want to see this film, as i didn't think it would appeal to me and i thought it would be another "BOY" movie.I went into the cinema with that thought and came out loving the movie, wanting to see it again!
It was fantastic the actors in this movie where incredible, they felt so real and made you feel like you where involved with the story.It did scare me, and i covered my eyes and jumped at a few scenes but i also had laughter and moments of happiness and sadness.
for those that have seen red dawn (and for those that haven't) you can start this movie select any scene and know exactly where the plot line is, where it has been and what is about to happen.
both movies share same bad acting, weak plot and predictable story lines.For god shake, Casablanca has a 8.8 rating here and this dumb teenage film a 7.5??!!!!!
The producers should should be charged for wasting $20 million on this drivel.The worst film I have seen all year so bad it has has prompted me to review it in an effort to save others wasting 2 hours of their lives and any of their hard earned money (Thankfully I had some free passes) The action scenes are good but the acting and story line scupper any chance this film had within the first couple of minutes.The cast should go back to neighbors/Home & Away as quick as they can before they are hunted down by angry cinema goers.I cringed in my seat and would be very surprised if they make a sequel surely even die hard fans of the book (which I haven't read) cant like this?
Here's one way to please the brain dead masses:Take a few good looking oversexed teenagers with crushes on each other (typical teen drama aka Beverly Hills 90210/Dawson's Creek/etc/etc...), mix in the storyline from the 1984 film "Red Dawn", and you got yourself a moneymaker!
The general premise of the film is quite good, I especially like the movie being set in rural Australia.
sure if you're a little kid you might find all the explosions entertaining, but aren't adults the one's who vote for these awards, I think something fishy is going on there.Throw in a few jokes and it would have been a great comedy, but unfortunately it was supposed to be a serious movie.I like the instantly exploding trucks, and the utter useless invading force who although they are supposed to be military do things like sneak up on people at night using torches.I am now ashamed to be Australian..
Although I haven't seen red dawn or read the books, simply as a viewer I was on the edge of my seat - I cried, I laughed, i cheered and I gasped in shock and yelled "For gods sake turn around!!!" I found this film very refreshing amongst all the other Hollywood glamorised garbage, and also appreciated the cinematography (not the best but still greatly shot).
oh and they also blow stuff up, its these kids are smart determined and country bumkins that GSD (get s#*t done) LOOK DIRECTORS i may not be the best reviewer or have the best grammar ever but please if there is going to be a NEXT (The dead of the night) please pay attention to the details, the little things (what Australian have you ever met that calls a ute a truck ) yeah you might not have a big budget for a Aussie movie but that doesn't mean you cant do some research before making what could be an amazing film.PLEASE AND THANKYOU.
Schoolies flocked to this film and if they want to watch TV teen soaps each night or go see one like this at the movies, then good luck to the people marketing this film.
i've read a lot of comments about this film trying to be an American block buster....ITS NOT this movie is based on a book done in 1991 and compared to a modern day American blockbuster i.e piranha 3d this movie is miles ahead the script is almost perfect character development, cinematography was excellent and the action scenes were ground breakingly awesome piranha 3d on the other hand lets face it the only real cinematography was close up shots of boobs and pussy and come on the only real reason people are seeing it is because of the amount of gore.
I hope the people involved never make a movie again and I know that it tanked at the box office so I pray the studio has gone out of business for accepting a screen play that was written for crap.I try to make my film views more diverse but this is pushing me to watch only American Made Movies!!!!Get a clue Australia and write a good script, the actors in this were very easy on the eyes but the story line was total rubbish!How crud like this gets from Paper to Production is way beyond me....
At moments, TWTWB feels like a bad horror movie, where the characters lacking sense of urgency during life-threatening moments is at odds with the seriousness of their situation, which dawns more often during moments of relative safety.Despite their actions being hard to believe, the characters are, at least, well-varied and make a watch-able team.
It is an action movie with very little action, but with large gloopy dollops of the most naive philosophy including long static discussions on religious angst, bravery and cowardice, duty to parents, rich versus poor and - most original - how "you should never judge a book by its cover!" Its actors - all beautiful and so carefully chosen to include all races and political groups - are not bad, but are so obviously dying to be given a script with some real acting in it, that it quickly becomes embarrassing to the point of being almost unwatchable, as they champ through their lines with as little impact on the film as the directing.
The movie started with well - good character establishment, good scene setting in the Australian countryside and an excellent sound track: And then the war began.
The plot about a bunch of teenagers going on a weekend camp and returning to find an invasion force has taken over is familiar in quite a few previous attempts at this subject but what "Tomorrow When the War Began" does well is character development, interplay between the characters, and not trying to create superhuman heroes.This is largely thanks to some excellent acting from the young cast (especially Caitlin Stasey) and a storyline that obscures the bigger picture by allowing us to follow the activities of the one small group.
Were these aspects present in the books and in my youth I missed them, or are they just the result of trying to convert the book into film.If they'd cut the film down to just the shots of scenery/nature parks, it would have been a decent watch as the location is spectacular, but sadly the final cut included the actors/characters.It felt like they tried to directly pull scenes from the book as is and then stitch them together with no attempt to interlink them, creating a disjointed feel and making the characters actions seem sudden and odd..
the fact that the movie doesn't try to be some sort of horrible action flick ( as i expect the new Red Dawn to be ) only highlights the talent involved.the director has done a wonderful job of not only framing the character interaction , action sequences and story making shots but also some of the most beautiful Australian landscape i have seen on film .
I have to say i am just after watching this movie and i was extremely surprised how good it is, its the best war-drama film i have seen in a long time.
This is still absolutely a factor in the film, and is handled relatively well, but I felt like the greater emphasis on action in the movie hurt the realistic feel that was present in the books.
In some ways it might be a worthwhile film to see because the fallout might be not insignificant and worth understanding.Tomorrow When The War Began is all around a solid film with a very good script, decent action scenes, and decent actors, all of which comes together in quite a neat little package.
Australian movies are not usually as good as this and thats a fact when it comes to acting, budget, scope and writing (most of the time).Based on the first in a series of novels by Author John Marsden.
The young Australian cast are remarkably good, portraying each of the characters almost exactly how I imagined them in the books.Now, I wouldn't class this as just an action film, it's not Die Hard.
For Aussies who have see the long running TV series 'Home & Away', you will understand my title.For all others, I found the Scenery 'Absolutely Beautiful', the acting 'over-acted', the score 'deafening'.I went and watched the Premier because the story line interested me.I haven't read the books, but that doesn't make up for bad/over acted script or the overall 'tele-movie' feel to the whole production.The start was OK, you began to know the characters through embarrassing over acting, but not enough to make you walk out, then the crap hits the fan.
As a homegrown, big budget movie, Tomorrow, When the War Began represents a positive shift from the Australian film industry of recent times.
I find it humorous another reviewer said that the book series is read in Australian schools, because if this film follows the book, than it is a clear rip off, and almost plagerization of Red Dawn.The movie was a good one, the actors are a little over the top sometimes, but not bad over all.