REVIEW
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 The Day After Tomorrow
2004
Certificate: 12 | Runtime: 122 | Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum
 
Climatologist Jack Hall (Quaid) is responsible for briefing world governments on climate change. His theories become a reality sooner than expected, and the weather in the northern hemisphere rapidly deteriorates. Meanwhile his son Sam (Gyllenhaal) is stuck in New York on a school outing, and tries to survive the harsh conditions. Jack decides to embark on a trek to the city in order to find his son.
If you strip away the silly politicking and pseudo-environmentalism, The Day After Tomorrow is probably one of the best disaster films of recent times. There is a place for sensible discussion on the environment, but a film like this exists to entertain and not to debate, so providing you don't become fixated on all the blatant messages, this film is a massively enjoyable experience.
Films like this are never really about performances, but credit should be given where it's due, and all the players in this are sound. Quaid and Gyllenhaal cope with ease, and even those with smaller roles are pretty good; Rossum is fine and there's a tidy little performance from Ian Holm, who has that ability to give even the most contrived hokum a bit of grandeur. It's also worth mentioning that although the cast members are recognisable and sufficiently well known, by avoiding casting a "superstar" in any of the roles, there's a certain familial realism that permeates throughout the film.
However, where the film really excels is with the action scenes, particularly because of their scale. We saw a tornado in Twister, but we didn't see ten of them destroying Los Angeles. We saw a tidal wave hit New York in Deep Impact, but not in this much detail. Even the most ardent hater of special effects would be hard-pressed not to be taken in by some quite extraordinary sequences, and for the most part the CGI really is top-notch. Naturally, these segments are where Emmerich comes into his own, and while some of his usual weaknesses are apparent elsewhere, there are few directors who understand the epic disaster sequence as well as he does. The tone of the film is also different from his past efforts, insofar as we realise there isn't going to be a simple conclusion with a final showdown.
In terms of flaws, there are many here which seem to habitually inhabit such films. These include daft characters, such as the eco-friendly tramp and the librarians who won't burn books to stay alive, as well as some of Emmerich's staples - a naff Presidential address and incompetent British people. The musical score is also rather poor, and doesn't fit in at all well with the epic nature of the film. Inevitably there is also some clunky dialogue and seemingly random plot development, but the performers make up for most of those shortcomings.
What is impossible to deny about The Day After Tomorrow is that it has a real power to entertain. It's flawed for sure, but they're almost flaws we come to expect from such films. Compared to other films in the genre, and to the past output of the creative team here, there's something almost grown-up about this one, and that's certainly welcome.© David Mercier
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