‘The Tomorrow War’ — Spoiler-Free Review

Action, Aliens, and Time Travel…What more could you want?

Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios

When it comes to alien movies, we’re very used to a specific formula. There’s either contact or confrontation with an alien species, which leads to some battle where the humans must prevail. Enter the attempt to change the game that is the ‘The Tomorrow War.’

Instead of developing the characters through a straight-line plot style. It ventures to take a different path by almost working backward through time. Now, that won’t make much sense until you watch the movie; however, it’s still the best way to describe the style of the movie.

As the audience heads into this movie, they might have an idea in their head about how it might turn out. Forget your guesses and enjoy the ride…

Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Premise

Dan Forester, played by Chris Pratt, is an ex-military high school science teacher. After being turned down from a job at a prestigious research institution, he struggles to find his place in his new reality. While watching the world cup at home, Forester has a front-row seat as solider’s from the future arrive. These solider’s declare that in 2051 humanity is facing its gravest threat, an alien invasion that we are on the verge of losing. To prevent the complete end of human life on Earth, people from the present must be sent to the future to join the fight. Forester is drafted and eventually has to leave his family behind to fight in the war. Upon his arrival in 2051, he finds the world in a grim situation…

Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Spoiler-Free Review: Barry’s Bites Rating = 8.2

I’ll be upfront with you, and I was sold the minute I watched the trailer. Traveling to the future to fight alien invaders… yeah, sign me up. Now that the hook was set, the one question that remained is, did the filmmakers complete the follow-through?

‘The Tomorrow War’ is somewhat of a mixed bag in this sense. The idea is fresh and exciting in a way that not many movies have been able to pull off. As the premise states, instead of having the alien invasion take place in the present, it takes place in the future. This creates an interesting dynamic where people from the present are recruited to fight an enemy in the future.

The convergence of the present and future grants the filmmakers the ability to creates an original plotline, which they certainly did. Hidden through the big action scenes and hand-to-hand alien combat are the plot drivers. These moments drive Forester’s character development as he faces the future threats of humanity.

Instead of giving away the whole plot, all I will say is that there are moments that define his unlived past granting him the ability to change his future. Moving on, there are moments where you’re going to be confused, just like any sci-fi film worth its weight will generate.

Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Forester channels the confusion of the audience through his character as he journeys through his war tour. He’s finding himself in a world that is unfamiliar to his reality as well as the audience. Both through his physical combat and emotional struggles, there is a connection created between the audience and the main character. Eventually, the motivation to return to his family, in what is now the past, interlocks with attempting to end the war.

Despite the odds being stacked against Forester and the world overall, the audience still roots for survival. In what is truly an epic story, the audience must face the threats of the future alongside Forester if they want to see the world prevail.

The problems with the movie are familiar to action fans. Most of the time is spent fighting aliens instead of developing the characters around the main ones. However, maybe that is the point of the movie. We’re supposed to experience these events alongside Forester, not get bogged down in the details. Also, there are moments that are too predictable and can be seen coming a mile away. For a $200 million budget, I would’ve expected the writers to at least attempt to disguise or rework some of these moments a little better.

Despite its flaws, this is another great movie in Chris Pratts's portfolio. ‘The Tomorrow War’ is sure to live up to the expectations of sci-fi and action fans. If you’re interested in watching it, it’s now streaming on Amazon Prime Video for free. Check out the trailer below!