Film Review: The Tomorrow War

Director Chris Mckay delivers to Amazon Prime video his take on a science fiction epic, The Tomorrow War, but is there enough quality to keep viewers engaged at home?

The Tomorrow War explores a world in which soldiers are taken from the past to fight for humanity in the future. The survivors are then returned to the present day on completion of their tour.

From the offset, The Tomorrow War promises a high level of visual action. The future we see in the opening scene is bleak and creates a great deal of intrigue into where the film will take us.

As the premise of the film slowly develops, it’s easy to be taken in by the potential of the film. Though not uniquely new, the concept of people being sent forward in time to fight a war in the future is a relatively intriguing concept.

As we as an audience get to experience this future, elements such as set design and creature design prove to be extremely well executed, providing a real sense of dread and it’s easy to feel that as a viewer.

The action set-pieces of this film are also extremely enjoyable throughout. They maintain a fast-paced and engaging style which definitely adds to the intensity of some scenes.

However, as the film progresses, the plot begins to feel quite generic and the overall execution feels sloppy. Though a focal point of the film, the relationship between Chris Pratt and Yvonne Strahovski’s characters doesn’t feel compelling which takes away from the impact of the film.

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Additionally, many of the side characters of this film feel as if they have been added into the story for comic relief and this particular comic relief feels quite out of place contextually. While the performances are solid, they don’t feel like they belong in this film.

Furthermore, as The Tomorrow War progresses into the final act it feels more like a whistle-stop tour of sci-fi cliches as opposed to a well thought out and rounded ending to the story. Several elements of the story are clumsily tied up for the viewer.

It’s certainly disappointing that the film progresses this way. While comparable to Edge of Tomorrow, The Tomorrow War never reaches the same highs and definitely feels far poorer in execution. Visual elements of this film however do shine in contrast to the story.

While worth viewing for science fiction lovers, The Tomorrow War certainly doesn’t stand out as a genre-defining movie by any stretch. It is, however, worth a watch, especially if you’re a current Amazon Prime subscriber.