The Tomorrow War: an effective blockbuster but agreed with Chris Pratt (review)

Big release from Amazon Prime Video in summer 2021, the sci-fi and action film arrives this Sunday on television.

Dan (Chris Pratt), a former soldier who became a science teacher has just missed a great career opportunity. But he will soon have another problem to deal with: soldiers from the future burst in to warn the world that humanity is about to disappear in a war with aliens. Soldiers, and soon civilians, are sent 30 years later to try to reverse the trend. The chosen ones go to the front for seven days and return to the present if by chance they are still alive. Which is not a given given the demonic ferocity of these half-Alien, half-Demogorgon creatures who tear humans apart. This is what Pratt will discover when his turn arrives. And with the help of a scientist, he will try to save the world, as he promised his daughter before leaving.

Tomorrow is far away

Directed by Chris McKay (Lego Batman, the movie), The Tomorrow War will be broadcast at the end of the weekend on TF1. While the same team is supposed to shoot its sequela look back at the qualities (and flaws) of the original film.

The Tomorrow War stands out as a fast-paced and effective SF action film, if not very original. Impossible not to think of Independence Day, Starship Trooper Or War of the Worlds face this well-oiled extra-terrestrial invasion which multiplies the agreed scenes. A lack of risk-taking which reminds us that this feature film was initially a cinema blockbuster produced by Paramount that Amazon Prime Video bought for $200 million.

If the result is a little lukewarm, we cannot deny our pleasure. Firstly because everyone is in their place in the casting: Chris Pratt, always ready to play the hero with conviction, the impeccable Yvonne Strahovski, JK Simmons, perfect as a muscular grandpa, or Sam Richardson (Veep) which brings a little touch of humor and lightness which is very appreciable in the middle of this butchery. The action sequences are also a good point, notably thanks to the very successful design of the creatures. And the scenario, despite the aforementioned airs of déjà vu, has the merit of holding up and delivering its twists with modesty.

In terms of cinema offerings, we are indeed left wanting more. No plan will enter the pantheon of the genre. The message of the film will not haunt us in our sleepless nights. And no one will start a petition to demand a sequel or a director’s cut. The Tomorrow War clearly plays in the category of family-oriented science fiction blockbuster, a pure object of entertainment which does not take itself for anything else and achieves its goal rather well.