by Chris Snelgrove
| Published
The famous poet Robert Frost once wrote: “Some say the world will end in fire, others in ice.” Given the effects of climate change and the fact that every year is hotter than the year before, the end of the world by fire seems like a fairly safe bet. But there's one movie that has a completely different idea: The day after tomorrow It's now streaming on Disney+, giving you the chance to witness a icy apocalypse where every day feels a lot like Christmas.
The day after tomorrow
The day after tomorrow It is a film in which the effects of climate change are moving at breakneck speed and threatening to freeze all over the world. We follow characters who first try to prevent the effects of an icy apocalypse and later try to survive it. As the characters try to survive what may be the end of the world, they all (not to mention those we're watching at home) must consider exactly what they're willing to do to survive.
Cast The day after tomorrow It features some big Hollywood names, including Dennis Quaid as a pessimistic old-time climate scientist and Jake Gyllenhaal As his son. Sela Ward plays Quaid's pediatrician wife and Emmy Rossum plays Gyllenhaal's girlfriend. Ian Holm also appears as an oceanographer, lending the film a certain noble gravitas that brings out his best screen performances.
Master of disasters
Outside of the cast, it's worth noting The day after tomorrow He is presented to us by something of a master of the past when it comes to cinematic apocalypses. It's directed by Roland Emmerichwho is famous for directing independence day And an admittedly disappointing sequel. As directed Stargate and GodzillaSo he's definitely the right person to direct a sci-fi movie about the end of the world.
while The day after tomorrow It has largely faded from our cinematic discourse, and was a huge hit when it was released in 2004. Against a budget of $125 million, the film grossed $552.6 million. So she won MTV The film's award for Best Action Sequence, which might give you an idea just how ubiquitous this bizarrely horrific film was when it was released more than two decades ago.
The box office is big but there's not a lot of love
The film's financial success is even more impressive when you consider that it failed to attract critics or audiences. on Rotten tomatoes, The day after tomorrow The film received a critical rating of 45 percent, with critics generally noting that the film's corny dialogue often undermined its killer special effects. The film also received an audience Popcornmeter rating of 50 percent, indicating that moviegoers overall were no more impressed than critics.
Now it's time to answer the burning question (at least there's something burning in all this ice): If this movie doesn't wow critics or audiences, why would I recommend seeing it? For one thing, the special effects sequences are really great, and have aged surprisingly well. Plus, it may be painful, but I watch disaster movies because I want to see everything fall apart, and a movie that elegantly destroys the world is the one that will hold my attention.
Additionally, while the dialogue could be better, the inherent charisma of the cast helps sell each scene. Quaid, Gyllenhaal, and the rest make the various character relationships believable even as they anchor the special effects with relatable human moments. My personal favorite is the scene in which the library-bound characters debate whether they should burn Friedrich Nietzsche's books to stay warm before deciding to burn some texts that no one wants to protect: those written about US tax laws.
The day after tomorrow It's not a perfect movie, but it can provide the perfect night of entertainment when you're wrapped up in your favorite blanket on a cold night. You won't know, of course, until you stream it Disney+. If nothing else, watching this icy apocalypse is one way to channel the holiday spirit by watching a movie where “starting to look a lot like Christmas” now describes much of the planet.
