Humans battle future aliens in Amazon Prime's escapist 'Tomorrow War'
“The Tomorrow War” - ★ ★ ★
This old-fashioned popcorn summer thriller with alien invaders and time-traveling heroes more than fills the bill for wild escapist fun.
And yet, former Libertyville resident Chris McKay's time loopy “The Tomorrow War” has more to offer, for just as the 1954 “Godzilla” metaphorically preyed upon our fear of atomic bombs, “The Tomorrow War” exploits our timely fears of global warming in an unobtrusively sly plot twist.
Be warned: If you are a viewer who cocks an incredulous eyebrow when anyone with a pulse can qualify for military service, or when heroic intruders can easily enter Russian territory undetected, better check your disbelief on the couch to fully appreciate this $200 million sci-fi action tale, exclusively on Amazon Prime.
The plot literally “kicks” in when a group of armed soldiers magically materializes during a World Cup soccer match.
A spokeswoman announces to the world they come from the year 2051. They desperately need to recruit civilians to fight invading alien creatures threatening to render humankind extinct.
Practically overnight, thousands of untrained earthlings around the globe pick up weapons they don't even know how to use and get beamed off to 2051 to save their future relatives.
Among them is an unengaging high school science teacher named Dan Forester (Chris Pratt, in low-wattage drama mode).
He reluctantly leaves behind his wife Emmy (Betty Gilpin), adorable little daughter Muri (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and his strange, estranged dad James (J.K. Simmons).
Dan arrives in 2051 at a dystopian Miami Beach with a platoon that includes comic relief Charlie (Sam Richardson) and tough-guy Dorian (Edwin Hodge).
Significantly, they have never seen the actual aliens, called “white spikes.” Photos and video of them don't exist, presumably because they look so fearsome nobody would go fight them.
McKay, taking a page from the “Jaws” playbook, deftly delays their appearance in a carefully crafted stairwell sequence for maximum suspense — only to be undermined by TV commercials and trailers showcasing the beasties, resembling a Star Trek transporter room accident involving a T-rex, octopus and porcupine.
With humans losing the war to zillions of white spikes, it falls to Dan and a sexy military scientist code-named “Romeo Command” (“The Handmaid's Tale” star Yvonne Strahovski) to figure out how to save humankind.
Meanwhile, “The Tomorrow War” ramps up the sharply edited machine-gun battle scenes inspired by first-person shooter video games.
Violence notwithstanding, McKay credits the Frank Capra classic “It's a Wonderful Life” as inspiration for “The Tomorrow War,” as both feature a family man given a second chance at life once he has glimpsed the future.
At least Jimmy Stewart never had to fight a white spike.
• • •
Starring: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Ryan Kiera Armstrong
Directed by: Chris McKay
Other: An Amazon Prime release. Rated PG-13 for language, suggestive references and violence. 140 minutes