THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (2004)

Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow is a movie that depends solely on its visual effects for its viability. Certainly its plot, characters, and dialogue cannot help it there. The plot goes from the curious to the absurd in a matter of minutes. The characters are sentimental pansies predictably united by their goal of survival. And the dialogue--gosh, what could be said about the dialogue? Let's just put it this way: it's not exactly on par with Shakespeare.

About the biggest problem with this disaster of a film is its ending. The film presents us with a scenario in which a new ice age comes to alter the face of existence as we know it. However, the film ends at the point where the implications of the new ice age need be dealt with. It never answers the most important and interesting questions: How will people live? What of civilization? Etc.

This film is a tease, and a bad one at that. Despite the fact that it has chosen to hang its hat on its special effects, even they disappoint. About all I saw in the way of "special effects" was a flood, and lots of snow. Big deal. I've personally seen worse while living in the city of Cambridge, MA.

I'd give Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow a D.