Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Tomorrow War – Amazon Originals
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.
In “The Tomorrow War”, the world receives a desperate message from the future when a military troop from 2051 appeared out of thin air during a world soccer match to tell the people of earth it had been invaded by aliens and without help the human race would parish. Originally trained military people were jumped into the future war zone, but only 50% survived, so the world leaders agreed on a global draft of civilians to serve 7 days and be returned with full time served if they survived the battle. The civilian survival rate was even lower at only 25%, but Dan Forester (Chris Platt) was not your average high school teacher having previously served in Army Special Ops so had a basic idea of what he was getting into when he was selected for the draft.
Dan’s wife Emmy (Betty Gilpin) worked as a counselor for those who returned from the future war, many of whom lost limbs as well as being emotionally scared from what they witnessed, and she pleaded with Dan to reach out to his estranged father for help in removing the jump device before he was deployed in 24 hours. Dan’s dad James Foster (J.K. Simmons) went by Slade and was a military tech specialist by trade with his own personal fleet of vehicles and planes as well.
Things did not go well during Dan’s reunion with his father, so he returned home to say goodbye to his wife and 6 year old daughter Muri and report to the training center. They were supposed to be there for a week before the jump, but a significant shift happened in the future and they were jumped in after only 24 hours to help rescue a critical research team. Until arriving, they had no idea how terrifying the alien race was they called Whitespikes that fed on humans and fired bone-like spikes from multiple tentacles.
They landed in future Miami Beach, which was filled with crumbled buildings destroyed by explosions and fires throughout. Due to Dan’s previous military training, he was put in charge of the search and rescue by Romeo Command (Yvonne Strahovski) and directed remotely to avoid the aliens to where the research team was on the 7th floor of the research building. The research team was dead when they were found, so Dan was instructed to retrieve a specific dozen critical vials and return them to base as the aliens converged on their location.
The area was overrun with aliens, and what was left of Dan’s team narrowly escaped the bombing of the area by planes to aid in their exit. They woke up on an island in the Dominican Republic where Dan met Romeo Command face to face, and upon being referred to as Colonel Forester by another soldier realized it was his own daughter Muri 30 years in the future leading the fight. She had developed a toxin to kill the aliens, but the remote research outpost where the jump link also resided was invaded by thousands of aliens trying to save the female specimen she had captured for testing.
Muri was injured and Dan couldn’t save her because his jump band was counting down to the last seconds of his 7 days of service, so he was jumped back in time, though kept the vial of toxin with him. Believing that the aliens had been here all along and that they emerged after climate change melted the polar cap, Dan gathered a team including his dad and several other soldiers that he jumped with to go find the alien ship and destroy it to stop the war from ever happening.
Though some of the storyline is predictable, this thrilling action-packed movie has incredible visual effects, some interesting twists, and constant comedic one liners from the star-studded cast.
Runtime: 2h 18m
