I think the wolve’s scenes bother me the most. I don’t know that much about weather (other than knowing much of the science used was flimsy), but I am more concerned with animals and biology. If the animals at the zoo were going beserk, the caretakers/veterinarians would have sedated or treated them, or moved them to another place. Second, if the wolves had indeed escaped, they would have done like the birds and get the hell out of NYC, not walk around the snow.
They never mention it in the movie, but it is easy to infer that the only kid with an intact family is the main teenager (Jason?). The others are now orphans.
The movie did surprise me, though. I was expecting the other suitor (the rich boy) to die before the rescue, and my friend thought the genius black teen would die, too.
Oh, and I feel they should have escaped to one of the bigger skycrapers. More food, comfort, and medical services. As shown at the end, lots of people did survive the storm by staying inside the buildings.
My biggest problem with the movie was also the wolves. Why the hell not get real wolves?? They were soooo fake!
I was entertained by it, overall. The plot was implausible and we laughed at a lot of the stuff that was supposed to be tragic, and cracked jokes to each other in low whispers… but it was a fun 2+ hours on a Friday night that I don’t regret.
My husband and I went to see it last night. We went for the special effects, and got what we were looking for there. I wasn’t expecting much more (in terms of plot) so I wasn’t disappointed.
What amused me most was the audience. They laughed, and loudly, at all the stupid little comic relief parts (dog wanting the hot dog, etc.). I was the only one who laughed at the Nietzsche joke though. I found it funny when people were gasping and saying “Oh my God” over and over during the wolf scene, near-drowning scene, etc. I’m sitting there thinking, “But he’s Jake Gyllenhaal, you idiots, he’s not] going to die!” But as my husband told me afterward, “Honey, that’s the general public for you.” Eh, I guess he’s right.
What I was really waiting for in the end was for a newscaster to announce, “And by some miracle of God, the whole state of Minnesota has survived this ‘super-snowstorm.’” Now there’s and ending!
Seriously, those were awful. They were huge, obviously CGI, and basically the raptors from Jurassic Park. On the other hand, I thought that their appearance on the boat was absolutely hilarious considering the uber-cliché way it had been telegraphed a half hour before (egad, the wolves are missing!).
The movie was a huge suck-fest and I wouldn’t reccomend it to anyone, but I did have a fun time seeing it. It’s also worth noting that I went into it with two expectations: that it would suck and that I’d get to spend about an hour and a half staring at Jake Gyllenhaal and drooling. I wasn’t dissapointed.
Of course, it would have been hysterical if the Minnesotans just came out and said “Global disaster, what global disaster? We thought this was a normal February, don’t you know?”
When Quaid manages to hook up with his son, my first thought was “Okay, now what?” The implication is that they were going to trudge all the way back to… somewhere. Great plan, Dennis.
When we saw the Statue of Liberty frozen over, I couldn’t help elbowing my buddy and whispering “You maniacs!”
The handling of cancer-boy struck me as odd. Given that the end of civilization as we know it is upon us, and this kid has about zero chance of being able to continue his chemo, wouldn’t a more merciful act be to shoot him full of a lethal dose of morphine rather than have him die more slowly and painfully in a refugee camp?
And I have to echo the lousy impression the CG wolves made.
the best part of the movie was when the eye of the storm was over NYC and everything started to freeze…and they were *outrunning the freezing * , like it was some sort of monster, i laughed a lot at that part.
I didn’t find it any more or less preachy than the average movie.
The special effects were mostly superb. The wolves were an exception, but I don’t think they were that bad. Just because you can tell they’re CGI doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily horrible CGI. Just not great. The tornados and such were great. This movie would definitely lose something on the small screen.
As with “The Core”, this movie has gotten more criticism of its science than is warranted. Yes, I just said that. If this were shown as a documentary on the Discovery Channel, I’d understand the complaints and nitpicks. But it’s a movie! You never hear people say, “So, a guy is bitten by a genetically engineered spider and suddenly can shoot webs from his hands? As IF!” And yet when a movie is significantly more realistic than that, people complain about any and all inaccuracies.
I actually thought that (most of) the characters were fairly well done. And by that I mean they didn’t spend too much time developing them. One of the things I hated about “Titanic” (and which I’ve heard “Pearl Harbor” suffers from as well) was that the Characters overshadow the Events. Obviously you need to know something about the characters, but certain movies are Character Movies and certain movies are not. I think “The Day After Tomorrow” falls into the latter category - I’m glad they just filled in the broad strokes.
Favorite parts of the movie overall: the pacing and special effects. There was always something interesting to look at. Something was always happening. This movie was thankfully free of too much introspection.
Least favorite part: The cringe-worthy banter about Neitzche. How cliché can you get? Arrogant male character says something praiseworthy about some historical dead white guy. Fiesty female character responds by saying said dead white guy was a chauvinist. It’s as if the makers of the movie thought they’d try to sound intelligent by injecting a line or two about a philosopher. It just stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
Re: Minnesota - I enjoyed myself a little too much seeing the coasts destroyed. I would have loved a quick shot of a couple of Minnesotans shoveling snow, one saying to the other calmly, “Looks like a pretty bad one this year.”
as my wife and i left the theater last evening, we were handed fliers blaming global warming on the environmental policies of the bush administration by people representing move on .org
You got to give them credit for the cliche that didn’t happen:
The “biiiiiig chill” is rolling in. Our heros are trying to get back to the warmth of the NYPL. They’re almost there. But wait! A threatening wolf blocks their path. He is poised above the doorway of the library ready to pounce. Our heros have no time to find another way in, so they dash to the door. The wolf charges! Our heros won’t make it. But just as the wolf leaps – or better still, while in midair – the biiiiiiig chill overtakes the beast. He is frozen solid. He lands on the ground with a thud, or better still, shatters into wolf bits. The heros escape! (Girls go, “Ewwwww!,” boys go “Cool!.”)
Then again I wouldn’t be surprised if the scene was shot and it ended up on the cutting room floor (or will end up on the DVD).
I thought it was a terrific film. Sure, the science is laughable, but [Marvin Tikvah]come ON![/Marvin Tikvah], you don’t go to a Roland Emmerich film looking for a sound extrapolation of science, or, for that matter, good dialogue and well-written characters. You go to his films to see 'things git blowed up real good," and in this film, he delivers.
Bits I enjoyed
Ian Holm’s character
The final toasts in the weather station
The FX
The partisan digs at Cheney and Bush
Bits that had me raising questions on leaving the theater
Has it occured to the astronauts in the ISS that they are going to die, since there is now no nation with the technology to rescue them?
Shouldn’t there have been a similar storm in the Southern hemisphere that would freeze Australia, New Zealand, and southern Chile and Argentina? (I think southern Africa would be spared because it’s closer to the Equator)
A big ditto on the terminal cancer kid being euthanized. It makes no sense to stay and wait for an ambulance when the child will die a more prolonged death in a squalid refugee camp anyway.
Why does the US insist on staying in Mexico when they could spread out and go further south to countries on the Equator?
When we see flooded New York before the big freeze, why don’t we see bodies and refuse floating in it?
Well, I believe the ISS keeps an old Soyuz capsule on hand at all times, so the astronauts can leave. Mexico seemed intact (even though Florida is completely frozen over, so figure THAT one out) so there should be plenty of places to land along the equator, assuming you can get an intact Naval vessel to be there to pick you up. I guess they’ll have to make arrangements with Australia.
My friends and I enjoyed it, despite the false science and such. I love Dennis Quaid.
We were the only ones laughing like maniacs through the LA tornado scene – I guess that’s what happens when you are from Kansas and went through a tornado warning just a few days before.
“Sir, I think we might need a tornado warning!” What, there’s just one weather guy in the entire LA area? Um, ever hear of the national weather service?
And don’t get me started about the helicopter about 300 feet from the twister.
The one thing I really had to roll my eyes at was the wolves. I knew when the guy at the zoo said they’d escaped that eventually they’d find our young Hero, but I chose that moment to leave for the bathroom. I do have my limit of acceptable believability.
I’m just grateful that at the president’s cabinet meeting no one suggested: “We need to detonate nuclear warheads in the troposphere!” :smack:
I liked how all of the LA media were seemingly within a hundred yards or so from the twisters - not to mention being out on the street with eveything blowing at them. It was as if the message was about how unreal Los Angeles itself is.
Did anyone else think the vice president bore quite a resemblence to Richard Cheney?
Cliches riddled the plot like the cancer in little Timmy’s body, and spread twice as fast.
Speaking of whom, the dying kid/Sam’s mom plot wasn’t necessary in the least; neither was the “love triangle,” for that matter. I did appreciate the dichotomy between Sam going to the ship for drugs and Jack heading north to resuce his son. Which, as someone mentioned earlier, made no sense. He originally left with a sled, so presumably he was going to grab his kid (and no one else!) and tow him back home on the sled, from NY to DC. Right.
I’m not sure why that requires a spoiler tag, but aren’t the two survivors seen with the sled after their buddy goes splat? I was under the impression they’d managed to get into the mall and retrieve the sled, though this wasn’t shown.
Well, Jack did tow whatshisface for a couple hours while the latter was passed out (although why he didn’t die, I don’t know). Did he put him on something other than the sled they started with?
If this were shown as a documentary on the Discovery Channel, I’d understand the complaints and nitpicks. But it’s a movie! You never hear people say, “So, a guy is bitten by a genetically engineered spider and suddenly can shoot webs from his hands? As IF!” And yet when a movie is significantly more realistic than that, people complain about any and all inaccuracies.