The Day After Tomorrow wouldn’t have been quite so bad without its underlying charge, frequently spoken aloud. “If we don’t act now, it’s going to be too late”, “We must learn from our mistakes”, and “We must do a better job at taking care of the earth.” Why should we be so concerned about the earth? Because, if we don’t pass Greenpeace legislation today, tomorrow there are going to be tornadoes in Los Angeles, a flood in New York, and instantly freezing temperatures in the northern half of the United States.

The constant rhetoric, which was almost as bad as that of medical reform in John Q, wasn’t so obtrusive as to ruin the rest of the story, however. Even though there isn’t much to speak of in terms of story either. Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), the scientist who discovers the coming of a new ice age, has a son named Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is in Manhattan with some friends, Brian (Arjay Smith) and Laura (Emmy Rossum), for a scholar tournament when the floods come in. They find shelter in the New York Public Library and burn books to keep them warm while the cold immediately sets in. Jack isn’t going to let them all die in there, so he sets off to save them.

On of the many side stories involves a Scottish researcher (Ian Holm), who works with his team for the best, despite the worst. Meanwhile Jack must convince the government that the storm is coming, and instructs them on what to do when it does. We also sit in on the discussions of the “corrupt” U.S. President and his Vice, both of whom must change or face the consequences.

For some reason it’s always fun to imagine survival situations, particularly those in situations of mass destruction – and even more still if we don’t actually have to live through them. The Day After to Tomorrow makes it all the more fun with some spectacular effects of heavy damage in major cities.

Of course, most of it simply isn’t believable on many levels. A cold sets in that freezes people instantly, but all of our main characters stay just fine by keeping close to a fire. Another scene, where our heroes must battle the cold and wolves is simply silly. Emmerich seems to want to be creating another Independence Day, but Tomorrow doesn’t stand up to the former. The lines are not as funny, the characters not as endearing and the situations not as exciting.

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