Critical Analysis of The Film The Day after Tomorrow

In the opening scene of 'The Day After Tomorrow', the characters introduced are three men named Jack, Frank, and Jason. These three men are climatologists and were out in the arctic lands investigating. They started to dig a hole into the ground then eventually cracking the ice floor, finding the start of what Jack declares is an ice age. Jack Hall is one of the main characters of the movie being a scientist predicting the movie's situation of a super-storm building up. The opening of the film is important, it introduces the main character and the start of the main problem. It also shows Jack getting ignored by the UN officials when he presented his environmental concerns later being a problem of realizing that it is too late to react and evacuate people from the danger. The story is set in modern times around 2012 and in my opinion, I don't think the story would have worked being set in another time because it would be to advance to be in the future. The problem that was revealed in the early part of the film was when Jack the climatologist suggested that the greenhouse emissions could cause an ice age in 100 or so years, but was ignored by the vice president since he wasn’t convinced. Further into investigating, Jack and his climatologist partners found out that his predictions were wrong and that it wouldn’t take decades for it to happen but it could only take up to 6 or 8 days. The weather suddenly starts to change rapidly around the world, causing massive hail stones to fall in Tokyo and tornadoes destroying towns and homes in Los Angeles and Hollywood.

During the film, Jack and his wife Lucy Hall become the main characters worrying about their son Sam, who is in New York with his friends Laura and Brian while the super-storm builds rapidly. Sam gradually turns into one of the main characters having more screen time due to saving his friends and overcoming the storm alone. The problem that Jack had to overcome was rescuing his son Sam who became trapped in the New York library with a snow storm while he was in Philadelphia. Jack and his climatologist partners Jason and Frank travelled by foot facing many difficulties such as Frank, falling from a shopping centre roof covered from the snow dragging the three of them down with him. From Frank's weight of himself and the bag full of equipment that he carried, Jack and Jason couldn't lift him back to the surface. Frank making his decision to cut himself from the rope that connected all three of them together and overcoming the wild storm with only the resources they had taken with them. The qualities that the viewers see Jack, the main character have as the film progresses is his survival skills as he manages to stay safe and protect himself throughout the storm. Another quality is his courage, he doesn't want to disappoint Sam and lose his promise to save him. He also uses his thinking skills to make quick decisions that will keep him and his remaining partner safe and alive during the adventure to save Sam as the storm got worse freezing everything that goes out into the air. The viewer is positioned to feel worried and mostly scared for the characters as they own have their problems facing the wild weather.

A twist in this film is the storm starting as a massive wave of water taking over and continually flooding the city in Los Angeles then gradually, the storm temperatures start to drop causing a snow storm so cold you would freeze to death by just going outside. Another would be before the snow storm occurred, the flooding brought a massive ship to pass and stop directly in front of the library where Sam, his friends and the other survivors were. Although everyone was terrified of the massive ship, Sam and his friends volunteered to go out into the storm and into the ship to find a medicine that would cure Laura from her blood infection from the dangerous cut on her leg that she got from before their trip to New York. While exploring the ship to find food, water and other items that were needed, the three boys then find out that wolves that have escaped from the zoo had then came onto the ship. The boys wanted no trouble while the wolves did, they chased the three boys around the ship with one of the boys, J.D eventually getting bit on his leg by one of the wolves having struggles to walk. The boys locked themselves in a room and made a plan to escape the ship without facing the wolves again. They find a floatable raft to drag the items in and J.D then start to make their way back to the library. As Sam, Brian and J.D make their way to the library Sam notices that they buildings start to freeze with ice surrounding them. They get into the library safely just in time before the ice got to them.In the end section of the film, Jack and his climatologist partner Jason continue to travel to Manhattan by foot. Eventually getting there they pasted many ships frozen in the New York harbour along with the statue of liberty. They reach the library finding it buried under snow except for the entranceways of windows. Inside they found Sam, his friends and the other survivors in front of a fireplace in a closed room. The president then finds out about the survivors and sends helicopters to collect all them and to search for more. 

Throughout the movie three astronauts stationed in a space station looked down the planet while the storm was occurring and in the final scene they look below and see the storm passing and clearing up. I think the importance of the film’s title “The day after tomorrow” explains how anything could happen just over a day, and having the storm only happen in a couple of hours then turning a normal day into a super-storm the next is a perfect example of what the title is trying to explain. They are many, many films that are similar to this film and about the dangers of the climate or global warming. The most important relationship is Jack and his son Sam. Their relationship before wasn’t anywhere as close as during the movie due to jack always working and not having any time together but as the movie went on Jack shows that he would do anything and even risk his life to save Sam. The sound effects are one common and most used technique that captures the viewers’ attention and holds it to the end. Sound effects are also good to set the different kinds of mood that the scene is trying to make you feel. They want you to feel the emotions you are meant to feel within the movie. The music alone can tell the story and suspense or problem may occur while the story is being shown. 

Special effects play a massive role in this film. Without it the movie would have been way too hard to make. There would’ve been no way that storms could just naturally happen like that and to start and film a movie. The fil itself does have a lot to offer, it shows and involves relationships and difficulties and the effects of them. The effects if you don’t act to your problems quick enough and what could happen if you let them be. The person who has the most power in the film would be the president and vice president. The vice president abuses the power by not reacting to the problem like he should’ve, he took in the information like it was nothing and had no care to what will happen. He was against it all and because of that he put many, many lives in danger not knowing what to do next. Finally realising what he had caused, he took Jack’s advice and orders to what he had said. If a sequel was made of this movie, I think it would basically be about the same thing. Another super-storm hitting the world and destroying its path, losing many lives and injuring many more.