Watercooler Pick
The Day After Tomorrow
- Movie
- Rating: PG-13
- Release Date: 2004
- Runtime: 124
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Debuting back when climate change was still called “global warming,” this summer blockbuster introduced the subject to a mainstream audience — and pulled out all the CGI stops in the process. Taking place on an international scale, the story centers on a climatologist, his estranged wife, and their son as they overcome a cavalcade of cataclysmic natural disasters brought on by mankind’s unnatural pollution. It’s all over-the-top, but the end is all-too-real.
People may scoff at this movie’s absurdity. And, yes, the plot’s not even close to being scientifically plausible — a new ice age descends in 72 hours, rather than centuries — but The Day After Tomorrow enlivens a topic that can be drier than a drought while memorably illustrating the interconnectedness of our planet’s eco-systems and societies.
People who enjoy frivolous spectacle while engaging a serious topic, as well as those seeking a very, very rudimentary understanding of how ocean temperature impacts weather patterns.
This is a big-budget disaster movie with a lot of destruction – tornadoes destroy cities, tidal waves drown towns, flash freezes paralyze entire continents — resulting in millions upon millions of deaths. It may not be best for viewers living with post-traumatic stress.
Andrew Belonsky
