My expectations were low for this movie. I’m a Chris Pratt fan and watched it off his star power alone. I saw no trailers and went in blind. After viewing it this Fourth of July weekend, I can say The Tomorrow War is worth seeing. It is a pleasant surprise with heart, humor, and a great special effects budget. Seriously, the monsters are a fucking nightmare!

Not only did the producers find a reason for Pratt to take off his shirt but they were successful in casting him as a loving family man. Dan Forester (Chris Pratt) was charming and his performance very nineties action flick, which isn’t bad. I related to his character but didn’t really buy the military background. It felt tacked on to justify his survival.

Dan was a high school teacher with aspirations of becoming a scientific researcher until soldiers from the future appeared on national television. He’s drafted to fight a war against ferocious alien creatures. They have limited intelligence, can’t be reasoned with, and exist only to consume every living thing. It’s a simple plot with shades of Starship Troopers and Edge of Tomorrow.

This film moved at a great pace but got super campy in the third act. Felt like I was watching a completely different movie, a Marvel movie to be exact. I was like, when did he turn into Captain America? The set designs were amazing and convinced me that Earth was now overrun with Whitespikes. My only complaint is that they never explained how the hell human beings developed time travel technology.

The movie explores the theme of bad fathers, like a Marvel movie. Redemption is what drives the protagonist in addition to saving the whole world and preventing a timeline where all humans are eaten. I wouldn’t call this a great movie but it’s really good. It has suspense, horror, and tons of action. The Tomorrow War gets a 7 out of 10.