Image credit: The Day After Tomorrow: Takashi Seida

The Day After Tomorrow

(2004)

''The Day After Tomorrow'' made our list of best disaster movies

FAMILIAR FACES Jake Gyllenhaal (shown), Dennis Quaid, Sela Ward, Emmy Rossum, Ian Holm

UH-OH! Global warming has done its damage faster than anyone has anticipated — save for Cassandra-ish scientist Jack Hall (Quaid). When a sudden ice age flash-freezes much of the northern hemisphere, Jack's son Sam (Gyllenhall) and his friends from a high school field trip are trapped in the New York Public Library. Oh, and untold hundreds of millions die.

DISASTROUS DIALOGUE ''Mankind survived the last ice age. We're certainly capable of surviving this one. The only question is, will we be able to learn from our mistakes?'' —Jack asks.

SAVING THE DAY Jack and some colleagues trudge their way up the Northeast Corridor to rescue Sam. Meanwhile, the teen and his friends keep warm by burning the library's books. So long, Western civilization!

AFTERSHOCKS The movie's box office success helped make a marquee name out of Gyllenhall and cemented the reputation of director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Godzilla) as the go-to guy for Manhattan-destroying disaster movies. There was talk at the time of the film's release that its critique of the Bush administration's environmental policies (represented here by a scoffing, Cheney-esque vice president) might help sway the 2004 election to John Kerry. Um, guess not.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT If there ever is an instant ice age, you'll want to make use of this movie's helpful survival tips. (Such as: if the air temperature dips to the negative triple digits, you may want to stay indoors.)

EW GRADE C+

Originally posted May 25, 2004
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