Day After Tomorrow-Collectors Edition (2004)

"...it's one superior disaster movie.  Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"...great special effects...  Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Editor's Note With THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, director Roland Emmerich (INDEPENDENCE DAY, GODZILLA) trades evil aliens and radioactive lizards in for some seriously bad weather. When a radical change in the temperature of the world's oceans causes deadly storms and sets a new Ice Age in motion, climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) must race from Washington D.C. to save his son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), in the subzero climes of New York City. Elsewhere, tornadoes and hail menace the globe, leading to international disasters on an extraordinary level. Emmerich, who has proven to be a master of big-budget cinematic destruction on numerous occasions, aims to outdo himself with THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. Here entire cities are ripped apart, flooded, and/or frozen, adding up to one of the biggest disaster movies ever filmed. Although astonishingly rendered special effects rule the movie, adept actors such as Quaid and Gyllenhaal (along with Sela Ward, Ian Holm, Emmy Rossum, and others) turn in solid performances that help to balance out the meteorological mayhem. Surprisingly, Emmerich also uses the film as a vehicle for clever moments of social and political commentary, making THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW admirably smarter and considerably more entertaining than typical Hollywood blockbusters.

	Dash Mihok
	Dennis Quaid
	Emmy Rossum
	Ian Holm
	Jake Gyllenhaal
	Sela Ward
	Barry Chusid - Production Designer
	David Brenner - Editor
	Harald Kloser - Musical Score
	Roland Emmerich - Director
	Roland Emmerich - Screenplay
	Roland Emmerich - Producer
	Ueli Steiger - Cinematographer

Entertainment Weekly
"[A]ll of Manhattan is flooded, then frozen. Neat!" 06/04/2004 p.54-5

Uncut
"A throwback to the disaster movies of the '70s, this is cinema as pure spectacle....It's the kind of movie popcorn was invented for." 07/01/2004 p.132

Sight and Sound
"[T]he onset of this ice age is thoroughly cinematic." 07/01/2004 p.48

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 7 of 10
The Day After Tomorrow has the good sense not to have man attempt to overcome nature's wrath (the point of such films like Armageddon and The Core). Instead, it's a given that there's nothing we can do, so the emphasis is on survival. The knowledge that victory is impossible makes for a more compelling story, since the goal becomes intensely personal: staying alive. Of course, despite the "bad science," the pro-environment message shines through. Like Super Size Me, consider it a cautionary tale. Nevertheless, Emmerich's point with The Day After Tomorrow isn't to play politics or make speeches, but to entertain. And, in the cataclysmic way he has become known for, he does so. The Day After Tomorrow is filled with bad dialogue, stock peril situations, and sketchy character development, but it's a big enough spectacle that those things don't derail the film's capacity to be enjoyed. Pass the popcorn and the cheese. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
...yes, the movie is profoundly silly. What surprised me is that it's also very scary. The special effects are on such an awesome scale that the movie works despite its cornball plotting. When tornados rip apart Los Angeles (not sparing the Hollywood sign), when a wall of water roars into New York, when a Russian tanker floats down a Manhattan street, when snow buries skyscrapers, when the crew of a space station can see nothing but violent storm systems -- well, you pay attention. - Roger Ebert