Tomorrow, When the War Began (2012)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jason S

  
  I love the concept and execution of the novel but there were times when I could tell this was created from a young adult series of books. While Red Dawn didn't hold back when it came to the reality of the risk the characters put themselves in this one seems to shy away from it.… More
  I love the concept and execution of the novel but there were times when I could tell this was created from a young adult series of books. While Red Dawn didn't hold back when it came to the reality of the risk the characters put themselves in this one seems to shy away from it. It's a great start to what could be a great series of films.

• Luke B

  
  A film about teenagers at war. However, these aren't REAL teenagers in a REAL war. This is all fictional crap, leaving our protagonists as self-obsessed prats, that will chat about kissing boys when they are in the middle of blowing up a bridge. The film is just a teenagers… More
  A film about teenagers at war. However, these aren't REAL teenagers in a REAL war. This is all fictional crap, leaving our protagonists as self-obsessed prats, that will chat about kissing boys when they are in the middle of blowing up a bridge. The film is just a teenagers fantasy. Dumb-ass teenagers will come out hoping a war will break out soon. They are able to take out highly trained soldiers, which have just seized a developed country. It doesn't make sense, and this lack of sense leads to huge shifts in tone which collide traumatically. There's some slapstick humor, quickly followed by insane rants about the nature of the soul and life. Even after just 45 minutes these rants come across as out of character. The tension is non-existent. In the right hands, a film like this could have had be biting my finger nails, instead I was clipping them due to boredom. The film also muddles its themes. Is it against war or not? Perhaps this is due to the characters having to muse on such complex questions, but then it all hangs on whether or not the dog will live. A short and subtle moment where Ellie sees a painting of Aborigines doesn't raise any interesting discussions. Instead, they find a bullet-proof rubbish truck and have a high speed chase. Like a child trying to get involved in a debate with an educated adult, this is interesting to watch at first, but ultimately embarrassing.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"What does your instincts tell you? That it's time to go to war."</i> When their country is invaded and their families are taken, eight unlikely high school teenagers band together to fight. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"What does your instincts tell you? That it's time to go to war."</i> When their country is invaded and their families are taken, eight unlikely high school teenagers band together to fight. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> The gaps in logic in this film are glaring as we see scene after scene of exaggerated actions coming into play to force scene conclusions that are supposed to guide the plot dramatically, bridges that should be building audience confidence in their immersion into a relationship with each of the characters as well as with the narrative itself. The author seems to me to be the major part of the failure of this film to deliver anything close to a well-done film project. But that also must include the main production executives who also made the decision to allow an apparently film industry novice to make such important decisions on how to take from a piece of literature the obvious thematic merits that this film so sadly tries to demonstrate to the audience. Things like the struggle for adolescent courage, morality, ethics, etc.. Sometimes what comes to us in words cannot easily be translated into the abstract aspects that reside in film where our eyes can see the process and we interpret what the eye sees and we make decisions concerning the meaning. It was like I was watching a child make decisions about how to go about the intellectual translation process. I found myself getting angrier and angrier at the consistent lack of cohesion between abstract concepts and their concrete imagery that exists in the film because of the lack of understanding about this basic concept taught in film school. It created a terrible embarrassment in me for the people responsible for this project and the characters in the film as they were being turned into puppets where the audience must fill in the gaps of movement imaginatively because of the essential nature of puppeteering where movement cannot flow realistically. Thus we have characters who do things that people living the contexts in which they find themselves would not and should not do realistically because the mind does not flow that way, nor does the body. I have tried to give a review where there are no spoilers and have used "Red Dawn" as my metaphorical device that one can use to compare and contrast what is good and what is bad in a similar plot and in the production process of a similar project. If you want to analyze this film, I suggest watching "Red Dawn" first. I hope this helps, not to make a choice on whether or not to watch this film, but to understand from where its flaws come.

• c0up  

  
  'Tomorrow When The War Began'. Some cheesy dialogue and a few cliche moments, but decent action and suspense made it quite enjoyable

• Dean M

  
  Great Australian action film with the version of 1984's <I>Red Dawn</i>. The action scenes are generally exciting as well as Ellie (Caitlin Stasey) and Homer's (Deniz Akdeniz) character growth is strong and impressive, impressive enough to carry the film past its… More
  Great Australian action film with the version of 1984's <I>Red Dawn</i>. The action scenes are generally exciting as well as Ellie (Caitlin Stasey) and Homer's (Deniz Akdeniz) character growth is strong and impressive, impressive enough to carry the film past its problems. From the striking aerial shot of the enemies' nocturnal invasion to the final bridge assault, director Stuart Beattie handles the action with giddy zeal. High-speed chases and frenetic machine gun battles rage in some of the most picturesque parts of New South Wales. This is the biggest Aussie action film since Max Rockatansky went beyond Thunderdome. Surprisingly - for the man who wrote <i>Collateral</i> and a pirate's swag of Hollywood blockbusters - Beattie seems more at home behind the camera than pushing his pen. For a film based on such an intriguing central conceit, the script is adequate at best. There is no spark in the teen banter and it threatens to derail the film early on. <i>Tomorrow, When the War Began</i> also isn't helped by the delivery from his young, inexperienced Soapie cast. Only Rachel Hurd-Wood shows signs of character development as Ellie's BFF Corrie. The rest of the teen underdogs are mere cyphers designed to win over the film's transparently targeted demographic. Luckily the set pieces win the day, aided by shattering sound design and breathtaking cinematography. I hope to look forward for the sequels with the same director and the rest of cast because that proved a massive hit at the box office in Australia.

• Andrew P

  
  It's an interesting concept executed badly. The movie will be over before you ever feel like it has begun thanks to nothing much ever really happening. The script is terrible at time but the actors do well with what they have to work with. It ends with with the hope of a sequel… More
  It's an interesting concept executed badly. The movie will be over before you ever feel like it has begun thanks to nothing much ever really happening. The script is terrible at time but the actors do well with what they have to work with. It ends with with the hope of a sequel which probably wont happen which cheapens the entire movie. Its a shame, Tomorrow when the war began could have been a great film with global success, but that will never be...

• John M

  
  ¨Tomorrow, When the War Began¨ a good start to a new adventure/war movie franchise from Australia. It is all around a solid film with a very good script, good actors, direction and decent action scenes and thrilling moments all of which comes together in quite a neat little package.… More
  ¨Tomorrow, When the War Began¨ a good start to a new adventure/war movie franchise from Australia. It is all around a solid film with a very good script, good actors, direction and decent action scenes and thrilling moments all of which comes together in quite a neat little package. Looking forward for the next two sequels>>>>>

• Chad R

  
  Pretty good, a good attempt at copying Red Dawn. Most of this first movie is the set up of the kids getting together and the beginning of the occupation of Australia. Looks like they are tying to make this into a trilogy which I bet, with the interest showing here and all the… More
  Pretty good, a good attempt at copying Red Dawn. Most of this first movie is the set up of the kids getting together and the beginning of the occupation of Australia. Looks like they are tying to make this into a trilogy which I bet, with the interest showing here and all the freaking advertising, that they will be big hits in Australia. The acting is pretty good, the story is semi-believable, and the lines are not corny as you would expect. I will definitely watch the sequels.

Read all 8 featured audience ratings