The Day After TomorrowMovie Reviews

Poster art for "The Day After Tomorrow."

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 48 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 Iffy for 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    Despite the clunky bits, "Tomorrow" still manages to deliver the blockbuster goods. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    The spectacle, which is colossal and at times staggering to behold, begins within two minutes of the fade-in and keeps coming until the finish. I thought I'd seen it all. I hadn't. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    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. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    A disarmingly pulpy, eye-popping disaster movie during its first half, and an increasingly dull survival melodrama during its second. Read full review

  • 60
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    It's the Weather Channel on steroids. Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    A decent disaster pic comes down to the handful of colorful individuals who will live (or, depending on the prominence of their billing, die), as it has since the days of chewy disaster meatballs like ''The Towering Inferno'' and ''Earthquake.'' And the heaviest lifting in Emmerich's production falls to Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    Packed with digs at Bush-Cheney that even Democrats could find heavy-handed, the movie's lumbering approach reminds us that, OK, Emmerich did "Independence Day" -- but also 1998's "Godzilla," which began sinking back into the sea in week two. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Dana Stevens

    The glacierization of half of the world's inhabited land is contemplated with barely a hint of horror. In fact, it looks kind of cool. Read full review

  • 40
    Los Angeles Times | Manohla Dargis

    The story is too silly, too woefully underwritten, to stake a claim on seriousness. Read full review

  • 25
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Don't ask whether or not you should take The Day After Tomorrow seriously. Don't take it at all. Read full review

View more reviews for The Day After Tomorrow on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 13+ Some cool special effects...that's about it.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie has intense peril and violence, with the destruction of much of the world. Millions of people are killed, mostly off-screen, though there are some dead bodies and major characters are killed. There are brief images of grisly injuries. Characters drink, including drinking as a way to dull the sadness. Characters sacrifice themselves, sometimes by killing themselves, to save others. A strength of the movie is the portrayal of men and women of different races with courage and ability and devotion, including a loving inter-racial marriage.
  • Families can talk about global warming and research the efforts by scientists and politicians to prevent further damage to the ozone layer. They could also talk about why the librarian wanted to save the Gutenberg Bible and about how all of the characters think about (and rearrange) their priorities in the face of disaster. Would your choice for your favorite vacation be like Sam's? Whose decisions do you approve of and why? The politicians speak of "triage," making the very tough decisions to let some people die so that more can live. How do people make those choices? What do you think about the way they decide to define "win?" What will happen in the weeks following the end of the movie, and what will the world look like a year later?
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Intense peril, many characters killed, dead bodies, brief graphic wounds.
  • sex false0 Sex: Brief non-explicit sexual situation, teen kiss.
  • language false3 Language: Brief language
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: FOX appears many times throughout.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some drinking.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

The Day After Tomorrow Movie Ratings + Reviews

Fans say

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Critics say

So-so See all critic reviews

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