Going forward to move back

What if you could undo a major mistake and save humanity at the same time? That’s the question posed in The Tomorrow War, the popular Amazon release directed by Chris McKay, starring Chris Pratt.

In the year 2051, destructive alien hordes are rampaging across the earth, wiping out humanity. Through an experimental portal, recruiters journey back to 2022 to plea for help.

Dan Forester (Pratt) is an Iraq War veteran casting around for purpose, teaching high-school science, and raising his 9-year-old daughter Muri with his wife. But he’s sure he can do more. The recruiters from the future bring in Dan and other draftees. If they make it through their seven-day mission against the alien Whitespikes, they’ll return to the present day.

Dan and a motley crew of conscripts find in the future the Whitespikes are wiping out people like locusts wipe out a wheat field. For humanity, it’s a losing battle.

After a series of close calls, Dan meets daughter Muri of the future, now a decorated colonel. She tells Dan of his mistakes in the past that tore his family apart.

The Tomorrow War is fairly predictable, with copious coincidences, but keeps viewers engaged and entertained. The film lauds courage and heroism, as Dan and his compadres battle aliens of the future and the mistakes of their past. With rough language, blasphemy, and frightening scenes, the movie earns its PG-13 rating.