Demain, quand la guerre a commencé

Fans of the Tomorrow book series rejoiced at the news of a cinematic adaptation of John Mardson's iconic Australian teen epic, Tomorrow When the War Began. As an enthusiast of the first 3 books (in a series of 7), I was ecstatic that it would get big screen treatment and not some shitty b-grade telly movie as I had feared. I'm pleased to announce that I walked out of this energised, with a racing pulse and a smile on the face.

For those unfamiliar with the material, the concept of is pretty much identical to Red Dawn – a group of teens from a country town go camping for a weekend to find out their country has been invaded, and their family have been held captive. They hide out and guerrilla warfare ensues.

Thematically, the film captures the clichéd 'working together' virtues of friendship corn from the novel. It is definitely in the writing that the film falls down…well, more of a stumble than a fall. I found this particularly unusual given the writer/director is Stuart Beattie – a screenwriter with an exceptional resume. He handles action far better than he handles characters in his directorial debut. Despite the ham and cheese in the writing, the broader screenplay is emotionally satisfying.

Whilst the acting is not of the highest calibre, I would say it was on par with other large franchise films with a young, teen cast (specifically Harry Potter and Twi). The actor who plays Lee is the weakest link here. Although he has the visual presence for the role, his delivery is consistently wooden. Caitlyn Stacey was a standout for me. She displays genuine emotion, genuine intensity and fear. I would have preferred if she spoke like less of a 'toff', and ripped into that bogan Aussie accent, but she brings a solid and believable strength.

As well as capturing the essence of the novel, the action sequences have been stunningly realised. The visuals have a polished look and feel, on par with films with a much higher budget (this had only $20AUD million) thus I believe it would stand up well in an international market. By any standards, the action is exhilarating and has been directed with clarity. Although I wouldn't have minded a bit more grit to the imagery, the cinematography is exceptional and captures the Australian landscapes beautifully. The soundtrack and score was nicely chosen, and the balance of humour and darker tones was effective.

Whilst not being the major box office success some would have liked, The Dead of the Night has been green lit, so thankfully there is more to come in this promising franchise. Despite some awkwardness, there is an energy in the characters and action that permeates Tomorrow When the War Began, making it an entirely gripping experience. For me, this was resonant action that sweeps you up and takes you on an exhilarating and emotionally fulfilling ride.

To the reviews that question the logic of the film and mentioned the driving around "without a care in the world" do not understand military parameters of making a perimeter. In the film the only time they were driving freely was when they were outside of the city limits, where there were never soldiers.

When you play close attention to the small details you will notice things like that rather than writing in a review you found the movie "laughable." I loved the human interaction and how the movie was crafted to not just be a war movie, but something much deeper about people from different walks of life coming together for a cause.

The acting I felt was also very well done, as well was the script. Every character develops in their own unique way, which gave the script a very complete feeling. I really don't have any complaints for how it was presented, it was a very solid film. It was just missing a spark to push it over the top of being good to great.

True Score: 7.3

OK so this was one of those films that I tripped over. It was amongst a list of supposedly "worthy" sci-fi action films in the SMH one day about three months ago. Now I pay to go see films in the cinema that I know I want to see. But films that I couldn't be bothered seeing or paying for but still have a curiosity over - I download using bit torrent. And so it was that this film (along with some of the others) came my way.

Now I wish I had paid for it. Because it certainly is worth a proper screening! This film was a welcome breath of fresh air film making in the tradition of Aussie films where character development and story telling mean more than explosions. That's not to say that the explosions weren't good - they were - but this film brings back a rare thing nowadays in feature films - emotion.

Give this film a go. It's under rated, very delightful to watch and quintessentially Australian. Watching it, you begin to truly believe that "hey that could be my town, my son, my house". It challenges and yet entertains. And most of all, it's simple to watch. You don't need an arts degree to enjoy it - it flows over you.

Be patient with the beginning (like many Aussie films and old cars, it takes a while to get warmed up). In the end, I couldn't fault this film. It's one of the rare recent releases that I know will be watched again and again.

Zordmaker

sometimes i just choose to simply like a movie and not care too much about its possible faults.

(i have not read the book.)

what appealed to me most was the way the story is being told. just enough 'foreplay' to introduce the characters and then: war. the war-thing reminded me a little of 'war of the worlds'. how an invasion takes place but the focus stays on the characters rather than on big guns and fireworks. we don't even know what nation these soldiers belong to. it doesn't matter, that's not the point. it's hat makes the movie special instead of just another war-movie with people taking turns in getting shot. there was just enough romance, humor and action to make it work. after having seen hundreds of action movies, i'm starting to appreciate it, when it's not overdone. sure enough this movie is for teens, but enjoyable for everybody.

to all critics: of course it's impossible for a bunch of teens to steal a petrol truck and blow up the most important bridge of the region. in real life, helicopters would shoot them to bits in a matter of seconds. we know. and we also know that a petrol truck would not cause an explosion like this. this would cause a low-speed detonation at best, because yada-yada-yada...

so stop criticizing you big science-nerd. ;-)

watch it. no worries: you 've seen worse movies, i'm sure!

The cast is good enough and you can't complain about the visuals but the script is flawed, due to the makers eagerness into focusing on the teen- romance aspects of the movie instead of the survival aspect.

For instance there is a scene where the gang have a potentially lethal mission going on and 2 girls can't stop chatting about the boys they like, asking if this or that person is a good kisser etc.

And stuff like that happens throughout of the movie, so what everyone they know is either dead or prisoners of war does that really mean we can't go on a date right?

Yeah... But when it's not focused on that it's fairly entertaining.

The violence is very minimal which takes away a lot of the tension that could have been in the movie, okay it's aimed at teens but still war is never pretty.

There's also very little action for it to be listed as a action-movie and the poster makes it look like it's actionpacked as well but it's really not.

In the end of the movie which ends with a cliffhanger of sorts it's kind of obvious that it was always intended as a trilogy or something with this movie being the first part.

And it appears that the sequel is being made as we speak, I'd watch it but I hope they don't focus on too many love-triangles but of the actual war/survivor-story that time.