Tomorrow, When the War Began

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

Based off the best selling Australian Teen novel of the same name Tomorrow When The War Began is the first in a series of books by John Marsden about a group of high school students who take a camping trip before school starts and return to find that the country has been invaded by an unknown force, and they make a stand to fight the enemy using guerilla tactics The cinematography and action in this film is fantastic, from the second the first gunshot is fired the adrenaline really picks up and boy does it deliver big time, the explosions in this film are great, and what makes them great is not their size but the debris and characters they send flying, I mean there were pieces of debris that missed characters by cm's and it really ads extra dimension with close calls if this film had been shot in 3D it would have been incredible to see the film just for that.

Unfortunately what drags the film is its script, the dialogue is extremely corny and clichéd, and the bulk of the characters are blatant stereotypes and this is apparent with the way the characters are introduced, in fact I can go though each of them right now, Ellie - Farmer's Daughter, Corrie - the lead's best friend, Kevin - The coward, Homer - The rebellious bad boy, Fiona - the pampered city girl, Robyn - The upstanding religious girl, Chris - The stoner, and the biggest stereotype of them all Lee - The Asian, don't believe me about the Asian? let me give you his character background: He's an expert piano player, his parents own a Chinese restaurant, he moves swiftly like a ninja as evident when he's climbing down a mountain, he stops a fast moving snake with a stick in one strike, he speaks one or two proverbs I mean I was half expecting him to bust out some Kung Fu with the way the filmmakers were treating his character thank god they didn't go that far.

On the topic of the characters the one that really stood out for me performance wise was the character of Homer, Actor Deniz Akdeniz handles his character really well being as charismatic and witty and probably has the second most character development out of all the characters next to Ellie.

To be fair though this is the first in a series of books so there is defiantly room for improvement if the next movie comes out. Notice I said "if" not "when" that's because being an Australian film it has to do really well domestically if it has even a chance of getting made, if it doesn't do well bye bye The Dead of The Night (the next movie in the series) Overall the film is enjoyable despite the poor dialogue, it defiantly needs a better script writer for the next film, though leave him doing the action, Stuart Beattie did that well and pretty good for a directing debut.

7/10

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!

I suppose studios have genre classifications that would put this as "action," with a (Austalian) patriotic flavor. But my own personal genre classification system has this as a teen stereotype movie. Maybe 20-25% of all movies are of this type, even those featuring adults. I credit John Hughes with refining the idea: the story doesn't matter because it is only there to give these kids some place to be.

The important thing is that they start out with the distinct types. In this edition we have four boys and four girls, all played by young adults. You have the jokester, the stoner, the jock, the beauty queen and so on. They are interesting to me only in how these stereotypes differ from the American ones I know.

You have the redhead who is experimenting with sex, but instead of being the fiery one, she is reserved. You have the reserved daughter of some fundamentalists who is unique to Australia in my experience. The happy go lucky guy is separate from the stoner, who is the only one of whom they disapprove. The sexy blond here is unaware that she is.

Other differences: they are quick to go camping to an extremely remote, and quite bucolic, place. The war that they encounter is the Indonesian invasion of Australia, justified by forcing Australia to share their natural resources. The kids fight back as kids from movies anywhere are expected to do, but here the two leaders are girls.

This must have been the pilot for a series because some money was spent on effects. But other than noticing the Aussie twists on the seven basic stereotypes, its a waste of time.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

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.