Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageTomorrow When the War Began (2011)
Director: Stuart Beattie
Movie review
From Time Out London
John Marsden’s seven-book series starting with ‘Tomorrow When the War Began’ has made him a cultural phenomenon in his native Australia, where he’s been voted the most popular living author. Anyone new to this story of provincial Aussie teens growing up fast after an enemy invasion should bear in mind that this opens a planned franchise from the million-selling novels. Otherwise, the risk is they’ll take one look, and think it’s merely ‘Home and Away’ meets ‘Red Dawn’. Not something many of us ever expected to see…To be fair, the film hints at the material’s rich character-building potential, after a group of pals return from a weekend break to discover their coastal town under enemy control and soldiers firing at anything that moves. Protagonist Ellie (Caitlin Stasey) finds herself shocked by her own capacity for action and would-be alpha-male Kevin (Lincoln Lewis) crumbles in the circumstances, while Greek goofball Homer (Deniz Adkeniz) and homely churchgoer Robyn (Ashleigh Cummings) prove they’re made of sterner stuff. Although the decorative cast don’t plumb significant depths, there’s a vein of thoughtfulness running beneath the brazenly explosive action highlights and fist-pumping soundtrack, though the suspense does fall prey to some debilitating credibility issues. Who are these invaders? ‘The Coalition’ is an invented pan-Asiatic grouping aiming to knock Australia off top spot in the region. Or something. It’s very hard to buy the idea they can land thousands of troops without anyone noticing, and the film’s inconclusive ending (more episodes to come, obviously) compounds our frustration. Strange days indeed.
Author: Trevor Johnston
Time Out London Issue 2120: 7 – 13 April, 2011
User reviews of this film
-
- Darren Jones said...
- Posted on Apr 21 2011 08:42 A truly awful film. Dialogue awful. Plot awful. Tone awful. Baddies awful. Soul-searching awful. Characterisation awful. Acting decent. Everything else...awful. Poor actors. It's awful.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Oz said...
- Posted on Apr 15 2011 05:21 the movie really does justice to the books! a must see for all aussies and english who have read the series!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- ANDY said...
- Posted on Apr 10 2011 21:10 BRILLIANT! BEST MOVIE EVER!
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Stuart Beattie
Cast: Rachel Hurd-Wood, Caitlin Stasey, Ashleigh Cummings, Lincoln Lewis
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Rated: 12A
Duration: 103 mins
UK Release: Apr 8 2011
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now