A movie that was just alright on a big screen is now on DVD for the masses to watch on their television screens.  Is it still as good?  Perhaps better?  Um... no.

Roland Emmerich is the king of whacky plots.  In "Stargate" (in my opinion, his best), a portal is opened up into a different world and without even really testing it, some commandos and a scientist are thrown in.  In "Independence Day," Will Smith somehow manages to pilot an alien ship to the mothership where-upon resident genius Jeff Goldblum somehow knows how to upload a virus from his lap top into the mothership.  In "Godzilla" (in my opinion, his absolute worst), well, nothing really makes too much sense.  And finally, in "Mel Gibson Vs. the Entire British Army," Gibson manages to pretty much single-handedly win the American Revolution.

In "Day After Tomorrow," a lot of crazy shit happens... and then even more crazy shit happens... and then even more crazy shit happens.  But is it enertaining?  The first half, defiantly.  The second half, not so much.  Now, don't blink or you'll miss the plot:

Bizzarre weather patterns begin to appear across the globe... and only scientist Jack Hall (channeling Goldblum's character from "Indenpendence Day") knows what is going on.  As he warns his son of the impending doom (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), the first set of crazy shit begins to happen.  Massive tornados in Los Angeles?  Tidal waves crashing into New York City?  Helicopters flying directly next to said tornadoes without being sucked in?  People outrunning said tidal waves by hiding in a library that can withstand the waves, but apparently not a temperature change?

Like I said, the first half isn't quite that bad.  Sure, it involves seemingly invincible helicopters and buildings, but it all still looks cool.  But then the second set of crazy shit starts to happen: a large, Russian oil tanker coasts into the newly flooded NYC without causing so much as a dent.  Shortly after which, son calls father by dipping below freezing waters to retrieve an ancient-looking pay phone... that still works?  I realize this is supposed to be mildly stupid and enertaining, but I just cannot get by some of these problems.

Finally, the really stupid shit happens.  These include horribly-rendered CGI wolves attacking Gyllenhaal and his friends, father Quiad going on a 100-mile hike through an Antarctic-landscape that was once the East Coast to get to New York City, and, finally, my favorite: there is a scene where the heroes actually run away from the temperature... literally.

And than there's the humorous aspect.  The one-liners get old, the "funny" people get annoying, and I guess Emmerich thought he was really clever: yes, we get that it is ironic that people from the U.S. are hopping the border illeagally to get into Mexico.  You don't need to bash us over the head with this twenty times!  We get it!

Enertaining?  Somewhat.  Really, really, really stupid?  Most deafianly, yes.

Movie: ** out of ****

DVD Extras: *** out of ****

There are two commentaries here: one with director Emmerich and producer Mark Gordon and the other with co-writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff, the director of photography, the editor, and the production designer.  If you want to hear things you probably can already figure out, listen to Emmerich and Gordon.  If you want a bit more insight, go with the second option.  There are also deleted scenes cut for a reason and a few making-of's (which, it should be mentioned, are only accessible through a weblink through a  DVD-ROM).  

I didn't see TDAT in a theater but I bought the DVD anyway. I wasn't disappointed, but then again, I didn't have very high expectations. I knew it was just mindless eye candy, and in that way it was a success. The dialogue and story arc are ridiculously predictable, but it's a disaster melodrama, how could anyone expect anything else. It's really the kind of movie that would be just as good, if not better, with the sound off. The next time I watch it I'll probably just mute it, throw a CD into the stereo and watch the pretty pictures.

Try watching the movie while listening to Metallica.  It makes it a little better, but there is still that running away from the freezing cold temperature.  Nothing's more scary that freezing temperature chasing after you.

This is one of those movies that I just can't get past the flaws so I couldn't really enjoy this.

I mean, it has to be -100 some ought to freeze the fuel in the helicopter lines, and it's cold enough to freeze the chopper's solid. So why then does the crew not freeze? (When the one survivor opens the door his hand doesn't start to freeze until his face does... hmm...).

This one gets * out of **** for the special effects only.

Quoted from R.E._Freak, posted October 20th, 2004, 7:57pm at here I mean, it has to be -100 some ought to freeze the fuel in the helicopter lines, and it's cold enough to freeze the chopper's solid. So why then does the crew not freeze? (When the one survivor opens the door his hand doesn't start to freeze until his face does... hmm...).

I think you may have misinterpreted that scene. The crew does freeze, but not immediately because they are in the (I assume) heated helicopter. The freeze starts from the outside in of course. When the crewmember opens the door he moves only a few inches before he freezes, it's not like he gets out and walks around.

Now, there were many logical errors in TDAT, but this wasn't really one of them, or at least not one of the worst.