Tomorrow, When the War Began

A group of friends take an extended camping trip into the mountains. When they return, they find their country invaded by an unknown force, their families forced into a concentration camp, and take it upon themselves to begin a resistance movement.

I have not read the book, but as an Australian I really wanted to enjoy this movie, and I did, but I also came away thinking that it could be a lot better. This is probably the most controversial film I have watched in a long time, because I enjoyed the experience of watching it but I found so many problems with it as well:

The Good: Ellie and Homer's character growth is strong and impressive, impressive enough to carry the film past its problems.

The action scenes are generally exciting.

The film manages to maintain suspense even outside of the action scenes. It's good at conveying the emotions one should feel to find that their homeland has been invaded. I cared about the characters, worried about the way they fought with each other, and gritted my teeth for their success.

The Bad:

The other characters don't grow much.

Some dialogue is clunky. The beginning is a little cheesy as all the characters are introduced. The film does not start quickly.

The action scenes are generally implausible: petrol explosions are all too frequent: a crime to intelligence that Hollywood itself has committed numerous times but don't we know better than that now? Petrol is rather hard to make explode because you need to make sure that it's mixed with a specific ratio of oxygen. Yet everything carrying petrol goes off like TNT. At one stage, something containing petrol explodes three times. How?

I complained to some friends about this issue and they said it was the same as in the book. When I suggested changing the explosive they disagreed, because the movie should stay loyal to the book. But the book was about CHARACTERS. It wasn't about the way they did things, but for anyone with a bit of technical knowledge it's clear that John Marsden didn't do a whole lot of research if this is an exact representation of the text.

None of the characters look like year 12 students. I'm a high school teacher. It's very rare that any female students look like the long-legged, tall, slim, beautiful models used in this movie. Likewise not all boys look like buff sportsmen, but in this movie they do. Hence the movie loses some of its plausibility: it doesn't look like school children taking the war to the enemy. It looks more like university graduates. Only one character - Robyn Mathers - actually looked like a real school girl (except her clothes were so cliché-conservative Christian that even she looks a little unbelievable).

Action scenes were implausible: I like the idea of a movie where a bunch of teenagers outwit an invading force. But the director must be careful not to make the soldiers look dumb or incompetent. Instead he/she must make the teenagers look clever, or lucky. This movie does not succeed here.

Enemy strategy is questionable: the whole TOWN was put in a concentration camp! This is not how you invade a country. Are they going to do this for every town/city in Australia? When you're invading a country you dedicate your forces to fighting that country's military, and even once that's finished, you allow the population to keep going about its daily business and put soldiers on the street to keep order. You try to keep local law enforcement intact so they can do it. You don't herd everyone into a camp because then you need to feed them and clothe them yourselves, which, even if not done well, will draw resources away from where they're needed more.

Despite all of these issues, Tomorrow when the War Began has the framework of an interesting story and an interesting concept. It's a shame that anyone with a small amount of technical knowledge will be able to find more holes in this than a colander, nevertheless if these things aren't a concern to you then here is an emotional adventure with a fair dose of suspense and action. I'll be going to see the sequel, and I'll be praying someone remakes the movies in twenty years time.

This film, Tomorrow When the War Began, is the first in an intended series of three films, to be followed by a television series, depending on box office receipts.

It was a substantial investment for an Australian feature film, at $20 million, and its production values are generally excellent. DOP Ben Nott has done a superb job of capturing some of the beauty of Australia's bush and mountains, alternating with that serenity, the fast paced action sequences, with gun fights, car chases, explosions and general mayhem.

Although there are a number of small technical criticisms I noted, this film still rises way above the average fair, and its 143 minutes duration literally flies past, leaving you a little disappointed for want of more.

I have not read the seven book novel series, written by John Marsden, which the film is based on, so I was seeing the film and judging it on its merits, and I know the youth, in particular, who are familiar with the books, will love the film, as will many older folk who do not know Marsden's work.

The actors generally put in strong performances; however, there are a few awful character clichés which more than jar, which does disrupt one's involvement momentarily. I have written a more in depth analysis, which does not contain plot or ending spoilers, but does partly describe some scenes for critical purposes, on my film review site. On other criticisms, some logic and laws of physics have been bent, for dramatic purposes which, in my opinion, detract from the effect.

Realism, if respected on every level, always impresses more. The Hollywood multi-angle multi shot of the same effect is cartoonish and helps to degrade a drama, rather than enhance it. This film does commit some sins, but it is head and shoulders above the usual Hollywood fair, in the action genre.

In closing, I recommend you see this film, for it reveals a, potentially, extremely contentious issue, regarding the invaders, which may have historical socio-political repercussions, more than any other Australian film before it, particularly throughout Asia.

This film will be remembered by many for a number of reasons.

It is definitely worth the price of the ticket!

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.

Really good film but a total rip-off of Red Dawn. Even if it is based on a series of books, then the books are a total rip-off of Red Dawn, the story lines are practically identical. Enjoyed watching it but at the end I was expecting credits to say based on the original film 'Red Dawn,' because while good it is nothing more than an Australian version of that film. Credit needs to be given where credit is due.

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