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| The Day After Tomorrow (2004) |
The movie starts at the annual United Nations Global Warming Conference in New Delhi where paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is giving a speech. He warns the delegates that the earth is soon going to face a polar catastrophe that will turn everything into ice. After the conference, Jack meets a representative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 'Terry Rapson' and the duo begins chatting about their respective findings. As they discuss, it snows heavily, implying that climate change has already begun or maybe it's just winter.
In Japan, monstrous blocks of hailstones start falling from the sky leaving several people dead. Meanwhile, at Terry Rapson's monitoring station in Scotland, the computers reveal that parts of the ocean are suffering massive drops in temperature. In the next scene, we are taken to Washington DC where Jack is dropping his son Sam at the airport. Sam is a genius student who has been invited to participate in a decathlon in New York. Later, when Sam along with his best friends Laura and Brian arrive in New York, they notice a large flock of birds flying towards the west as if they are trying to escape something.
In no time, several gigantic tornadoes circle the city and destroy everything in sight. Because of this, an emergency meeting is conducted at the Office of Global Change in Washington DC. One of the attendees mentions the other destructive weather occurrences in different parts of the world and asserts that something has gone wrong. Just then, Jack, who is also among the attendees reveals to the crowd that everything is happening due to the North Atlantic currents. Elsewhere in the UK, it has started snowing at a rapid rate so three helicopters are sent to the royal palace to retrieve the queen.
However, on their way, they pass through the eye of the storm which causes their instruments to freeze instantly. In no time, the chopper blades also stopped working and all three helicopters crashed to the ground. Back in Manhattan, Sam and his friends try to get back to Washinton DC but all the transport services have been derailed by the heavy downpour. Desperate to get out of the city the trio walked to the streets only to find the city in utter chaos. Just then a massive tsunami appears out of nowhere and begins sweeping the place. Sam and his group see the impending danger and rush to the national library hall for safety.
Later, Terry calls Jack and informs him about the freezing air over Europe which brought down the helicopters. This alarms Jack and after a bit of research he finds out that the storm is approaching the u.s sooner than expected. In fact, they only have 48 hours before everything freezes over. Elsewhere in DC, the head of the state is having a meeting, and Jack is tasked with briefing the state of the situation. He suggests that the residents of the southern states must be evacuated immediately and moved to Mexico. The vice president disapproves of the idea as he claims that an evacuation of such magnitude is not possible.
Surprisingly the president takes Jack's advice and orders the National Guard to evacuate the remaining population to the south. Meanwhile, Jack starts his trip to New York along with his colleagues and best buddies Frank and Jason to find his son 'Sam'. Since the three have visited the Arctic several times for research purposes they are accustomed to the weather. Back at the library Sam and his group scan through the whole building for food and gather some books for burning in the fireplace. Elsewhere as Jack and his crew are traveling through the thick snow they suddenly hit a roadblock and are forced to continue their journey on foot.
They walk for a few hours with utmost dedication but unfortunately, when they reach the top of a fragile building Frank breaks the glass and falls in. He is caught by the lifeline and the two friends are holding him up but just then the glass starts to crack. Hence is left with no choice he cuts his lifeline and sacrifices himself so that his friends can continue their mission. At the library, Sam's friend Laura suddenly gets a fever and falls unconscious. The group starts searching for the cause and discovers that she has a wound on her leg which might have caused her blood poisoning.
One of the ladies in the group who happens to be a medic mentions that Laura needs an urgent injection of penicillin or else she will have to be amputated. Sam decides to venture into a nearby cargo ship hoping that it contains some medicine. As he is about to leave his friend Brian and another guy JD also decide to accompany him. In the next scene, the researchers also find out that the eye of the storm has shifted its course to New York City. Elsewhere Jack and Jason are slowly moving towards their destination but sadly Jason collapses due to exhaustion. As a result, Jack is forced to carry his friend.
At the library, the trio finally heads out and makes their way to the cargo ship. However, along the way, their scent is caught by a pack of hungry wolves who have broken out from the nearby zoo. Sam, Brian, and JD enter the cargo ship's kitchen and find some penicillin. They then look around the place for more supplies but suddenly they're attacked by the pack of wolves. Sam and Brian manage to escape to another room but JD is severely bitten. Still, they managed to save him from the hungry beasts. As the three brainstorm, different ideas to escape the situation Sam looks outside and sees the skies clearing.
He then realizes that the eye of the storm which turns everything into ice is nearing them and that they don't have enough time left. Hence he puts himself in harm's way and makes his way outside to lure the wolves away from the kitchen. He then runs through the abandoned ship narrowly escaping the wolves. After a while, he catches up with his friends but by this time JD is unable to stand. Hence Sam and Brian bring a sledge and drag their friend to the library. On the other hand, as Jack is dragging Jason through the thick snow he also notices the eye of the storm approaching at a rapid speed.
Wasting no time he starts rummaging through the snow for any houses fortunately he finds an open vent and throws Jason inside before getting in himself. As soon as he closes the door the frost attacks the place and freezes everything that it touches. The boys also reach the library just in time and narrowly avoid death they then scramble to keep the fire running as it is the only thing that can save them from the brutal cold. Now with the eye of the storm already gone, Jack plans to resume his mission. Finally, after weeks of disastrous weather conditions, the International Space Station spots some good signs.
They notice that the storm is dissipating in Europe as they see a land mass for the first time in several weeks. At the same time, Jack sees that the skies have cleared and the sun has also come out. Out after walking for a while, the two come across the frozen Statue of Liberty and several ships that have sunk into the ice. They have finally reached Manhattan after enduring days of excruciating pain and suffering. However, when they reach the exact location of the library with the help of a GPS they are devastated to learn that it has been completely swallowed by ice.
With all hope now gone the two prepare to leave but just then they notice a small opening in the snow. Wasting no time Jack enters the library through the opening and Jason follows him closely. The two then begin looking for Sam and fortunately, after a bit of looking around find him. It turns out that Sam and his group are still alive because of the fire they burned with the books in the library. With this, the father-son duo finally meet after weeks of separation amidst the terrifying weather conditions. Following this, the scene cuts to Mexico where the new president is informed that there are survivors in New York.
The news excites him and he announces live on television that he will be initiating a major rescue operation to retrieve anyone who is stranded in the northern states. In the final scene of the movie, the choppers reach Manhattan where several people are found to be alive. They have gathered on the rooftops waiting to be rescued. The helicopters also reached Jack and his group who were finally taken to the south. The movie ends as an astronaut from the International Space Station gazes at the Earth and remarks that it is the clearest sky that he has ever seen.
Full Video Recap of 'The Day After Tomorrow (2004)'
CAST OF "THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (2004)"
Dennis Quaid as Jack Hall
Jake Gyllenhaal as Sam Hall
Emmy Rossum as Laura Chapman
Dash Mihok as Jason Evans
Jay O. Sanders as Frank Harris
Sela Ward as Dr. Lucy Hall
Austin Nichols as J.D.
Arjay Smith as Brian Parks
Tamlyn Tomita as Janet Tokada
Sasha Roiz as Parker
Ian Holm as Terry Rapson
Nassim Sharara as Saudi Delegate
Carl Alacchi as Venezuelan Delegate
Kenneth Welsh as Vice President Becker
Michel 'Gish' Abou-Samah as Saudi Translator
Robin Wilcock as Tony
Jason Blicker as Paul
Kenneth Moskow as Bob
More Info
Director: Roland Emmerich
Writers: Roland Emmerich - Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Production Companies: Twentieth Century Fox - Centropolis Entertainment - Lionsgate Films - Mark Gordon Productions - Mel's Cite du Cinema
Genres: Action - Adventure - Sci-Fi - Thriller
Release Date: May 28, 2004
Country of Origin: United States
Filming Locations: Canada, UK, USA, Japan, India,
Estimated Budget: $125,000,000
Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
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