The Tomorrow War

It’s primarily set three decades in the future, but the formulaic tendencies in The Tomorrow War are rooted in the present.

Using variations on familiar science-fiction concepts like time travel and alien invasions, this large-scale action saga is a technically proficient exercise in spectacle over substance. It features stirring confrontations interrupted by some manufactured human drama.

The story opens in the year 2022, with a visit from people who’ve traveled back from 2051 with a desperate plea. They’re fighting a massive alien war they can’t win without some help from their ancestors.

Specifically, they need volunteers to travel to the future and secure the planet’s prosperity from the extraterrestrial invaders. With the technology in place, a global leaders institute a draft, and biology teacher Dan (Chris Pratt) is among those chosen.

Although his tour of duty will only be a week, the survival rate is low. Dan’s military background makes him the perfect choice, although he must leave his wife (Betty Gilpin) and young daughter behind.

As he fights to save humankind along some ragtag fellow civilians, Dan learns secrets from a colonel (Yvonne Strahovski) that make his mission much more personal. “You can stop this war from ever happening,” she tells him.

Pratt brings charisma and charm to a performance that almost becomes lost amid the chaos around him. The actor’s experience combatting cinematic aliens and dinosaurs comes in handy.

The live-action debut of director Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) hinges largely on your willingness to suspend disbelief in its contrived apocalyptic scenario and simply go along for the ride. At least solid creature effects render the nimble shapeshifters as menacing adversaries.

The mildly provocative premise presents an intriguing perspective on courage and sacrifice, essentially asking whether someone would risk everything to save a future beyond their probable lifespan. However, the screenplay by Zach Dean (Deadfall) tends to oversimplify the scope and ramifications of its narrative framework.

The Tomorrow War establishes a sense of doom and gloom, sprinkles in some wisecracks to lighten the mood, and conveniently withholds key information about the enemy and the rules of engagement from both the involuntary soldiers and the audience.

Struggling to raise the emotional stakes beyond the level of a video game, the film’s reliance on shootouts and explosions suggests, in this case, that tomorrow feels more like yesterday.

Rated PG-13, 138 minutes.