This is the question that haunts climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid). Hall’s research indicates that global warming could trigger an abrupt and catastrophic shift in the planet’s climate. The ice cores that he’s drilled in Antarctica show that it happened before, ten thousand years ago. And now he’s warning officials that it could happen again if they don’t act soon. But his warning comes too late.

It all begins when Hall witnesses a piece of ice the size of Rhode Island break off the Antarctic Ice Shelf. Then a series of increasingly severe weather events start to unfold around the globe: hail the size of grapefruit batters Tokyo, record-breaking hurricane winds pound Hawaii; snow falls in New Delhi, and then a devastating series of tornadoes whips through Los Angeles.

A phone call from a colleague in Scotland, Professor Rapson (Ian Holm), confirms Jack’s worst fears: these intense weather events are symptoms of a massive global change. Melting polar caps has poured too much fresh water into the oceans and disrupted the currents that stabilize our climate system. Global warming has pushed the planet over the edge and into a new Ice Age. And it all will happen during one global super storm.

While Jack warns the White House of the impending climate shift, his 17 year-old son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds himself trapped in New York City where he and some friends have been competing in a high school academic competition. He must now cope with the severe flooding and plummeting temperatures in Manhattan. Having taken refuge inside the Manhattan Public Library, Sam manages to reach his father by phone. Jack only has time for one warning: stay inside at all costs.

As full-scale, massive evacuations to the south begin, Jack heads north to New York City to save Sam. But not even Jack is prepared for what is about to happen – to him, to his son, and to his planet.

One of the bad things about this though is that Dr. Jack’s son, Sam, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is on a school trip competing in an academic bowl in New York City. It is while he is on that trip that the Ice Age breaks out, threatening the city, and Dr. Jack decides it is time to become the father he never was and go rescue his son. Now, along the way, he tries to make things up with his wife -- or is it his ex-wife or former girlfriend? -- we are never quite sure. We do see her, but don’t know much about her other than she works in a hospital and is taking care of a young man who has cancer and who for some reason has lost part of his eyesight, which prevents him from reading but he can still see the pictures in the books and the pictures remind him of the stories. That's it. Oh, then there are several friends of Dr. Jack they pick up, and a colleague who believes his hypothesis. The President of the United States seems to believe him too, but of course only after enough disasters occur across the whole planet, disasters of such magnitude that the plagues of Egypt look like sweet little Mother Goose tales. What is happening to the planet is of apocalyptic origins, and it is the end of the world as the characters know it.

There is something about apocalyptic and disaster movies that draws people to them. Somehow, being faced with the consequences of life and the possibility of what the future holds is of interest to most people who breathe. It helps reinforce one of the great mysteries of life, as well as forcing us to think of what is really important in our lives.

While I was one of the few critics who really liked Armageddon with Bruce Willis, in that movie I found myself caring about the characters and believing that they themselves really cared about the things they made sacrifices for. Great apocalyptic stories have a way of making the viewer care. They are more than just shallow vehicles for special effects, they are about individuals we can relate to and see ourselves in.

But that is exactly what this movie forgets: we as an audience want to care more about the characters than about the special effects. We see many characters in this movie that we would like to know more about, but, we are given only brief glimpses of them. There is the crew on the space station, the President of the United States, the cop in Manhattan who does his best to help the people he meets. There is the homeless person with a dog that seems to have knowledge of how to survive the cold. Then there is the atheist who holds on dearly to a Gutenberg Bible and refuses to let it be used as fire fuel. Why does he value a Bible so much, while at the same time renouncing the God that the Bible reveals? Then there are Sam’s friends -- where do they come from? What are their passions? So many characters and so little are we told, so little do we know.

The best special effects in The Day After Tomorrow have already been seen a thousand times before in the trailers that have been showing for the last year. We have also seen the story itself before, and with characters we genuinely care about, from the classics like The Poseidon Adventure to the recent Armageddon or 28 Days. Unfortunately, we have none of those characteristics in this movie. The Day After Tomorrow may be the summer’s biggest letdown.

One of the mistakes that many may make about this movie is to see it as political propaganda. I have appreciated Dennis Quaid’s comments on this in the press junkets he has been taking. He has responded that this movie is simply a story about people, that it does not have political implications. But if it is a story about people, then it is just too bad that we, the viewers, don’t have more to care about in the characters in this movie. There seem to be people that we would like to know more about, but the producers were more intent on giving us great special effects than a great story.

There are a couple of scenes in the movie that really provoked thought. In one scene, we see a reversal of roles between US citizens and illegal Mexican immigrants: a large migration begins from the United States into Mexico. The commentary by the newscaster in the movie brought out the biggest laughs in the audience. In a movie that had a reminder of part of what America stands for -- the burial of the Statue of Liberty in snow -- I was caused to think of what the real opinions of Americans are when it comes to the immigration of other people to our shores. If you see the movie, you will certainly understand this concern more. To be in a theater where people found this merely humorous was, in all honesty, a little disturbing.

Did I have fun in spite of the faults? Well, sort of. I mean, the special effects were well done. I really like Dennis Quaid, and it wasn’t that the actors themselves did a bad job, they actually did about as well as they could with what they had. Quaid was as solid as ever, as were the rest of the supporting cast. It is just that either they didn’t have a script to work with or what they did do just ended up on the editing room floor.

All of that said though, this movie was simply a waste of time.

However, I do believe that the subject matter is valid and important. What are the important things in our lives? What would we do if forced to make decisions about them? What kind of sacrifices are we willing to make for the ones we love? What about our planet -- are we doing what is necessary to take care of it? Or do we just keep on using up our resources and not taking into consideration the future? Then there is the other question that I think movies like this raise: What about our future? Is there hope? Is there purpose? Where do we fit into the whole spectrum of things?

There are many movies that have addressed these themes. I would encourage you to go check some of them out of the library or video store and give them a watch, and then have a discussion about them afterwards with friends or family. However, whatever you do, beware of The Day After Tomorrow. The biggest disaster you’ll see is your own: spending $7-$10 for the purchase price of a ticket. Especially since all of the special effects have been seen in trailers for the last year. Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

On a scale of 1-10: one of the most disappointing movies I have seen in a very long time, for a tornado, earthquake, and flood -- a sad, sad, 3.