Review of Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010) by Ryan G — 17 Sep 2010

Ellie: "Good book?".

Corrie: "Better than the movie.".

Ellie: "Yeah, books usually are.".

I was 13 years old when I read the book. Whilst I'll never be able to fully recapture the wonder and amazement of reading it as a child, the movie comes damn close, in letting these old kids relive their childhood on the big screen.

There are some flaws in the movie, starting with cliched characters that resemble caricatures of themselves, to weak character development outside of Ellie. However, if I were a kid, seeing the screen explode as many times as it did would make me proud of Australian film finally creating a legitimate big budget spectacular (Well, I thought so at least until the 12 year old kid walking out of the cinema told his Mum that it was s*&t!).

The action sequences are quite simply some of the most impressive I have seen, rivalling just about anything from Hollywood. Everything from adrenaline pumping car chase scenes to a FA18 Hornet getting blown out of the sky (in a scene that make Top Gun seem as ancient as it is) makes you proud of Australian film.

Undoubtedly the script will be stronger for the second film, as the characters continue to develop and demonstrate more depth. And my childhood crush on Ellie will continue to grow. :).