Then it's time to head to 2052 as Dan heads into the future with nervous everyman Charlie (a scene-stealing Sam Richardson) and future war veteran Dorian (Edwin Hodge). The Tomorrow War also sets up its version of time travel in a cohesive and engaging way in this opening act (although as with any time travel, don't think about it too much).
We know he'll eventually go, but the movie takes an interesting route there at least. Dan isn't instantly in 'save the world' mode and tries to get his estranged – and surprisingly buff – father (JK Simmons) to get him out of it. With the setup out of the way, it becomes time for Dan to join the future fight in order to save the world for his young daughter and it's in this opening act where The Tomorrow War is at its strongest. (Perhaps the most terrifying thing about the movie's future though is that apparently Theresa May and Gordon Brown are back in political power in December 2023.)
However, only 50% of them were qualified due to timey-wimey reasons that we won't spoil here, leading to the first-ever worldwide draft of civilian soldiers for a war that has a 20% survival rate.
After the dramatic opening, we jump forward 12 months where we're told that, initially, active military personnel were sent. He doesn't instantly decide to travel into the future to fight some aliens. An army veteran turned high school teacher, he's not a wise-cracking hero and when we meet him, he's dealing with a job rejection and struggling with his role in life. Our guide through this world is Chris Pratt, somebody who's no stranger to sci-fi adventures – but Dan Forester is no Star-Lord. Watch The Tomorrow War on Amazon Prime Video