Do know what? Even after my rubbishing of this film on twitter, the longer I go since watching it, the more it sticks in my head. I can’t decide what’s grabbed me but I’m pretty convinced its the chance to read and adore the book part of this franchise before anyones even seen the film.
Tomorrow, When the War Began (or TWWB, as I’m now going to refer to it, it’s just too long otherwise) is the story of a group of Australian teenagers who decide to take a camping trip into the bush before school starts up again. While away, a foreign power invades and proceeds to take control of their town and the entire country. As the teens discover what has happened, they vow to fight back, refusing to let another nation come in and take away their homeland.
The movie was one I thought was pretty interesting when I saw the trailer a couple of months back. I had never heard of the books (although they are hugely famous in Australia) and it wasn’t until I looked into the film after watching it that I even knew they were books first. And it always sparks my interest to hear that. So I got around to watching the film, which was released over six months ago in Australia, and although I was nowhere near disappointed, it did feel a little low budget.See this is what Hollywood does to us people. It ruins our ability to enjoy any kind of independent film that isn’t a small, intelligent drama. I like indie films, really, but having an action (I suppose that’s what it is?) indie film is very odd. That being said, I think they did well for having nowhere near the kind of budget I would imagine the Hollywood execs would have poured on it. Wonder how long it’ll take them to pick it up/do a remake? Actually, scratch that. They’d never do a film about America being secretly invaded and overpowered and a bunch of kids saving them. If they did, I would love to see it though.
The film = not great because of the lack of budget/special effects, but it was very entertaining. I wasn’t bored, wasn’t in the middle of anything else while watching the film, and, although the acting wasn't stellar, it was funny to watch what was essentially a very long, and surreal, episode of Home and Away unfold on my screen.
(Side note: Most of the actors have actually been in Home and Away or Neighbours before)
There is a second in production, due for release 2012, and that’s just as well because there are seven books in total and it would be great to see them all done. I don’t think the plot is thick enough for a full seven films but it would be cool for them to all be done by Australian production, with the same cast, however many they made.
There’s a big rise at the moment in really amazing teen book franchises and with Harry Potter and Twilight ending, there’s a big market for some new films to come out. Hunger Games has finally done some casting, the first in possibly many Lorien Legacy films came out earlier this year (I Am Number Four), and the Gone series, Wicked Lovely, and Forest of Hands and Teeth (which I’m reading now) have also been optioned for film.
It is a good time to be into the teen fiction.
