Parents' Guide to The Tomorrow War

Animation director Chris McKay brings the science back to sci-fi while delivering a shoot 'em up monster movie that seems tailor-made for action fans. McKay knows kids -- he's behind The Lego Batman Movie. And he knows older teens, having directed much of Adult Swim's Robot Chicken series. His knack with comedy is also on display in The Tomorrow War, combined with other factors that will appeal to older tweens and teens. First, there's Pratt, who's a consistent draw, even if he isn't quite as funny and relatable here as he is in Guardians of the Galaxy. Second, McKay uses his animation expertise to create ghastly human-eating aliens that will wow kids -- just make sure they're old enough not to have nightmares. Plus, kids are shown to be really smart, making significant contributions to the solution. And Forester is a cool high school science teacher, bringing viewers back to the classroom, where he lays the groundwork for elements that will play out later.

And make no mistake: What The Tomorrow War is really about -- the message that slides in subtly underneath the movie's splashier elements -- is that what you learn in school matters and has a real-life application. In fact, at one point, the film more or less says this clearly. And hopefully kids will pick up on it, because there's not one line of dialogue here that's wasted. If we see someone reveal a key character trait or hear them say something, it will pay off later. Of course, a tight script doesn't necessarily mean that the film makes sense; it definitely takes leaps in logic. It's also too long, and it ends in a moment of preposterous ridiculousness. But teens may well not care, enjoying it for what it is: a chaotic, video game-like retaliation against an alien coup with a nice father-daughter story layered on top.