While Netflix's latest no.1 smash-hit Rebel Ridge sits atop the streamer's chart right now, I was given an (Arctic) blast from the past when a 20-year-old movie stormed into Netflix's top 10 list – seemingly out of nowhere.
The Day After Tomorrow is currently sat in the no.2 slot in Netflix's rankings here in the UK, showing that there's still life in the ol' dog. Because, make no mistake, this two-decades-old movie is indeed a bit of a dog: its Rotten Tomatoes score is sat at a measly 45% – and I can totally understand why.
But just because it's not a good movie, doesn't mean you shouldn't watch The Day After Tomorrow. Sure, I find it completely ridiculous in places – the scene outrunning ice freezing behind them is a 'classic' – but its climate change rhetoric is very much of the moment, making it arguably even more relevant than ever.
I'm a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal too – who is most baby-faced in this flick, unsurprisingly, as he was 24 years of age during filming – whose role in 2001's Donnie Darko remains one of my favourite sci-fi drama mysteries ever. He's changed a whole lot since, as seen by his mega body transformation in 2023's Roadhouse remake.
There was a chunk of time from the mid-90s to mid-2000s when disaster movies were all the rage. I remember Pierce Brosnan in Dante's Peak being a particularly so-bad-it's-good contender. Although I'm not sure anything can quite touch the heyday of Deep Impact and Armageddon both appearing in 1998. What a time to be alive!
Still, the best streaming services can't keep serving up brand new blockbusters or pricey series. And whether The Day After Tomorrow is a teenage nostalgia blast for you, or you're younger and haven't ever seen it before then, go ahead, dig in – you never know, in a couple of days it could sit atop the Netflix chart!
