The Home of the Next Sci-Fi Blockbuster Is… Amazon?

July 4th weekend used to be the home of some of the biggest blockbusters of the year. The likes of Independence Day, Spider-Man 2 and more than one Transformers movie have all raked in big bucks releasing near the holiday. But aside from Spider-Man: Far from Home in 2019, it's become just another weekend, dominated by Purge sequels. That's a trend that continues this year. But in a year that still has some uncertainty, Amazon is looking to shake things up. They're releasing the effects-heavy The Tomorrow War exclusively on their service in early July.

Purchased from Paramount Pictures for a reported $200 million, the film marks the live-action debut of director Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie). It stars Chris Pratt as a high school teacher drafted into a war against alien invaders. Desperately, the military has turned to scientists, who find a way to bring soldiers from the past into the future to save the planet. The cast also includes Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid's Tale) and Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons.

The Tomorrow War will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on Friday, July 2.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.