The Tomorrow War
The world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future, mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.
The film financial setback against its major studio investment of $200.0M, earning $14.4M globally (-93% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its unique voice within the action genre.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Tomorrow War (2021) exhibits carefully calibrated story structure, characteristic of Chris McKay's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 13-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 18 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.7, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Dan Forester watches his daughter Muri at a Christmas party, stuck in a dead-end teaching job after his military career, feeling like a failure unable to provide for his family.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 16 minutes when During the World Cup broadcast, soldiers from 2051 arrive through a wormhole, revealing that humanity is nearly extinct from an alien invasion by the "Whitespikes," and they desperately need reinforcements from the past.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 34 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Dan chooses to go through the wormhole to 2051, accepting his mission to fight for humanity's survival and leaving his family behind. The jump goes catastrophically wrong, killing most of his unit., moving from reaction to action.
At 69 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat False defeat: Dan and Muri's team successfully captures a female Whitespike for toxin testing, but the creature escapes in their lab, killing most of the science team. They realize the war may be unwinnable—the stakes escalate dramatically., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 102 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, All is lost: A massive Whitespike assault destroys the lab just as they complete the toxin. Muri is killed in the attack, dying in Dan's arms. The wormhole collapses, stranding Dan in the future with humanity's extinction imminent., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 108 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 78% of the runtime. Dan recruits his estranged father James and his war buddies. They travel to Russia, locate the buried alien ship in a glacier, infiltrate it, and battle the Whitespikes using the toxin. Dan reconciles with his father, healing his past to secure the future., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Tomorrow War's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 13 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping The Tomorrow War against these established plot points, we can identify how Chris McKay utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Tomorrow War within the action genre.
Chris McKay's Structural Approach
Among the 3 Chris McKay films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. The Tomorrow War takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Chris McKay filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional action films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Chris McKay analyses, see The Lego Batman Movie, Renfield.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Dan Forester watches his daughter Muri at a Christmas party, stuck in a dead-end teaching job after his military career, feeling like a failure unable to provide for his family.
Theme
Dan tells Muri "Never give up," establishing the film's central theme about persistence, hope, and fighting for the future even when the odds seem impossible.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Dan's ordinary world: his strained relationship with his estranged father James, his loving family life with Emmy and Muri, his frustration at being passed over for a research position, and the comfortable 2022 civilian life before everything changes.
Disruption
During the World Cup broadcast, soldiers from 2051 arrive through a wormhole, revealing that humanity is nearly extinct from an alien invasion by the "Whitespikes," and they desperately need reinforcements from the past.
Resistance
Dan is drafted into the future war despite his resistance. He debates whether to flee, considers his obligations to his family versus humanity, undergoes brief training, and learns about the time-jump technology and its fatal limitation: only those already dead in 2051 can be sent.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Dan chooses to go through the wormhole to 2051, accepting his mission to fight for humanity's survival and leaving his family behind. The jump goes catastrophically wrong, killing most of his unit.
Mirror World
Dan meets Colonel Forester, who is revealed to be his adult daughter Muri from the future. This relationship will carry the emotional and thematic weight of the story—fighting to save the future means saving her.
Premise
Dan and his ragtag team fight the Whitespikes in apocalyptic Miami. The promise of the premise: massive alien battles, desperate survival missions, and Dan working with future-Muri to develop a toxin that can kill the aliens, representing humanity's last hope.
Midpoint
False defeat: Dan and Muri's team successfully captures a female Whitespike for toxin testing, but the creature escapes in their lab, killing most of the science team. They realize the war may be unwinnable—the stakes escalate dramatically.
Opposition
Pressure intensifies as Dan and Muri develop the toxin against time. They face increasing Whitespike attacks, dwindling resources, and the revelation that the wormhole is failing. Dan learns Muri died researching the toxin in the original timeline, raising personal stakes.
Collapse
All is lost: A massive Whitespike assault destroys the lab just as they complete the toxin. Muri is killed in the attack, dying in Dan's arms. The wormhole collapses, stranding Dan in the future with humanity's extinction imminent.
Crisis
Dan grieves Muri's death and processes the horror of the future. In the darkness, he remembers her research and has the toxin. He barely escapes back to 2022 through the collapsing wormhole, carrying the only vial of the toxin.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
Dan recruits his estranged father James and his war buddies. They travel to Russia, locate the buried alien ship in a glacier, infiltrate it, and battle the Whitespikes using the toxin. Dan reconciles with his father, healing his past to secure the future.