I haven't read the book(s), so i judge the quality of the movie by angeneral opinion. I am not sure if the movie i am now gonna put down ismade from the same books or if the books are written with the followingmovie in mind.

RED DAWN! Red Dawn (which i rate an 8) is a movie from 1984 and tellsabout the same story as Tomorrow, When the War Began. So for me i likedRed Dawn and i consider Tomorrow, When the War Began a poor copy. Onlythe cold war was back then the "item" and the invaders where Russians ibelieve.

I think every one did his/hers best to create a good movie, but a weakcopy of Red Dawn it is. Nothing more! If you wanna see one of the two,go for Red Dawn, although older, its much better.

I should start by saying that I enjoyed the movie and hope to see more.I have read the first novel and although some details are left out Ithink it is for the better. This is a big budget Australian Hollywoodmovie but this is not a bad thing. The plot and story is overexaggerated and a little ridiculous at times as well as there are a fewtotally impossible events. But the movie wasn't made to be realistic itwas made to be enjoyable and entertaining, and there are some greataction scenes. The movie takes some time to pick up in the beginningbut once it does it just keeps getting better.

One of the few let downs of this movie is some of the acting and dialogscript writing is not very good. (Using character names) I will startby saying that Ellie, Homer and Fiona acting are pretty goodconsidering this is a first. Then Corrie and Robbins acting is a littlestiff and wooden at times however Kevin was not a strong actor here,Kevin's accent was overpowering, I am an Australian so I know what theaverage Australian sounds like. Kevin also felt like most of his lineswere fed straight to him. But this is the first movie that these peoplehave really acted in (to my Knowledge). There was also anothercharacter Chris later introduced who is a reasonably good actor justdoes not play the most likable character. Thankfully the movie mainlyfocuses on Ellie, Homer and Fiona so the bad acting by other castmembers can be forgiven. There is also some bad script writing but thisis rare and for the most part it is very good.

So if you had to quickly summaries this movie I would say over the topexplosive and unrealistic fun. It reminds me of the Peirce Bronson Deianother Day James bond Movies before they went too realistic and ruinedsome of the fun. I have seen wooden acting in movies (30000 leaguesunder the sea) some stupid movies (300 Spartans) and some nonsensestory lines (the Watcher). But this movie is none of those it sticks astrue to the book as possible as it can and has a lot of action.Compared to 2012 (budget 500million) Tomorrow when the war began(20million). So despite all the restraints they did a very good job, ifyou can walk out of a cinema saying you enjoyed it then it was a goodmovie but just in case you need a rating here is how I rate.

(10 perfect, 5 not really worth my time, 1 I would rather watch grassgrow for 10 hours than watch this movie for 10 minutes).

All up I would give it an 8.5 but because you round up I give it a 9.Very enjoyable

Cross a long time Neighbours actress with a Home and Away actor, mix inan actress known for her darker roles in film and add a best sellingseries of books and what do you get? The start of a very good moviefranchise. 'Tomorrow, when the war began' is the first installment bothin book and film. The series of books known as 'The Tomorrow Series'focuses on a group of friends who return from a camping trip todiscover their town is under siege and the whole of Australia has beeninvaded by an unknown enemy. The tales are narrated by the centralcharacter Ellie Linton and it's through her eyes that we witness theevents that take place.

Taking on the role of Ellie is Neighbours actress, Caitlin Stasey whoplayed Rachel Kinski for four years on the show. This is her firstmovie role and she commands the screen although she is hampered bycheesy dialog. I have no doubt she will join the ranks of othersuccessful Australian actors like Chris Hemsworth, Isla Fisher, MelissaGeorge and Ryan Kwanten. Playing the role of her best friend is RachelHurd Wood, while not an instantly recognisable name you should knowher, she starred in 'An American Haunting', 'Perfume: The Story of aMurderer', 'Dorian Gray' and 'Solomon Kane', her striking red hairalways singled her out but they have dyed it a plum colour for thisfilm. 'Home and Away' actor Lincoln Lewis plays her boyfriend. Hestarred as Geoff Campell for three years on the show. Out of the restof the cast round up probably the only recognisable face would be thatof Phoebe Tonkin who has starred for the last four years in the Mermaidfantasy drama 'H2O: Just add water'.

Each actor can act, however where the film lets everyone down is itscharacterisation. Everyone is a cliché and there are too many attemptsat humour that fail miserably. That said however there is much toadmire in this movie and it is definitely worth seeing. In Australiathe movie has proved very popular and the follow up sequels 'The Deadof the night' and 'The third day, the frost' are been currently filmedback to back for a 2012/13 release.

The general premise of the film is quite good, I especially like themovie being set in rural Australia. The choice of locations isexcellent as is the camera work and special effects. However the filmfalls apart (QUICKLY) in it's writing and acting. To give due credit,the acting team do well with the script, but the fact that none of themstood up to the writers and refused to read the awful lines diminishesany talent the actors had. It's not a cheesy film, but it's badlywritten enough that I was 40 minutes in before I was sure it wasn't aspoof film. The characters couldn't be more 1 dimensional, theirpersonalities are summed up in the first 5 minutes, almost like bulletpoints. Their are a series of scheduled comic relief moments that areso misplaced that one wonders if the writer didn't have a "every 15minutes make a joke" plan in place.

Overall: awful movie. Above average effects , writing that I'd turndown for a 13 year olds (thrown together at the last minute) panto,acting right out of saved by the bell.

SKIP THIS FILM! The one good thing about this movie is that it makes mewant to read the book because only something great could convinceanyone to fund a movie this bad. And again, it's quite a nice premisefor a film.