How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:19
Fresh:4
Rotten:15
Average Rating:4.1/10
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Set in the near future when the draft has been reinstated, DAY ZERO explores the thought processes of three young New York men as they grudgingly prepare to go off to war. The events of the film,... [More]
Starring: Elijah Wood, Chris Klein, Jon Bernthal, Ginnifer Goodwin
Director: Bryan Gunnar Cole
Through portraits of these three men, [director] Cole uses the possibility to explore themes of loyalty and duty, masculinity, class conflicts and a youth culture gone soft and spoiled, at times slipping into political rhetoric.
It's not a groundbreaking film, but I liked the gritty feel of it. It's a small, little movie that manages to be thought provoking enough for me to recommend it.
...an engaging little drama that benefits from the stellar performances of its various actors.
no one will mistake this earnest try for Medium Cool. Maybe just Smallish Cool.
A film that revels in defeatism and hyperbolized dystopia; a would-be political statement that is more insipid than insightful.
It's purely amateur hour here; a laughably produced elegy for the common man facing war time blues, placing substantial dramatic weight on the shoulders of one of Hollywood's larger professional question marks, Chris Klein. Ouch.
Sabotaged by trite political dissertation and the presumption of novelty, the story forces Klein to shoulder much of the film's white-male-hetero paranoia.
The semi-plausible Day Zero, a rather formulaic male buddy saga, asks hypothetical questions about the impact of a reinstated draft on three vastly different amigos, well played by Klein, Wood, and particularly Bernthal.
A flat and poorly written drama about three buddies who are drafted and have 30 days to report.
As the pals, Elijah Wood, Jon Bernthal, and especially Chris Klein mope around noncommittally, as if it were an upcoming trip to the in-laws' they were dreading -- not a potentially one-way ticket to a war zone.
An implausible story centering on three characters whose differences in social class and temperament make the proceedings less than involving.
Truth to be told, it's hard to care.
There's very little that rings true.
Presents characters as concepts rather than actual people, and deals much more with the theoretical consequences of war rather than the actual human toll.
Proves that even the most controversial of topics can be the basis for the dullest indie films.
The film's relentless focus on the personal shortchanges the larger issues and ultimately reduces Fellner, Rifkin and Dixon to sociopolitical stereotypes.
Proves that Hollywood doesn't have a monopoly on ponderous, ersatz-thoughtful war dramas.
For a hot-button issue movie with a lot of potential for character development, it’s slower than Christmas and disappointingly sluggish.
If the abysmal reception so far for films about the war in Iraq is any indication, Day Zero is the last thing movie audiences will want to consume.
Top Critic
January 26, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
January 17, 2008:
Critics' Consensus: Cloverfield is Monstrously Fun, 27 Dresses Fails to Impress, Mad Money Not Worth Much
This week at the movies, we've got monster mayhem (Cloverfield, starring Michael Stahl-David), marital mishaps (27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl), and heist hilarity (Mad... More...
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN.com |
GameSpy |
Comrade |
Arena |
FilePlanet |
GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox |
Planets |
Vaults |
VE3D |
CheatsCodesGuides |
GameStats |
GamerMetrics
AskMen.com |
Rotten Tomatoes |
Direct2Drive |
Green Pixels
IGN RSS Feeds
Comment
