| "Justice for the World" films | |||||||
|
|
| |||||
| “ | [On October 24] They will save the world together |
„ |
— Tagline |
Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms is a 2036 science-fiction action film directed by Brad Peyton. Written by Christopher McQuarrie, from a story by Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser, Justin Lin and Chris Morgan, it is the fifth film installment in the Justice for the World film series, and a standalone sequel to War for Justice Across Worlds. The film stars Tom Cruise as Elliot Peterson, in which the character previously made an appearance in Survival of the Justice for the World, and was portrayed by Miles Fisher. Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Vanessa Kirby and Ed Harris also star in the film. It is also produced by Cruise and Johnson. In the film, a 20-km wide asteroid entered Earth's orbit, threatening to kill 80% of the population, and two rag-tags join forces to try their best to stop the asteroid from impacting.
A sequel was green-lit, weeks after War for Justice Across Worlds broke $1 billion. Roland Emmerich was attached to direct, write and produce once again, with him and Harald Kloser attempting to write a story for the fourth film. However, Emmerich was unsatisfied with the work he put up, and instead tried to hire other filmmakers to take his place; Emmerich would stay on-board as producer. Tom Cruise was attached to produce and star, after he said he enjoyed watching the original film and the four American installments. After several writers put up prompts, a draft by Justin Lin and Chris Morgan was chosen. Christopher McQuarrie revamped the draft into a final screenplay, and Brad Peyton was announced to direct the film on December 2033. On February 2034, Dwayne Johnson was also attached to star and produce in the film. The rest of the cast was announced on March 2034. Principal photography lasted from May 2034 to August 2034.
Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms was theatrically released on October 24, 2036, to positive reviews, citing praise towards its visual effects, action sequences and the performances of Cruise and Johnson. The film was also noted for its faithfulness to the original film, whilst also putting an original spin on it. The film grossed $693.9 million, making it the seventh-highest grossing film of 2036. The film received the Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Visual Effects. A sequel, titled Justice for the World: End of Times, was released on September 2, 2038.
Plot[]
Years before the events of the first film, Patricia was helping her cousin, Elliot, to get into the military, and to not worry about a thing when serving for the United States of America, through the Navy.
10 years after the events of the third film, with the United States's population and government recovering to its full quality once again, a new branch of the military has been formed, called Space Force. Using the remnants of any destroyed spacecraft from the aliens that have previously tried to invade Earth, they've reinforced and remodeled fighter jets to be space-compatible, with rocket boosters and other technology. Elliot is weeks away from retirement, dating Lily Cage, after serving the Navy and Space Force for a total of at least 28 years (20 in the Navy pre-2027, 8 years in the Space Force). When his friend, Raymond Davis, comes over to his place, and tells him that it's the ten-year anniversary since Patricia's sacrifice, Elliot explains to him that after the alien apocalypse, the two have been distant from one another, due to the lack of communication.
Suddenly, Raymond is called back to base, from his wife, Scarlett. He is immediately informed by Col. Edward Hammer, of a 20-km wide asteroid heading straight towards Earth. Raymond calls it to be analyzed for any alien lifeforms, and the crew is informed that there are no lifeforms. However, they discovered that the element that the asteroid was mostly consisted of was the same metal used by the alien technology that they were using. Raymond called for the use of nuclear weapons from the President of the United States for the authorization of the usage of nuclear missiles.
With a bombardment of eight B83s, the asteroid was rendered unharmed, with a smoke of fallout covering the East Coast. However, Raymond, with the last minute use of a scanning satellite before it was shot down, realized that the asteroid was mostly hollow and made of weaker material, and that destroying it from within could break the asteroid into smaller pieces, and letting it burn up in the atmosphere. Raymond called Elliot to inform him of this information, and Elliot is now motivated to take down this asteroid, but not before saying goodbye to Lily.
After Elliot, Raymond and Scarlett get on a F-40 Hypersonic, and by the Colonel's command, they launch into space to take down the asteroid. After several minutes of unsuccessful drilling, Raymond proposes to blow up the weakest hull of the asteroid, or the thinnest crust layer. After detecting it, and blowing up with charges, they successfully start placing the charges inside the asteroid. However, time was running out fast, as the asteroid just entered into the mesosphere, and the area around them was starting to burn up.
Because the asteroid was still falling apart, shrapnel started to cut into their suits. However, the tough nanometal kept them from being burned alive while descending. Successfully placing all the charges, the three attempt to make a quick escape off the asteroid surface. However, the landing gear of the F-40 was stuck. Elliot, determined to save his friend, forced Raymond and Scarlett into the ship, and used a pickaxe to unjam the landing gear. With the two of them flying off, Elliot held the detonator for the charges. Now having entered the stratosphere, Elliot jumps off the asteroid and detonates the charges, causing a giant mid-air explosion that disintegrates most of the asteroid, with the remaining pieces raining down the oceans.
Elliot, still falling from 35,000 feet in the air, tries to activate his parachute, but fails. Accepting his fate, he closes his eyes to fall to his death. However, a giant whooshing and booming sound was heard from the distance. Raymond, fumblingly controlling the F-40, manages to save Elliot, by safely landing him on-top of the ship. They make a descend onto land, as they look at the giant smoke from the explosion in the sky, reunited with each other that they've saved the day.
Main credits[]
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Director - Brad Peyton
- Screenwriter - Christopher McQuarrie
- Storywriters - Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser and Justin Lin & Chris Morgan
- Producers - Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, Roland Emmerich and Mary Parent
- Executive producers - Hiram Garcia, Ute Emmerich and Thomas Tull
- Director of photography - Steve Yedlin
- Production designer - Jim Bissell
- Visual effects supervisor - Bill Westenhofer
- Film editors - Bob Ducsay
- Music composers - Andrew Lockington and Lorne Balfe
Cast[]
- Main article: List of characters in Justice for Love duology
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Tom Cruise as Elliot Peterson, nowadays a U.S. Space Force Captain, ace pilot of the F-40 Hypersonic, and cousin of the deceased Patricia Peterson.
- Dwayne Johnson as Raymond Davis, U.S. Space Force General and best friend of Elliot.
- Vanessa Kirby as Scarlett Shaw, Elliot's longtime friend, wife of Raymond and U.S. Space Force General alongside Raymond
- Emily Blunt as Lily Cage, Raymond's longtime friend
- Ed Harris as Edward Hammer, U.S. Space Force Colonel
Maika Monroe briefly reprises her role uncredited in a flashback in the opening of the film. Miles Fisher briefly plays a younger version of Elliot, like he did in the previous film. Elliot's deceased brother is portrayed by Mark Wahlberg, albeit in a picture. Dagmara Domińczyk cameos as the voice of the President of the United States.
Production[]
Development[]
In 2031, during the production of War for Justice Across Worlds, rumors of a fourth installment were already rumored to be in the works. Sources said that either Tom Cruise or Dwayne Johnson were to star in the film. Johnson denied any involvement, while Cruise gave no response. Outside sources, such as Deadline Hollywood, have debunked Cruise's involvement.
Weeks after War for Justice Across Worlds broke $1 billion, a sequel was already greenlit with director Roland Emmerich attached to write, direct and produce again. However, Emmerich was ultimately unsatisfied with the work he had put up, and due to the negative reception the original trilogy had received overall, Emmerich left writing and directing duties, and helmed the project only as a producer instead.
Pre-production and writing[]
A month before the release of Survival of the Justice for the World, Emmerich and Harald Kloser wrote a brief treatment for the fifth film, regarding the lead character Patricia Peterson's unknown relative saving the world yet again. Like previous films, it would be a science fiction disaster movie, with more realistic action sprinkled through it. The role was considered with a variety of actors among fans, though the only casting consideration by Emmerich that was confirmed was Arnold Schwarzenegger in the leading role, whether he would play Patricia's cousin or not.
Emmerich and Kloser stopped writing after that point, but were open to any prompts submitted by other writers. From September 2033 to November 2033, over 15 writers, some of them in groups, submitted ideas for the fifth installment. Out of the writers, a draft by Justin Lin and Chris Morgan was chosen. Their story took place years after the events of War for Justice Across Worlds, and would revolve around Elliot Peterson, seen in the previous film as the cousin of the deceased Patricia Peterson, portrayed by Miles Fisher. It would have him and another relative of Patricia Peterson go stop an asteroid together. Rather than grounded and gritty tone of Emmerich and Kloser's drafts, it would be action-packed and much lighter in tone. Lin wrote a note saying, "We took it from Fast Five."
During this time, rumors, once again, rose that Tom Cruise would play the lead character in the fourth installment, after he posted a picture of him holding a miniature of an asteroid on one hand and a 4K UHD disc case of Asteroid Clara on his Instagram, with the caption "#JusticeForLove." On September 2033, it would be confirmed by Legendary and Cruise himself that he would play Elliot. It was also confirmed that he would be a producer of the film as well. Fisher wanted to return, but due to a scheduling conflict, as well as the script having called upon a much older Elliot, Fisher ultimately declined, stating "If they want an older version of my character, they gotta get someone else. I sound way too young for an aging grandpa. Hopefully they get Tom Cruise."
To finalize the screenplay, Emmerich hired Christopher McQuarrie to finish the up the script. He combined the darker and serious tone of Emmerich and Kloser's prompt, and combined the action-packed lightheartedness of Lin and Morgan's draft. He would also add the partner to Cruise's character, although he rewrote it from being another cousin of Patricia to the character's best friend. Upon reading the script, Emmerich told McQuarrie, "What a damn masterpiece."
Since directing duties were still up in the air, Emmerich picked out several directors, who, as he put it, "could achieve hysterical mass destruction and badass action." He considered Michael Bay, Brad Peyton, Dean Devlin, Paul W.S. Anderson, Justin Lin and Louis Leterrier. Eventually, on December 2033, Cruise picked Peyton, saying that, "he might not be the freshest on the critics score, but he sure has hell knows how to bring those two elements out, y'know." Peyton was first flabbergasted that he was chosen over Bay and Lin, but Emmerich told him to take the job either way.
While preparing the cast, people online were predicting as to who would play Elliot's friend. Several fans suggested Jason Statham, Scott Eastwood and Henry Cavill. Eventually, Dwayne Johnson was picked for the role on February 2024. He was also announced to be producing the film, with his production company, Seven Bucks Productions. His business partners, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, would serve as producer and executive producer respectively. Upon hearing this, Peyton named Johnson's character, "Raymond Davis," combining the names of the Johnson's characters in two of Peyton's films: San Andreas and Rampage. The rest of the main cast was announced on March 2024. Tom Cruise was paid $15 million, and Dwayne Johnson was paid $35 million for his role in the film. The rest of the cast was paid $30 million in total, for a combined total of $80 million.
Filming[]
Principal photography began in May 2034, and wrapped in August 2034, with the director of photography being Steve Yedlin. The film was made on a budget of $230 million. The film was shot in IMAX 3D, like the first and third films. The scenes involving the asteroid were shot using 1.33:1 open matte cameras, becoming the first and only film in the franchise to use this format. Other scenes were mostly shot in New York City, Atlanta, Georgia and Phoenix, Arizona. Scenes with military in the background were shot in MCAS Miramar. The film's action sequences on top of the asteroid were shot with an asteroid set with a green screen background. It was done by Legacy Effects, built on Warner Bros.'s Leavesden Film Studios.
After the release of the film, it was revealed that Johnson frequently clashed with Cruise and the rest of the crew on-set, saying how unfair it felt that he got less screentime for the film. Cruise, opting to seek peace, gave Johnson some creative freedom to have his character be in more scenes. Johnson felt unsatisfied by the end of principal photography.
Post-production[]
The visual effects were supervised by Bill Westenhofer, whom supervised Black Adam, which Dwayne Johnson starred in. Four visual effects companies, Hydraulx, Scanline VFX, Weta FX and Industrial Light & Magic, worked on the film. The asteroid sequences were the toughest to manage, taking up more than 190 shots in the film. While most of the actors were on the set of the fake asteroid, some shots required entire green screen and blue screen sequences where they couldn't rent out Leavesden Film Studios. For the flashback scene in the opening, both Maika Monroe and Miles Fisher were implemented with de-aging effects by ILM.
Music[]
Andrew Lockington and Lorne Balfe composed the score for the film. This marked Lockington's seventh collaboration with director Brad Peyton. Much like previous installments, the film revamps the original theme by Shiro Sagisu. Both Lockington and Balfe each worked at Abbey Road Studios in London for the score's recording.
Marketing[]
The film had a marketing budget of $110-145 million. The film was promoted in the 2035 San Diego Comic-Con, by Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, Roland Emmerich and Brad Peyton, with the teaser poster being unveiled there before it was publicly displayed across social media by Warner Bros. days later. The first teaser trailer was released on January 19, 2036, with the full trailer releasing on May 2, 2036, on Dwayne Johnson's 64th birthday. The former hit 70 million views in the first 24 hours on YouTube, and amassed a total of 290 million views across all platforms, during that timeframe. The film was promoted at 2036 WonderCon by Emmerich, Cruise and Peyton. The final trailer released on August 17, 2036.
The film's novelization, written by Greg Keyes, who wrote the previous film's novelization, was published on October 19 by Titan Books, and the art book The Art of Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms was released on October 31.
Release[]
Theatrical[]
Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms premiered at Manila's Teofilo Villonco Building, on September 26, 2036. It was finally released worldwide on October 24, 2036, in IMAX, 3D, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, 4DX, and ScreenX. Special IMAX screenings have the asteroid scenes shown in the open matte format. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, except for China, Japan and Philippines, where the film was distributed by Universal Pictures, Toho Co. Ltd. and GMA Pictures. Unlike the previous installments, Toho and GMA Pictures released the film without Japanese and Tagalog dubs respectively, opting for subtitles instead.
Home media[]
The film was released on Digital HD on January 30, 2037, and released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD on March 12, 2037. The 4K release includes HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision high dynamic range, and a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Unlike previous installments, the film was not released in a set alongside any of the original three films, and was rather combined with Survival of the Justice for the World only.
Toho and GMA Pictures released multiple editions of the film on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD in Japan and the Philippines on May 22, 2037. Like the first four films, it was released with Japanese and Tagalog dubs respectively. GMA Pictures also released a three-disc limited edition set, with the original film and Asteroid Clara.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms grossed $270.9 million in the domestic box office, and $423 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $693.9 million. At the time, it topped War for Justice Across Worlds as the highest-grossing film in the franchise in domestic territories. The film's opening weekend earned $277.4 million, with its domestic weekend earning $129.9 million. This opening weekend set new records for Tom Cruise, becoming the highest-grossing opening weekend for Cruise, dethroning Mission: Impossible - Guerilla Warfare, and also the highest domestic opening for him, dethroning Top Gun: Maverick. It was also the highest domestic opening for Dwayne Johnson as a lead role, dethroning Black Adam. It also became director Brad Peyton's highest-grossing film of his career.
In China, it opened with $59.1 million, and grossed $195.7 million, which made it the lowest-grossing film of the franchise in the country. Entertainment Weekly deemed the film's performance in China as "disappointing," while Forbes said the performance was expected, due to the original trilogy's lack of substance remaining for following films, saying War for Justice Across Worlds was "the peak of the audience's interest." Analysts also speculated that it was due to franchise fatigue and disinterest in the series. However, more Chinese audiences would watch the film on home media after the more positive reception the film had received in the country, boosting the theatrical hype for any subsequent films.
In most European and other Asian territories, the film became the highest grossing or second-highest grossing film of the franchise. In Japan, the film opened with $17 million, before going on to gross a total of $73.1 million. In the Philippines, the film opened with $3.4 million, before going on to gross $17.2 million in total.
Deadline Hollywood reported the film made $182.3 million in net profit, after factoring all expenses and revenues.
Critical reception[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 77% based on 438 reviews, with an average rating of 6.60/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms is a thrill ride, that embraces its premise with thunderous action." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 61 out of 100 based on 63 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 85%, and a 74% "definite recommend."
Accolades[]
| Award | Ceremony date | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | March 15, 2037 | Best Visual Effects | Bill Westenhofer, Colin Strause, Ben Morris and R. Christopher White | Won |
| BAFTA Awards | February 15, 2037 | Best Special Visual Effects | Won | |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | February 25, 2037 | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature | Bill Westenhofer, Colin Strause, Greg Strause, Ben Morris and R. Christopher White | Won |
| Outstanding Compositing and Lighting in a Photoreal Feature | Sandro Blattnber, Hamish Schumacher, Nicholas Kim and Mario Rokicki | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature | Jessica Cowley, Joe W. Churchill, Justin Stockton, Alex Nowotny - "Asteroid Surface" | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project | J. D. Schwalm, Nick Rand, Andrew Hyde and Andy Robot - "The Set of an Asteroid" | Won | ||
| Saturn Awards | September 23, 2037 | Best Action or Adventure Film | Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms | Won |
| Best Director | Brad Peyton | Nominated | ||
| Best Special Effects | Bill Westenhofer, Colin Strause, Ben Morris and R. Christopher White | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Tom Cruise | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Bob Ducsay | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Dwayne Johnson | Nominated | ||
| Ed Harris | Won | |||
| Satellite Awards | March 28, 2037 | Best Visual Effects | Bill Westenhofer, Colin Strause, Ben Morris and R. Christopher White | Won |
| Best Art Direction and Production Design | Jim Bissell and Lisa Thompson | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical | Tom Cruise | Nominated | ||
| Golden Raspberry Awards | February 28, 2037 | Razzie Redeemer Award | Justice for Love duology | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | January 25, 2037 | Best Editing | Bob Ducsay | Nominated |
| Best Visual Effects | Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms | Nominated | ||
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | May 8, 2037 | Best Movie | Nominated | |
| Best Kick-Ass Cast | Nominated | |||
| Best Hero | Tom Cruise | Nominated | ||
| Best Duo | Tom Cruise and Dwayne Johnson | Won | ||
| People's Choice Awards | December 26, 2036 | The Movie of the Year | Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms | Won |
| The Action Movie of the Year | Nominated | |||
| The Male Movie Star of the Year | Dwayne Johnson | Won | ||
| Tom Cruise | Nominated | |||
| The Action Movie Star of the Year | Won | |||
| Japan Academy Film Prize | March 13, 2037 | Outstanding Foreign Language Film | Justice for the World: Brothers in Arms | Nominated |
Sequels[]
- Main article: Justice for the World: End of Times
- Main article: Justice for the World: The Final Fate
Two entries, Justice for the World: End of Times and Justice for the World: The Final Fate were released on September 2, 2038 and September 1, 2039, respectively. Starring Cruise, and written, directed and produced by Christopher McQuarrie, the two films serve as the final films of the American main series. Johnson was contractually obligated to return to both films. However, because it was revealed that Johnson went against Cruise and the rest of the crew on-set for Brothers in Arms, and him being criticized for his work ethic among his co-stars, Johnson cancelled his contract of him being attached to the two films. He was replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger, with it being his final roles before retiring from the film industry.
Both films were critically acclaimed, with both receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, and McQuarrie being nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for The Final Fate. Cruise's and Schwarzenegger's performances were highly acclaimed among critics and audiences, and won them many accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for The Final Fate and End of Times respectively. The Final Fate became the highest-grossing film in the franchise, grossing $1.125 billion, with it becoming one of Cruise's highest-grossing films of his career.
Trivia[]
- Emily Blunt's husband, John Krasinski, was originally attached to direct the 2023 remake under Paramount, after replacing Amy Heckerling as director.
- The lead character in the 2023 remake is also named Emily.
- According to screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, the film's theme about the overcoming of destructive nature was an intentional reversal of the original film's theme of asteroid impact avoidance.
- This film's main poster is the first poster in the franchise to have an actor's face in the frame.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
