War of the Worlds



Synopsis: Earth is invaded by an alien force
Director : Steven Spielberg
Starring : Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto, Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin

Steven Spielberg is the master of spectacle in my books. In this film he manages to capture how it would really feel to be invaded by an alien race with unstoppable weapons of destruction.

The choice to have us view this movie from the perspective of an individual on the street was brilliant! Tom Cruise's character Ray Ferrier is no world saving hero, no he is just a guy trying to survive and also protect his kids. We are initially side footed into thinking that somehow Ray is going to be crucial to saving the world, alas that is not the case! We soon realise that he is just ordinary joe on the run and is only alive due to his persistence, luck and the basic survival instinct of all humans! I liked the idea that his son was not just a subordinate but an individual who at one point in the film makes his own decision to go it on his own and did not need dad to save him. Tom's character finally realise's his son is not a kid anymore. I found that scene very profound and powerful. One of many.

The aliens are well depicted and looked awesome which is even more impressive when you realise that they are basically the same as in the original movie ( which I watched on TV again today!). I must also applaud the fact that the looks of the aliens and even most of the elements of the movie were not given away in any of the trailers. For once this movie did not have the best bits spoiled by trailers. The effects used to show the aliens power was really well done, it was a bit like a disintegrator beam used by the Daleks.

The kids who played the role of Ray Ferrier's children are excellent and I predict a bright future for both of them. The girl Dakota Fanning reminded me of Drew Barrymore in ET. The acting was top notch all the way through and there was a very good cameo by Tim Robbins. Tim plays a guy who is going nuts from being cooped up and thinks he is some sort of underground resistance fighter!

The one problem this film will have is basically the fact that today's movie going audience are not familiar with H. G. Wells book and hence as true products of the MTV era they are expecting a resolution that involves lots of guns, explosions and general alien ass kicking.
Well folks this is not your normal Sci-Fi blockbuster and this is not Michael Bay directing, this is a movie based on a literary classic and the only thing kicking alien ass is bacteria, take it or leave it.


The difference for me now and when I first read the original as a young boy and was awed by the fact that this mighty armada was defeated by simple bacteria, is that I am all grown up and after years of watching Star Trek and numerous other Sci-Fi shows, I could not help but want to shout at the aliens: Have you never heard of spacesuits!!! how could you go to a alien planet and just expose yourself? even the lowliest cadet in Star Fleet would not do that!

But that is something that Spielberg has no control over as this is the very cornerstone of the book and hence could not be changed, anyway it still was better than ID4's version of a software virus killing the aliens!!

War of the Worlds is a summer movie and delivers for those expecting wide screen destruction, most people will be satisfied with the movie even if the resolution did not meet their gung ho expectations.

After much deliberation I will have to give this 8/10

Shazam!

I am seeing it this evening.

Please how much did they pay you to advertise this movie??

Anyway i am not down with all these space and science fiction films.

angela K, I am not paid to for any of my reviews.

I always review every film I watch in a cinema whether good or bad. I am featured on a few sites with my reviews.

Most of my reviews are on my personal site and you will see that I do it for a lot of movies not just one.

If you do not agree with the review that is fine and I would like to discuss it with you as I love discussing movies!

Most space and science fiction movies are just the same storys but in different settings but I have a great love for Sci-Fi.

But War of the Worlds is mainly set on normal earth and is not really that different from a disaster movie.

I honestly liked the movie. Even if Tom Cruise added nothing, there were forced subplots about kids wanting to run off to war that never got followed, etc. (And Mr. Cruise, I don't care what you think you know about psychology, science, or the gaping hole in your ass -- shut up and dance for us on the screen like the monkey puppet you're paid to be, alright?)

But overall I did like the movie. Decent job, most definitely.

However, my biggest criticism of the movie plot variation from the book/previous 1952 movie. If we presume:

1. these aliens are from a technologically advanced civilization (enough to master mass destruction and space travel)
2. said aliens had planned this invasion for eons by planting their warships under the earth's crust before the advent of man
3. we feeble earthlings in our technologically inferior society have a rate of technical change/innovation where we cannot bear to use a computer for more than four years before it is useless landfill

then what the hell are these aliens doing, having to attack the earth with warcraft that employ million-plus year old technology?

Could you imagine being one of these aliens, having to be deployed to earth? All your friends in the military back on planet Zeldar are zipping around with interstellar hyperspeed ships with universe destruction bombs. And you? They are laughing at you hysterically for getting stuck with having to attack earthlings while riding around in what is essentially perceived as a wooden oxcart with a cork gun.

yeah Chxta, I thought that was a naff idea, why wait so long anyway??

but as you said it still did not detract from my enjoyment of the movie.

the worst error in the movie for me was when they established that all electrical devices had been knocked out and then they show one guy using his camcorder!!!!

:howler:

WAR OF THE WORLD IS THE BOMB
i recommend it to all

Yep it was a really good film, watched it at silverbird and i really enjoyed it, especially the fact about what eventually saved the humans from "extermination". cool film, fully recommend it.

havent watched it yet keep buyin da russian version and i just lost de juice ........after buyin a couple uv russian wa of de worlds movies 'opes ta watch it soon tho.Is is true dat it makes ID4 look like a kindergarten party?

i love that movie,
it's great