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War of the Worlds
Pros
Some good special effects, lots of action.
Cons
Lack of sensibility, tripods are boring, actors lack depth
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
War of the Worlds is a disappointment in more than one way, but the special effects are worth watching at least once.
I was hesitant to watch War of the Worlds because I contemplated boycotting it. Why? Like many people I am pretty annoyed with Tom Cruise and his new romance, his stupid Oprah-couch dancing and his obnoxious and fanatical religious views. However, I guess I am shallow and I really wanted to see Spielberg's newest creation. After viewing the film, I walked away with a lot of questions, and I felt a little irritated. After a brief overview of the story, I'll explain why I felt this way.
The Story
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a dock worker and he's a bachelor Dad. His kids are arriving for the weekend. Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and Rachel (Dakota Fanning) are used to living 'the good life' with their mom and their step dad in the suburbs. They aren't looking forward to spending the night in their Dad's run-down shack where they have no TIVO and they have to share a bedroom.
We are hit right away with 'the storm.' The skies turn freakishly grey and black and a series of lightning rains down hitting the same spots over and over again. Ferrier runs to see what's going on as everyone's electricity is off, cars no longer work and time has stopped. He and a mob of people watch in terror as the place where the lightning has hit begins to split the ground open. Out pops the first of the killer tripods which begins laser gunning everything in site. People are running and screaming while select individuals are being blown to piles of dust everywhere. Buildings are being destroyed in the path of the giant metal tripod which seems to have no purpose but complete and total annihilation of anything and everything that gets in its path.
We are then taken on Ferrier's journey of protecting his children while trying to wait out the insane attack on the earth. Robbie and Dad get separated as Robbie either wants to prove to his dad or to himself that he can make it through the catastrophe on his own. (The characters are so underdeveloped that I really don't know what the purpose of that separation was, except to give Dakota Fanning more screen time as Cruise now only has to protect her, and not big brother).
Ferrier and Rachel stumble to the home and cellar of Ogilvy (Tim Robbins) who is trying to take a stand against these invaders. His theory is that the invaders (I think they're Martians but I am not sure), came millions of years ago and planted their tripods far under the earth for their day of reckoning. He has a shot gun and he plans to make the last stand. He feels that together, he and Ferrier can conquer the giant metal monsters. Yes, he's crazy. While hiding in the cellar we meet the creatures who are controlling the three legged machines. The aliens look pretty much like we'd expect them to. Froggie like bodies with ET shaped heads and big black eyes, these (martians?) walk in slow motion much like any other alien we've seen in any other alien-esque movie.
Other than Ferrier protecting his daughter so that they can 'get to Boston' to where Mom is supposed to be with Step-Dad, there is no other point to the movie. We see the tri-pods do weird things like capture people and then suck them up and spray out their blood. But, the tri-pods get pretty boring after awhile and the movie starts to last a little longer than it should.
As the well known story goes, the aliens die in the end because they have no tolerance to the millions of germs that humans have evolved and become immune to. We are left with a mess of tripods and destruction, and a strong message for future invaders. Our invisible, microscopic allies are not to be ignored! Err.. I think that's the message anyway.
My Thoughts
I was disappointed with War of the Worlds for several reasons. First, I didn't really expect the actors to 'steal the show.' I realized that the special effects, much like those in Jurassic Park would be the big attraction in the film. Not only was I blown away with the lack of character depth in the film, but I was completely bored with the light flashing tri-pods.
Most of all, I left with the feeling that so many things just didn't make sense. How could these hundreds of thousands of metal machines have been buried under the earth for so long, without humans noticing? In the age of subways, power lines, dinosaur excavations and gravel pits, how could we have never seen or noticed even one of these massive alien death tanks.
Also, what the hell did the aliens want? Before the movie began, Morgan Freeman gave a nice little speech above the circling earth stating that there was jealousy from those who looked upon the earth from above. Well, if these froggie-like tripod-drivers were jealous, why come to the earth and tear it up and destroy everything in sight? Why suck people in little vacuums and spray out their blood? What was their point? A massive attack usually has some sort of mission. I just want to know why the aliens were ripping up pavement and buildings and sucking up humans. What was their eventual goal? We never find out.
As I stated before, the character depth is so weak in The War of the Worlds. The entire relationship between Cruise and Fanning consists of her being scared of the Tri-Pods and him saving her time and again from being killed. She's by herself screaming for Dad, Dad eventually gets to her and lugs her around between stomping tri-pods and devastating wreckage. And, as a slap in the face to Cruise, at the end of the movie the kid (Fanning) only wants her mom! What an ungrateful little brat!
Would I recommend this movie to a friend? Probably. I'd like to see someone else's take on it, and it is after all, a Spielberg film. All Spielberg films are worth watching at least once, usually on the big screen.
Three Stars.
The Story
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a dock worker and he's a bachelor Dad. His kids are arriving for the weekend. Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and Rachel (Dakota Fanning) are used to living 'the good life' with their mom and their step dad in the suburbs. They aren't looking forward to spending the night in their Dad's run-down shack where they have no TIVO and they have to share a bedroom.
We are hit right away with 'the storm.' The skies turn freakishly grey and black and a series of lightning rains down hitting the same spots over and over again. Ferrier runs to see what's going on as everyone's electricity is off, cars no longer work and time has stopped. He and a mob of people watch in terror as the place where the lightning has hit begins to split the ground open. Out pops the first of the killer tripods which begins laser gunning everything in site. People are running and screaming while select individuals are being blown to piles of dust everywhere. Buildings are being destroyed in the path of the giant metal tripod which seems to have no purpose but complete and total annihilation of anything and everything that gets in its path.
We are then taken on Ferrier's journey of protecting his children while trying to wait out the insane attack on the earth. Robbie and Dad get separated as Robbie either wants to prove to his dad or to himself that he can make it through the catastrophe on his own. (The characters are so underdeveloped that I really don't know what the purpose of that separation was, except to give Dakota Fanning more screen time as Cruise now only has to protect her, and not big brother).
Ferrier and Rachel stumble to the home and cellar of Ogilvy (Tim Robbins) who is trying to take a stand against these invaders. His theory is that the invaders (I think they're Martians but I am not sure), came millions of years ago and planted their tripods far under the earth for their day of reckoning. He has a shot gun and he plans to make the last stand. He feels that together, he and Ferrier can conquer the giant metal monsters. Yes, he's crazy. While hiding in the cellar we meet the creatures who are controlling the three legged machines. The aliens look pretty much like we'd expect them to. Froggie like bodies with ET shaped heads and big black eyes, these (martians?) walk in slow motion much like any other alien we've seen in any other alien-esque movie.
Other than Ferrier protecting his daughter so that they can 'get to Boston' to where Mom is supposed to be with Step-Dad, there is no other point to the movie. We see the tri-pods do weird things like capture people and then suck them up and spray out their blood. But, the tri-pods get pretty boring after awhile and the movie starts to last a little longer than it should.
As the well known story goes, the aliens die in the end because they have no tolerance to the millions of germs that humans have evolved and become immune to. We are left with a mess of tripods and destruction, and a strong message for future invaders. Our invisible, microscopic allies are not to be ignored! Err.. I think that's the message anyway.
My Thoughts
I was disappointed with War of the Worlds for several reasons. First, I didn't really expect the actors to 'steal the show.' I realized that the special effects, much like those in Jurassic Park would be the big attraction in the film. Not only was I blown away with the lack of character depth in the film, but I was completely bored with the light flashing tri-pods.
Most of all, I left with the feeling that so many things just didn't make sense. How could these hundreds of thousands of metal machines have been buried under the earth for so long, without humans noticing? In the age of subways, power lines, dinosaur excavations and gravel pits, how could we have never seen or noticed even one of these massive alien death tanks.
Also, what the hell did the aliens want? Before the movie began, Morgan Freeman gave a nice little speech above the circling earth stating that there was jealousy from those who looked upon the earth from above. Well, if these froggie-like tripod-drivers were jealous, why come to the earth and tear it up and destroy everything in sight? Why suck people in little vacuums and spray out their blood? What was their point? A massive attack usually has some sort of mission. I just want to know why the aliens were ripping up pavement and buildings and sucking up humans. What was their eventual goal? We never find out.
As I stated before, the character depth is so weak in The War of the Worlds. The entire relationship between Cruise and Fanning consists of her being scared of the Tri-Pods and him saving her time and again from being killed. She's by herself screaming for Dad, Dad eventually gets to her and lugs her around between stomping tri-pods and devastating wreckage. And, as a slap in the face to Cruise, at the end of the movie the kid (Fanning) only wants her mom! What an ungrateful little brat!
Would I recommend this movie to a friend? Probably. I'd like to see someone else's take on it, and it is after all, a Spielberg film. All Spielberg films are worth watching at least once, usually on the big screen.
Three Stars.
