War of the Worlds Review

"War of the Worlds" reviews

Movie

War of the Worlds

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-05-01 23:14:09

Rating

3.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

All you can really say about War of the Worlds is: a) thank goodness Steven Spielberg has had a lifelong obsession for aliens great and small and b) he has the fortitude and talent to make an invasion by them scary, intense, and so damn real.

Story

Based on H.G. Wells' classic 1898 novel, this War is set in a contemporary world, where the threat of terrorism looms around every corner. But not even the brains at Homeland Security can prepare the human race for this kind of an attack. After a series of mysterious and powerful lightning storms strike all over the world, giant three-legged war machines, long buried beneath the earth, rise up and start incinerating everything--and everyone--in sight. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), a divorced New Jersey dockworker, horrifyingly witnesses the first strike in this catastrophic alien invasion. He is suddenly faced with protecting his estranged children--teenager Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning)--after they are left with him for the weekend. Traveling across the ravaged countryside, Ray takes them on a journey to reunite them with their mother, and gets caught up in a desperate tide of refugees, fleeing from a seemingly inexorable and merciless enemy. But are they really unstoppable? Ha! We'll see who has the last laugh, you nasty old susceptible aliens.

Acting

As I watched Tom Cruise run and hide from the invading aliens, I didn't once think about Scientology, antidepressant drugs or Katie Holmes. Not once. That's because no matter what kind of personal issues Cruise has going on at the moment, he is a consummate actor, drawing you into his on-screen world without missing a beat. As deadbeat dad Ray, Cruise aptly exhibits an apathy to his prodigy, only to then turn into a courageous American hero, fighting to protect the ones he loves, without one clichéd speech or false moment. Quite a feat. Of course, he also has a lot of support from his co-stars, especially Dakota Fanning as his daughter, in keeping things genuine. While either playing terrified with fervent screams, or deadly still from shock, the young actress' tearstained face gives the whole horrific experience a very human quality. Man, imagine what's she's going to do once she's an adult. Chatwin (The Chumscrubber) also does a fine job as the rebellious teen, whose growing need to join the fight has his dad torn up inside. Tim Robbins makes a memorable appearance as a refugee on the verge of madness, holed up in a bombed-out basement and ready to single-handedly take the aliens down. And finally, as a nice touch, we hear Morgan Freeman's deep, resonate voice open and close the film with very poignant passages from H.G. Wells' literary masterpiece.

Direction

Spielberg's back--and what a relief! A War of the Worlds update is just what he needed to rejuvenate himself, especially after his latest slate of tepid movies (i.e. The Terminal, A.I.). I mean, it has been a long time since we've seen the passionate Spielberg--the special-effects driven director who challenges himself to make the most visually stunning movies ever (Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark) or the finely tuned director who can create the most incredibly intimate movies against a historical backdrop (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List). And nothing on this earth inspires Spielberg more than aliens, especially now that he has grown older and wiser since his kindler, gentler E.T. days. Keeping to Wells' original source material, and paying homage to both Orson Welles' infamous 1938 radio play (both are set in New Jersey) and the original 1953 film (a marvel of special effects for its time), War is an absolute seat-gripping wonder to behold. From the beginning of the Tripod war machines' reigning terror, disintegrating poor souls with their heat rays or snatching them up in the air with their tentacle extensions (to use for a very gruesome task indeed), it's shockingly realistic. The only small drawback is showing the actual aliens, especially in this sophisticated day and age of Alien and Independence Day. It just isn't necessary and adds very little to the already mounting tension. But it's a small quibble. This War will give you nightmares for weeks.

Bottom Line

With the power of Spielberg and Cruise behind it, the sinister and tense War of the Worlds is this summer's blockbuster to beat them all.

Movie

WAR OF THE WORLDS

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-25 21:09:37

Provider

Review

So can Steven Spielberg's good name save War Of The Worlds from the cynical media mauling its smug star Tom Cruise has faced since announcing his engagement to Katie Holmes?

Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect dad (hence the filthy car engines on the dinner table etc). Turns out his kids aren't the only unwanted guests coming over for the weekend. Following a seriously strange storm formation, bolts of lightning hit an intersection near Ray's home, short-circuiting all electrical equipment. Moments later a giant three-legged machine emerges from beneath the street and the first strike in a devastating alien attack on Earth begins.

Anyone expecting an epic Independence Day style disaster/war movie will be disappointed because this being Spielberg War Of The Worlds has a heart and more importantly, a family connection. So there's no panoramic shots of cities like New York or Washington burning to the ground, or even crackling news reports from fleeing journalists. Instead the whole story is told from a suburban point-of-view, as if aliens attacked Coronation Street.

This means oodles of suspense, with Spielberg tipping his baseball cap to former edge-of-your-seat hits 'Close Encounters and Jaws on more than one occasion. However, the great director appears unnecessarily seduced by new technology more than ever in this picture; occasionally losing sight of the story by using new tools simply for the sake of it. In one scene where Cruise attempts to calm his children down while leaving the city the camera whizzes around their car north, south, east and west at a dizzying rate, stopping only occasionally to focus tight on the actor's faces to prove it's really them and not CGI animation.

As for the war effects they're decent but nothing we haven't seen before. The tripods for all their newfound agility aren't nearly as menacing as the jerky 1953 originals. As for the one-legged aliens, they look remarkably like an amalgamation of just about every cliched Martian you normally find laminated in an Area 51 poster on a teenage boy's bedroom wall.

Besides a crazy cameo from Tim Robbins, the best thing about the movie is its star. Even the most ardent Cruise hater will have to hold their hands up and admit the guy puts in a great performance as the frightened father hitting responsibility squarely in the face. In fact as loathed as we are to say it, Cruise holds the whole movie together. With Spielberg seemingly distracted by flash new CGI toys and precocious child actress Dakota Fanning delivering one of those irritatingly self-assured performances, it's Cruise's credibly selfish ordinary Joe caught up in a disaster which makes the scenario vaguely believable.

War Of The Worlds is by no means a bad summer blockbuster, but it's just not quite up to Spielberg's usually high standards.