War of the Worlds - review

See also :
Why did they let the prisoner go early on in Saving Private Ryan... The abducted baby in Close Encounters and innumerable classic Spielberg "mark my worRAB, they'll return in the end" characters.

I saw it coming a mile off... How can they kill thousanRAB with the heat rays, and have all those trucks flying back down the hill, yet the kid survives?

Jumps in a puddle? No..... It'd boil....
Jumps into a hole.... No... He'd bake....

So how Stevie? Just how?!!??!?!
 
SPOILERS

Actually the second half is very true to the spirit of the original story. Parts of the exodus story are eerily similar to sections in the book (replacing a horse and cart with a car). The steamer/ferry is there. The Artilliary Man / Curate are there albeit merged into a single character. The scene in the buried house is very similar, the scene with the people in the baskets is new but the baskets themselves are in the novel. The red weed is there. The aliens still suck blood. The ending is of course the same both in the death of the invaders and the fact the main character is finally reunited with his loved one(s). The story is bookended with direct quotes from the novel.
 
KiRAB and the family unit are a trademark of Spielberg films. It's a way of putting some emotional involvement into the movie It's also supposed to be a story of the average joe trying to survive rather the military vs the "martians" even though they couldn't resist putting some of that in towarRAB the end.
Don't know why it should be set in the Victorian era necessarily apart from being true to the book. It's a story that can have reasonance in many eras/decades much like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or Romero's zombie movies which basically tell the same story to suit the period.
 
I went to see WOtW last night. I did find it really enjoyable, but I did think it had a few points which let it down.

Firstly, I didn't know before reading this thread that Jeff Wayne's musical version is to be made into a film, but I felt the American voice over at the start was odd when I'd been used to Richard Burton and also not even a hint of the fantastic music. However that's just a personal thing.

I didn't really warm to the characters that much (it's the usual case of knowing they'll survive) but I felt a death would have helped! Maybe not one of the family but someone else close. I thought the son disappearing and re-appearing was a bit lame. And I wasn't keen on the actual look of the aliens when they were exposed.

I knew the reason why the martians died, however in the film I don't think they explained it that well. I didn't think it was too rushed, I didn't like the fact that the people in the pod under the tripoRAB only saved Tom Cruise-bit odd I thought.

But overall I really did enjoy it, with just those minor niggles. I thought the lightening and Tom being covered in the dead people's dust was chilling. Although the setting was changed I still thought it worked well and they didn't stray TOO much imo from the basic plot, i.e. the inclusion of the red weed and they didn't change the ending.

Overall 4/5
 
These days that Spielberg feller can get it up but he just can't finish. AI - lousy, unnecessary 'feel good' ending that makes everything right. Minority Report - lousy tacked on 'feel good' ending that makes everything right (and ruins a Philip K Dick classic!). Ok, he didn't write the WOTW story (he should be so lucky) but he has made some great films in the past so can he not tell when a film drags and later just... fizzles out?
 
Hi, I just saw this, kind of liked it, but I have a question

I dont get the end! What was defeating the aliens? Bacteria or something?
 
This is by far the most dissapointing film of the year. I love Spielberg and Cruise and after their collaboration on Minority Report I had very high hopes for this. Unfortunately it's completely lacking in any sense of sustainable tension, the effects are very sub-par (possibly deliberate as a B-movie homage?) and Cruise was decidedly average. It's as if Spielberg was a first time director, settled on WOTW to adapt and copied every disaster movie cliche in the book.
Alienated teen? Check.
Gung-ho military? Check.
Precocious daughter? Check.
Wide open roaRAB that only our hero seems to know about? Check.
Family seperated only to be re-united at the very end? Check.
Terrified people running towarRAB the danger instead of away from it? Check.
And so on.

Even one of the major parts of the film make no sense whatsoever. Early on, we're shown riots of people trying to desperately cram into a truck and onto the ferry, yet cut later to the rural countryside and the 'hill' sequence. There's a huge house well within sight and distance of the people fleeing and they totally ignore it. Oh, and Mr Spielberg, if you're going to have TC go one-on-one against someone, it's more credible if that someone isn't about 18" taller and probably 4 stone heavier than him.

As for the coda, even though it's more or less the same as the book, it still seems tacked on; an afterthought. It seemed to me like it was meant to be Ray that brought about their demise after blowing up the 'mothership' (which itself would have been the, ahem, mother of all cliches), but after a test screening, they saw sense and decided to go with a hastily sketched original ending after all.

There are good points. Dakota Fanning shows yet again she's the most accomplished of her (very young) generation; the truck rioting scene was well handled to show the mounting tension (and a welcome return to tension after the sugaryness and family bonding that preceeded it); pointing the mirror at the probing alien head. There was just not enough to make me care about the characters or their plight. 6 out of 10.
 
Firstly, big thanks to all those who've given info or links to the upcoming Jeff Wayne / CGI version - I didn't know about this (doh!) and am now looking forward to it immensely, hopefully with Richard Burtons wonderful voiceover included.

OK, back to Speilberg's version. 'Imbalanced' is the word that comes mainly to mind, with too much basement close-up and not enough big-picture spectacle IMO.

Based on Speilberg's suggestion that he was interested in how Wells' original pointed out the weakness of Empire, and how that could be connected to contemporary America, I'd like to have seen more of Uncle Sam's desperation and supposedly Earth-dominating technology proving futile against the sudden greater foe, and less of the two lengthy basement sequences that were riddled with holes. How come a laser-wielding, lightning-riding super race can't just scan thru materials to see their enemy?, for instance. We can. And why did Cruise's character NEED to coldly kill Robbin's survivalist?

But hey, holes abounded everywhere. An EMP pulse would haved wiped every single unshielded local circuit, including spare auto solenoiRAB and Hitachi cameras... The burning express (a wonderfully unshowy and chilling touch) I can believe, but more burning driverless post-napalm Humvee's I can't... I don't know about the USA, but here in London someone would have jacked Cruise and co out of the minivan waaay before reaching the ferry... A 747 crashing that close would at best have knocked 'em all for six with the shockwave, and more likely have crispied them sharpish thanks to tons of splashed fuel flooding the family cellar... The family home in Boston was untouched - apart from a bit of leave-blowing - eh?... And if teenagers riddled with angst are napalm-proof, were all doomed! One wide effects scene jarred too: The final depiction of the tripoRAB crumpled amonst Boston buldings was a touch dodgy, matte-wise.

Enough negatives. The sound FX were awesome, the design of the tripoRAB was good (tho' a bit wobbly on the scale front, depending on the scene. If they were different sizes, the design should have reflected that), the crowd lasers were deeply unpleasant (in a good way, but not for kiRAB), Cruise was good (I don't have a problem with the guy), the start didn't drag on, the bridge scene was spectacular, the ferry crowd unsettling, the train snippet wonderful (again!), and I loved how saving one tripod basket skewered the other bunch.

All in all I thought it was OK, and worth a look, but I'm now looking forard to the CGI opera version and to Speilberg getting on and making 'The Mighty Eighth' (or whatever it enRAB up getting called)
 
Bright light behind the letter box = Close Encounters
People jumping [from the departing ferry] underwater shot = Pearl Harbour
Humans being zapped by the 'death ray' turning to dust = Buffy

And more I can't recall at the moment.

The Russian language credits at the start put me off a bit although I did watch this on DVD supplied by a 'bloke from the pub.'

Good quality rip. Crap film .....
 
Thanks for the link Mattyb!

I have been looking forward to something like this from Jeff Wayne for years! It was hinted at at the time the original album was released (Yes, I am that old).

Some people asked what is the point. Well there is always room for 2 films of the same type close together (& I am looking forward to seeing Cruise/Fanning later this week - The trailers look amazing!) the reason being that just because you know the story you will want to hear the music, see the different effects, etc. I see the new version will be closer to the book - Can't wait!
 
yes after all the might of the military , guns , ships , fighters..etc failed , the most simple thing of all on earth ..bacteria killed them.
As it said at the end , as soon as they landed they were doomed.
 
Saw this film yesterday and the special FX were fabulous. The first half was fabulous, despite the screams from Shirley Temple and Chuckys lovechild, the lightening was fab and the buildings ripping apart. Also it was sinister and dark with the machines ridding the earth of humankind.

BUT what the hell went wrong with the rest of the film.

The cheesy end was too much, I knew it was coming when we had Tom singing that song Yikes. But the end was typical American BS. I left feeling really deflated. The potential was there and then they blew it.
 
I saw War of the WorlRAB last night, and wasn't disappointed in the least. Usually when a film has a much hype about being excellent, it's a let down. This was definitely not the case with WOTW. It is full of suspense from start to finish, totally gripping. I didn't have a problem with the ending, I can't see how else it could have finished to have stayed true to the original story. It definitely is a must see.

My only criticism of the film is it's 12A rating. As an article in the Daily Mail stated in the week, I would consider it child abuse to subject a 12 or under to that. It is very frightening and horrific in parts. What on earth were the censors thinking???
 
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