Movie Review: War of the Worlds(2005)
Published July 06, 2005
Do you ever sit down to write a review and find that the words just aren't there? Well, I have been trying to write this review for the last week, the thoughts are there, but for some reason the head to hand translation function of my brain is severely out of order. So, I am going to try this again, it may not come across as a review so much as a series of thoughts about the film, and no that is not quite the same thing. I can only hope that my rambling gets my point across.
I was really looking forward to this, if for nothing else the fact that Spielberg can make fantastic event films and I was very interested in how he, and his screenwriters David Koepp and Josh Friedman, would translate the HG Wells novel. I was also wondering how it would differ from the source material, and also if it would take any inspiration from the 1953 George Pal produced feature. On top of that, I was dying to see the alien tripods, and element I missed from that earlier film.
When the film started, I was immediately sucked in. I liked the rather leisurely pace it took as we watched Ray (Cruise) leave work, head home, and get his kids. Then the nightmare begins, and it truly is a nightmare. The lightning strikes, the appearance of the tripods and the sheer amount of destruction that they caused, truly frightening.
As I watched, there were certain details that sort of stood out to me as making no sense at all. Without spoilerizing anything, a couple things would be the functioning camcorder after the EMP strike, the way all of the stopped cars were stopped in such a way that there was always a path for Cruise and crew to drive through. Bigger ones would be things like why haven't any of the tripods been uncovered if they have always been here, how did the aliens know where the cities would be, and what purpose would it serve to show up and destroy everything of value if they were planning this for a million years, as was suggested in the film? I shunted those questions from my mind and let the film just swallow me.
There were some incredible images. The initial fleeing from the tripods. The flaming train. The ferry ride. The battle on the hill. While the film was filled with special effects, it never seemed to be about them. As epic as the scope of the film was, it still managed to remain a personal story about Ray, Rachel (Dakota Fanning), and Robbie (Justin Chatwin).
Christopher Beaumont spends much of his time writing about entertainment when he isn't sitting in a movie theater. He is known around the office as the "Movie Guy" and is always ready to talk about his favorite form of entertainment and offer up recommendations. Interests include science fiction, horror, and metal music. His writings can be found at Draven99's Musings and Draven99's Media Center. 
- Movie Review: War of the Worlds(2005)
- Published: July 06, 2005
- Type: Review
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Review, Video: Adventure, Video: Drama, Video: SF
- Writer: Chris Beaumont
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I think I agree on most parts . . . except none of those issues arose while I was watching the movie. This is one of the few big blockbuster movies that I've ever seen that actually entirely sucked me in almost immediately. There was actual heart-pounding terror in many scenes, a reaction I rarely experience in movies. It wasn't until well after we left the theater that I began getting "hey, wait a minute . . ." thoughts running through my head. That, to me, is the sign of a good movie - it pulled the wool over my eyes for the entire movie's length and it was only later, upon further inspection, that some holes really developed. A great movie, of course, would hold up way beyond the viewing, but in my book, if a movie doesn't display its flaws while you're watching it the first time, it's done its job. And, unfortunately, many of the holes in the plot are part of the HG Wells original, and I can't fault Spielberg for defaulting to the original. Worth seeing again? Probably - on DVD.
I agree with this review whole-heartedly, except for a few questionable, and irritating instances. The instances being the camcorder incident and the fact that the alien invasion is never explained, which is my biggest problem with this film. In my opinion, the film would've been much more satisfying if a sub-plot was developed around the fact that the tri-pods had been inside the earth for millions of years. I mean, think about it. For eons of time, these alien vehicles have been inside of the earth, waiting to attack only when there is intelligent life? Was it b/c they needed human blood, (which seemed like they may have leaned toward that idea for a while) or b/c they needed a new planet to inhabit, or b/c they were just bored and thought slaughtering millions of people would liven things up? However, besides those grievances, the movie was actually quite good. The alien crafts were spectacular as were the chaos and battle scenes, which is what I paid to see.
i have posted before that i really dont like Cruise. i also avoid blockbusters as the whole "look at my CGI" smug-faced nature of them annoys me (i still havent seen independance day!)..... BUT, seeing as i made my fella sit through Amelie and such for over 18 months, and seeing as he was paying, i went along to WOtW.... i loved it. i thought it was an excellent film, and i agree with your review wholeheartedly. there are many people getting annoyed about it not being set in Britain, but it wasnt about that, it was about a very ordinary guy and what happens to him. i love Spielberg for that, the human element in all of his films. what i thought at the end was this... no matter how much money your kids new step-dad has, you, as their daddy, will always be the hero in their eyes.
weL there is some a lot of knowledge....
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Mr. Beaumont
You echo many of the thoughts I have about WOtW-good and bad. There's only one other time I can remember my jaw dropping like it did during the first tripod's "emergence". That was when the T-rex lumbered out the jungle in that other Spielberg film, which in my mind, was much more flawed than WOtW. That's why my heart aches when I think about how Spielberg missed the mark, but came so very close to making an absolute classic with WOtW. The breaks in logic were very fixable, as were some of the pace/happy ending issues in the third act.
That said, I will go the show to see WOtW again. I'll just bite my lip through the flaws. For me, it's a worth it to experience the good and truly awesome aspects of this film.
BK