Revisiting 2005's War of the Worlds
Published April 21, 2008
In the film we find a believable, incompetent response to unforeseeable disaster. The alien enemy, with its impressively massive machines and death rays, is not the only peril humans face during the war of the worlds. The human response, the panic, the desperate self-oriented struggle for survival, the encumbered protectors whose weapons cannot penetrate the alien shields, the cars rendered useless by an electromagnetic pulse, the pantries with little food – all are elements that threaten the characters as they try to survive, burdened by the consequences of their own shortcomings and let down by the flaws of society. The characters rush through situations with little awareness of what exactly is going on, their modern world now reduced to a “go-survive-go-survive” mentality with little dissemination of information.
And, in the end, it isn't humanity that beats the seemingly unconquerable aliens. As in the book, the enemy is felled by bacteria from the world they aimed to defeat, “slain, after all man's devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth.” War of the Worlds is a story about a protagonist – humanity – who is small (compared to those towering tripods) and flawed, and unable to save itself in the end.
And yet, when the enemy falls, we are glad. The protagonist is us, and we hope for that fictional humanity – and ourselves – another day to live with renewed purpose, shaken from the “infinite complacency” with which they “went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs.” Somewhere within us stirs the yearning for something more, or the alarm that complacency is dangerous, that prompts us to write and read these science fiction stories in the first place.
- Revisiting 2005's War of the Worlds
- Published: April 21, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Action, Video: Drama, Video: SF
- Part of a feature: Off the Shelf
- Writer: Melissa Cuppett
- Melissa Cuppett's BC Writer page
- Melissa Cuppett's personal site
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El Bicho,
It takes all kinds to make the world go round, you know. It was a bad movie, in your opinion. My opinion is different from yours.
I enjoyed this movie, even though it never even gets across the point that the invaders are from Mars. The book, which was very literate and clear, is a long read by 21st Century standards, even though Wells is an excellent story-teller.
Wells' story's age shows in its length - written when a book provided the kind of entertainment that TV and movies provide today.
Spielberg does more than just steal from his Juraissic Park stuff - he re-uses the same alien types used in Independence Day. In addition, he uses his basic theme of kids damaged by divorce that he used in ET. I didn't really know that this was a Spielberg film until Ms. Cuppett said so. But the minute she did, all those points fell into place.
Melissa Cuppett did an excellent job with this review - she did far better than I could have (an unfinished War of the Worlds review sits on my damaged hard-drive awaiting resurrection some day).
Finally, and most importantly, the movie deals with Wells' basic these of human complacency - an issue I run into all too often on this site in the political section where I usually hang out.
I was only offering my opinion, Ruvy. Glad the movie worked for you, although what was going on with the birds. They seemed to have a presence in the story that was never explained.
Thanks for your comments.
Ruvy -- I thought the deal with the birds was very vague. I don't know why they were attracted to the tripods (perhaps they were aware the aliens were dying and wanted to feast on them?), but the fact that the birds could touch them revealed that their shields were down and they were thus susceptible to weapons. That's as far as I got.
I thought the deal with the birds was very vague...
That part with the birds was taken straight from Wells' story. In the story's end, the protagonist sees birds feasting upon the dying Martians, and dogs running off with fresh meat as he wanders exhausted through London, hearing the Martians screaming "ulla, ulla" before falling silent in death.
Earlier in the film, since little Rachel's main job is to scream in terror (so it seems) the birds flying off in terror give her reason to be terrified....
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"was perhaps marred for some moviegoers by its unfortunate timing."
It was marred for me by being a bad movie. I didn't care about the characters. The son showing up was ridiculous. Spielberg stole from himself by recreating his "raptor in the kitchen" sequence from Jurassic Park. I better not remember anymore or it will ruin the rest of my day.