Review
War of the Worlds
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Year
- 2005
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris
- Review date
- Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a divorcée who is just about to spend some days with his estranged children Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin), when something rather strange happens before his eyes: a huge killing machine known as a tripod pops up, literally, from underground destroying everything in its way. From then on, the three of them embark on a quest for survival, as they try to get to Boston where, hopefully, they’ll reunite with his ex-wife and the children’s mother (Miranda Otto).
There’s no denying Spielberg is fascinated with aliens. But what I like the most about that is that he keeps making movies about them in which they are completely different beings with completely different motivations. Looking at Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) and War of the Worlds, I am fascinated at the various treatments these unknown creatures have received in his hands. And they’re all terrific movies. It just shows how vast the exploration of the uncertain can be, and with a little imagination, it can make up for great stories.
That said, aliens in this movie are anything but friendly. They ride these tripod machines and go on killing people or sucking their blood while also destroying everything in sight. And the movie, at its best, is appallingly terrifying. The sound effects team which created the tripods’ noise merits special credit, since that sound is just enough to give you the chills, now picture actually watching the extermination! And that’s where the visual effects team comes to mind. Those guys also deserve praise to spare, as the movie boasts impressive special effects and is never less than completely credible. If anything, the movie is a great spectacle.
Flaws get in the way though. The main problem for me is the family dynamics, and especially how the son’s role is written. The character is every cliché contained in the “angry rebellious teen” list of clichés and it just doesn’t work. I’m sure he’s angry at his father, but you’d think that in the midst of massive world destruction he’d get into the mood and situation. Not here, he’s all about emotional and idiotic outbursts. And that’s annoying. Cruise actually plays an unlikable character himself. He’s a terrible father and he knows it. And perhaps because of the combination of this and the annoying kid I never felt a true connection with them. Sure, I wanted them to survive (well, at least Tom and his daughter) but I wouldn’t have really cared if they didn’t. Spielberg is usually known as a guy who puts too much heart into his movies and here he tries (the absolutely terrible finale is proof of that) but he forces it beyond tolerance and doesn’t let it simply be.
And don’t get me started with my issues with Tom’s character being such a hero! But that comes with the package I guess. After all, well, it’s a movie about aliens invading the planet. Duh.
If you look closer though, there are rather obvious nods to the Holocaust and even to 9/11. Spielberg sprinkles his movie here and there with almost direct references to such horrific events, especially in the fact that a race is trying to wipe another one, and that gives the movie another dimension. I was especially awe-struck with a scene that takes place in an apparently quiet river. Haunting.
Another interesting aspect to notice is that the movie is not just about world domination, which serves merely as the backdrop of a smaller story. We see everything from the point of view of Ray, so don’t expect to watch entire cities being wiped out or important monuments being destroyed. The movie only follows Ray and his family and what they see is what we get. I’ve got to say I was put off by this at first, but once I realized this was going to be a more “intimate” movie I went along for the ride. There’s even a large section of the movie that takes place in a basement with only Ray, Rachel and another survivor, Harlan (Tim Robbins), who is determined to fight back the aliens. I found this whole sequence amusing, suspenseful and poignant. It even ends in a shocking note that says a lot about what we’re capable of doing between human beings (careful: between our own race!) if pushed a little, and how far we’re able to go to defend our loved ones.
So Tom Cruise and Tim Robbins are quite extraordinary, but Dakota Fanning is even more so. She steals the movie (along with the sheer spectacle) from everyone else, proving how good and capable an actress she is. The movie starts and ends with a Morgan Freeman narration that is right on.
“They've been planning this for a million years. And these are only the first. They'll keep coming.”
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Other reviews of War of the Worlds (2005): Groucho
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Review
War of the Worlds
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Year
- 2005
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- Gon Curiel a.k.a. Groucho
- Review date
- Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Wells’ novel has been updated to the present day, and focuses on an everyman, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), whose ex-wife (Miranda Otto) drops their kids with him for a day or two: Teenage Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and ten-year-old Rachel (Dakota Fanning), who aren’t too close to their father… because he isn’t a very good one.
However, something will force the trio to spend a lot of time together: After some weird meteorological events, a series of gigantic machines that stand and walk on tripods start wiping out every human being that stands in their way, and they walk all around. Running away, just making it in time, Ray and the kids get to know what hell is all about—as the world tries to figure out a way to fight these machines, which seems a pretty hopeless attempt.
Despite this being a fine film, it’s pretty obvious that Spielberg didn’t take it all too seriously, and kind of wanted to make it and get it out of his system without spending too much energy on it. I say this because it’s obviously not a very personal film, and even in its poignant aspects it doesn’t go too deep; if it does, it’s on the actors’ account anyway. Nevertheless, I was continuously surprised by the director’s execution. Several scenes took me off-guard and came off amazing in every single aspect, from camera movement to camera angle to continuity to timing. Kudos to everyone involved in making the final result so outstanding.
I guess by now no one gets really scared by the idea of an alien invasion. That went off with Orson Welles’ radio broadcast of this novel in the 1930s, and with the 1950’s sci-fi craze and general paranoia. Plus, just like the film points out, Americans mainly worry about terrorists these days. Josh Friedman and David Koepp took care of making this film look and feel like the real thing probably would these days, obviously removing the reference to “Martians” all around, and giving the characters credible reactions and shocks. However, and even though I did like the main character and his family, I found several things involving them pretty implausible. Like, for instance, how every road is clear for them to drive around, or how they’re always at the front row during every important milestone surrounding them. Maybe Spielberg now shares Tom Cruise’s anxiety to be such a showoff, but placing him on center stage all the time is ridiculous, even for the hero of the film. This and several clichés really marred the script and the final result.
As for the characters, Ray and Rachel are pretty good ones, and their performers are excellent. Fanning is especially effective as the little girl who has to face so much. The son is mostly one-note, but I didn’t mind. That masterful narrator, Morgan Freeman, provides the bookends. The character of Ogilvy however, who has a cameo in the film (expertly played by Tim Robbins), is completely out of place and his subplot doesn’t work. This is all too easy to ignore though, as the section involving him contains a Jurassic Park (1993) reference (one of a couple inside the film) which is a nail-biter to say the least. Matter of fact, the whole film has you in stitches. I had rarely felt so intense emotions at the movies during the last few months.
By the way, it’s funny how the most grabbing scene doesn’t involve the aliens at all: the life or death struggle to get a working car, taking it away from whoever has it if necessary; can’t get it out of my head. Plus, the director made sure to include lots of symbolism of the holocaust. This is one race wiping out another, and there’s a lot to play with. And it works and is quite touchy.
Spielberg regular John Williams wrote an unmemorable score this time, which also shows how the director’s heart wasn’t necessarily in this project. Another regular however, photographer Janusz Kaminski, added his unique touch and made every scene a treat to the eye; awesome work there. The breathtaking visual effects complete the circle to perfection.
Overall a fun piece, if unessential, but sure worth a look.
“This isn’t any more a war than there’s a war between man and maggots. This is an extermination.”
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Other reviews of War of the Worlds (2005): Morris
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