"That's a nice-a donut."

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

War of the Worlds (2005)

Let's get this out of the way right from the beginning: Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds is not a very good movie.

From the time that a video camera works when just moments prior nothing worked, to a short time later when Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his family escape in a car that might just happen to be the only vehicle that works in the entire world at that time, right up to the obligatory Spielberg happy ending - almost nothing was believable. Whether that is the fault of the source material or the filmmaker's, I don't know for sure. But I do know that it does not help the credibility for or enjoyment of the movie.

The film is based on H.G. Wells' classic tale of Earth being invaded by hostile beings from another world. It has been done before on the big screen, and is actually perhaps most well known for Orson Welles' infamous radio broadcast in 1938 that caused mass hysteria in New Jersey (because many people thought it was real). Like the book, the movie focuses mainly on one family (father Ray, and estranged children Rachel and Robbie) who try desperately to survive. The invasion is very sudden; at first news reports suggest that the numerous bolts of lightening is just a strange weather phenomenon. Soon enough, though, the Ferriers are on the run, trying to head from the New York area up to Boston (where the kid's pregnant mother and new stepfather are). The destruction is immense, and death is everywhere. At first it appears that the creatures are simply trying to kill everyone, but we later learn that they have other plans.

Along their trek, the family comes upon Ogilvy (Tim Robbins), an armed man, who takes them into his cellar to stay. This is where the movie has a chance to redeem itself for its earlier missteps but its just more frustration. There is one scene where one of the alien creatures is searching the house for human life and they must try to evade its sight. It's rather neat, but pretty much the same thing (that was done better) that Spielberg did in Jurassic Park and later in Minority Report. The rest of the time spent in the cellar is rather dull and a confrontation only serves to make the audience distance themselves from Ray, which I'm sure wasn't what was intended. After that, the quest continues for the happy ending.

Since nearly the entire movie is from the point of view of Ray, Spielberg - to his credit - seems to go out of his way to give very little explanation about what is going on with the aliens. But this just makes things all the more disappointing when we are given voice-over narration at the very end to explain what just happened. It is very amateurish, and something that I would sooner expect from a B-list director.

Sure enough, Spielberg still is one of the all-time great directors, so there are plenty of things to like about the movie. The special effects are first-rate during the attack sequences, especially the sound, which is very good throughout the movie. Shots of a train that rolls by a train station while on fire, and a ferryboat tipping over are seamless eye candy. And the aliens are quite interesting looking, though they are only seen very briefly. I was less impressed though by the big robotic tripod things that destroy everything; they look like giant robotic jellyfish.

Further, as we have come to expect from her, Dakota Fanning is light years ahead of her age in acting ability. Who is to say what the teen years will do to her, and if she will still have it when she reaches adulthood, but she makes it all seem so natural when she is on screen. Sure, her character screams a lot in the film, but I would imagine that a lot of 10 year-olds would be freaked out by an alien invasion and human extermination. On the other hand, I was generally able to look past Tom Cruise's real life persona of a superstar who has become deranged and psychotic; he does his usual decent job. But it's hard to really feel much empathy for his character given that he is a kind of a jerk, selfish, and a rather bad father. (And, as with most Tom Cruise films, he tries to redeem himself by the end.)

But War of the Worlds does not redeem itself. At least movies like Independence Day don't try to take themselves so seriously. By the end, I was kind of hoping that the humans would all be destroyed. This isn't a terrible movie; I can think of worse ways to kill two hours. But it is definitely a black mark on Spielberg's record, and is one of his worst.

The Verdict: C.

Michael Bentley 11:04 AM

"That's a nice-a donut."

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

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