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| WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005) | |
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H.G. Wells' novel War of the Worlds is remarkably good, at least that is
how I remembered it when I read it about 20 years ago. Steven
Spielberg's adaptation did not reach the heights that the novel did for me
when I read it under the blanket with the help of a flickering
flashlight. My dear mother had told me that the book would give me
nightmares, and I should read it during the day. Despite what my
mother said, I could not put the book down until I was done in the early
dawn. My personal experiences with the novel might have influenced
my personal judgment of the film by Spielberg, whose films I have
frequently revisited for both entertainment and study. Nonetheless,
I do not want to say it is a bad film by all means as it has its moments.
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), a dock worker and a neglectful father, faces the dilemma of having distrusting children while earth is being rapidly taken over by aliens. It all begins with a strange electrical storm that begins to brew in the Ukraine the day before, but Ray does not pay attention to what is going on in other parts in the world. However, when an electrical storm begins to develop in his backyard it begins to get serious – deadly serious. Ray steals a car while dealing with his own panic. His children Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and Rachel (Dakota Fanning) follow him, but are clueless of what is about to happen. Rachel suffers from heavy anxiety, which Ray must deal with and Robbie is in the middle of his adolescence trying to prove himself as an adult. Both situations with the the children are very problematic for an egocentrical person such a Ray, but he must find a way to deal with these trivial issues in the light of being hunted by monstrous tripod robots the size of skyscraper. Their escape turns to a road movie of sorts with a heavy touch of science fiction and contemporary social issues. The science fictions scenes offer big time CGI that displays grand battle and destruction scenes. In between these spectacular action scenes there are family issues to be dealt with while avoiding panic stricken people that might do something undesirable. Even though terrorism is a very serious topic there are also some entertaining references to terrorism. War of the Worlds touches so many aspects of society and Spielberg touches them all. However, it also feels somewhat forced and rushed, as the film clocks in under two hours, which means a lot of information has to get into these two hours. The story does not reach its full potential in regards to action, suspense, drama, moral and intellectual stimuli. Instead it feels like a mutation of Independence Day (1996) and Signs (2002) without the element of surprise that M. Night Shyamalan provides. Many of Spielberg's films offer the infamous happy ending where everything is neatly packaged, which is one of the qualities that I admire about Spielberg. In War of the World where things were supposed to be bad, really bad, this happiness seems to linger with a slight touch and makes it feel a little too pleasant in the end. Thus, when I look back 20 years and reflect over the many different films that I have seen and books I have read, I realize that the night I spent under the covers with H.G. Wells' novel is far from some of the more horrific films and books that I have come across. However, it is a nostalgic memory that returned when I first heard about the film. I wish that this the film could repeat the initial experience that I had with War of the Worlds.
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DIRECTED BY |
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| Steven Spielberg | |
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USA |
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| REVIEWED | |
| BY KIM ANEHALL – 6/29/2005 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
