War of the Worlds

[threehills]

Re: War of the Worlds

I thought the movie was pretty good for fictional story line it had. They did a good job of portraying how fucked mankind would be. Most movies have some "last hope" like armagedon or something, but man was totally fucked in this one...until the end.

The best version of this story was the audio version origally released on LP from 1978 (not the radio broadcast which you might be famliar with). I had nightmares for a week when I first heard this is a little kid. It covers the invasion from an English point of view. It came with a book that had really great artwork as well, see below.

[darkabeatz]

Re: War of the Worlds

i was majour dissapionted in this film. the cg effects are awsome, but the movie just happens for no reason, bang aliens, bang people running, bang no aliens. wtf?

just as it got going, they just died. its like they said "shit its half three, suppers ready at four, lets wrap this one up"

big let down.

[Homegrove]

Re: War of the Worlds

I liked it... As someone said, a good pop corn-movie.

[picklemonkey]

Re: War of the Worlds

i just saw it the other day. overall, i liked it. there were a few parts that were unbelievable... but it's sci-fi. you can't expect the story to be perfect when the whole premise is about aliens coming up from under our feet

[jorre]

Re: War of the Worlds

Well I saw it yesterday and it started off pretty good... especially since I visited the States in september (Universal Studio's!!!) and saw the set used in the movie, where the boing has crashed in front of Tom Cruise's house... cool

but come on, the end? His son lives, and the aliens die just like that

If they did study humanity for so many years, why didn't they know we breath air?

sucky ending....

[picklemonkey]

Re: War of the Worlds

If they did study humanity for so many years, why didn't they know we breath air?

huh?

[el presidente Highsteppa]

Re: War of the Worlds

I watched this for a second time this past weekend. What struck me about this film is how much against type Tom Cruise is playing in this film, rejecting the underacheiving prodigy that he usually plays in films like Top Gun, Cocktail, Days of Thunder, A Few Good Men, etc., etc.

It's funny, because he's playing a pretty unlikable guy - he's unable to communicate with his kids, much less earn their respect, he seems to view taking care of his kids as being a chore and he's living the life of a guy stuck in a full on mid-life crisis (the engine being in the centre of the dining room kind of hints at that).

But the other thing that struck me is how faithful the film is to the H.G. Wells story (including the ending, which a lot of audiences rejected, but I admired it's faithfulness to its source), but managing to slip in some bits and peices from the 1950's classic, most notably in the shape of the body of the ships from the aliens. Cruise and Fanning aren't really so much characters so much as they are more reminders of what some people might do in the similar situation.

I've got my share of gripes with this film - on one hand, you have a film that does invoke some reminders of 9/11 - the Tripods and their foghorn like sound is still one of the creepiest, most unsettling scenes I've seen this year, but at the same time, Speilberg seems to be holding back, probably for fear of criticism of him mining our fears of 9/11 catastrophies for the sake of a quick buck. I felt when I first saw this, that I was on a cusp of panic that was similar to the opening 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, but each time I was sure that I was going to be pushed over the edge, it was like the film backed off from terrorizing me, which was really what I wanted out of the film.

I also think a big mistake was showing the actual aliens. It's too much of a "Speilberg moment" for my liking - a moment that I would describe as a bit too fantastic and has a bit of wonder in it. He's done this before - A.I. comes to mind, where he would have some pretty powerful, undeniably Kubrick moments and then punctuate it with something a bit out of place (think of the ending of A.I. and how tacked on that felt. There are moments like that littered throughout the film - the inclusion of Robin Williams' and Chris Rock's voice - I doubt that Kubrick would stoop to something like that).

I liked this overall, but wanted to like it more. I'm sure I said that before, but I've been thinking about this a bit more as I got a chance to re-examine this again.

[Balearic Boy Greg]

Re: War of the Worlds

Terrible. All CGI and no plot. At least the book delves into more philosophy and why the Aliens came. Here all we get is Tom Cruise getting pummelled by Aliens until in the end, out of nowhere they figure it out and win. I feel the ending was WAAAYY too rushed and the conclusion came seemingly in spite of the earthlings efforts. Even Ind. Day showed the process where they discussed Bio-Germ warfare tactics. And I hated Independence Day! This movie had potential, but flopped.

Greg

[evangelion]

Re: War of the Worlds

I finally got to see this movie, and I liked it. I'm a huge Spielberg fan and as much of a kook as Tom Cruise is off-camera, the guy is always good in the movies he acts in. The fact I liked the most about it was that Cruise was not the "hero." He did nothing to stop the alien invaders. It was like you were just getting to see the invasion unfold from him and his familie's perspective. Aside from the grenade scene he was just as fucked as anyone else. Seeing him be just as defenseless and desperate as all the rest of the people around him was a big departure from his past movies, and it worked very well, I thought.

Great movie...fuck the haters who just talk shit about "the big movies" because they are "the big movies"...and it didn't live up "their" expectations. It's a movie when it comes down to it, not a turning point in your life.

the Tripods and their foghorn like sound is still one of the creepiest, most unsettling scenes I've seen this year

I love that sound...it's so peaceful sounding...but then you hear it as they're liquifying people and throwing their guts everywhere. It takes on a whole different meaning then!!! Did you ever play Half-Life 2?? The walker things in that games are the ultimate tribute to War of the Worlds. As soon as you saw one of them you knew right were they came from.

[jorre]

Re: War of the Worlds

for those interested, here is the original sound fragment from War of the Worlds:

http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/waroftheworlds_1938-10-30.mp3

[palmer]

Re: War of the Worlds

Not a waste of time. Wouldn't go out of my way to see it either. I'm guessing the studio played a big role in this edit of the film. Feels like a lot was left out.