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rich_jackoI saw War of the Worlds last night and figured some sort of review was in order, because it wasn't exactly the film I was expecting. (As opposed to Mr & Mrs Smith, which I saw at the weekend, and which was EXACTLY the film I was expecting!)
I figured WOTW would basically be 'ID5' - lots of big guns and explosions, aliens kicking mankind's ass, mankind kicking alien ass back. And, judging from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pharrap and bonedancer's reactions, that's what they were expecting too. But, whilst they didn't seem to rate the film that we got in the end desperately highly, I rather liked it.
Tom Cruise plays Just This Guy. Just This Guy is a bit of a loser. We can tell he's a bit of a loser because he's awkward around his son and daughter, forgets to buy fresh milk, and his house is only about twice the size of yours or mine. (By contrast, his ex-wife and her hubbie get hugs from the kids all the time and live in a vast sprawling suburban mansion with its own gym in the basement).
Pretty soon, aliens start invading, and Just This Guy has to try to survive and somehow get his children back home to his ex. Yep, you've guessed it. In true Spielberg tradition, this is another one of those films where saving the world is a minor issue compared with Learning To Be A Good Dad.
Apparently deciding that blowing up major landmarks is soooo 1990s, Spielberg opts for a more low-key approach. The film eschews massive interplanetary conflict in favour of following what happens to one disfunctional family when the shit hits the fan. And the surprising thing is, it really works.
Spielberg refuses to bow to the B-movie norm. Just This Guy doesn't suddenly become a military marvel, smacking down aliens by the dozen. He does what any of us would do - He panics, yells at the kids and generally runs away without any plan in mind. The kids themselves don't become fearless mini-heroes, saving the day. Instead, Dakota Fanning has a nervous breakdown and turns into a wimpering wreck. And mankind doesn't all pull together to fight off the Alien Menace. They start shooting one another in an attempt to grab the last working car out of town.
It's this sense of realism that gives the film it's edge. And rather than sitting with our omnipresent audience view, watching cities burn, we only catch garbled snatches of news reports. We only know what Just This Guy knows. We get some vague idea that most of the world is in ruins (except for Boston, Massachusetts, for some reason), but we really don't have a clue what's going on 'out there'.
The result of all this is absolutely freaking terrifying. Hell, I had nightmares, but then, I have been known to over-react to these sort of things. A few recent episodes of Doctor Who gave me nightmares as well :o)
Speaking of the good Doctor, there's a scene in WOTW where Tim Robbins says he's not going to lie there and be exterminated. My brain couldn't help itself. You know what I thought should have come bursting through the ceiling, don't you? Certainly not the slightly cuter second cousins of the ID4 Greys, that's for sure. But then, <SPOILER>Daleks would never have died from a brief touch of the sniffles, would they? I was quite surprised Spielberg kept that ending in this day and age.</SPOILER>
All in all, perhaps not as cool as an invasion of Dalek-piloted Tripods would have been, but it was bloody scary nonetheless. If that was Spielberg doing a 12A, I'd hate to see him go for an 18 horror flick. I found myself desperately wanting a sofa to hide behind. Kudos to the studio for keeping the look of the Giant Alien Tripods and the aliens themselves out of the trailer, so that they were a genuine surprise.
Only occasionally did bouts of silliness spoil the atmosphere - There are a few plot holes you could march an entire army of Giant Alien Tripods through. Just This Guy has an amazing ability to outrun explosions, and be the only guy not to get hit by Alien Death Rays (as the entire rest of the crowd he's in gets zapped). One ridiculously drawn-out scene is a direct lift of "Velociraptors in the kitchen". Only this time the monster is even more hopeless in looking in every direction apart from at our heroes, who are six inches away from it. And when Dakota Fanning stands before a Giant Alien Tripod, having seen Taken (aka "Yoinked"), I was fully expecting her to disintegrate it using her Wacky Alien Mental Powers. But she didn't, and thankfully we were spared her doing the dreaded voice-over as well.
Four stars, I'd say, and thoroughly recommended. Just don't walk home alone afterwards. Especially if it's stormy weather.
I figured WOTW would basically be 'ID5' - lots of big guns and explosions, aliens kicking mankind's ass, mankind kicking alien ass back. And, judging from
pharrap and bonedancer's reactions, that's what they were expecting too. But, whilst they didn't seem to rate the film that we got in the end desperately highly, I rather liked it.Tom Cruise plays Just This Guy. Just This Guy is a bit of a loser. We can tell he's a bit of a loser because he's awkward around his son and daughter, forgets to buy fresh milk, and his house is only about twice the size of yours or mine. (By contrast, his ex-wife and her hubbie get hugs from the kids all the time and live in a vast sprawling suburban mansion with its own gym in the basement).
Pretty soon, aliens start invading, and Just This Guy has to try to survive and somehow get his children back home to his ex. Yep, you've guessed it. In true Spielberg tradition, this is another one of those films where saving the world is a minor issue compared with Learning To Be A Good Dad.
Apparently deciding that blowing up major landmarks is soooo 1990s, Spielberg opts for a more low-key approach. The film eschews massive interplanetary conflict in favour of following what happens to one disfunctional family when the shit hits the fan. And the surprising thing is, it really works.
Spielberg refuses to bow to the B-movie norm. Just This Guy doesn't suddenly become a military marvel, smacking down aliens by the dozen. He does what any of us would do - He panics, yells at the kids and generally runs away without any plan in mind. The kids themselves don't become fearless mini-heroes, saving the day. Instead, Dakota Fanning has a nervous breakdown and turns into a wimpering wreck. And mankind doesn't all pull together to fight off the Alien Menace. They start shooting one another in an attempt to grab the last working car out of town.
It's this sense of realism that gives the film it's edge. And rather than sitting with our omnipresent audience view, watching cities burn, we only catch garbled snatches of news reports. We only know what Just This Guy knows. We get some vague idea that most of the world is in ruins (except for Boston, Massachusetts, for some reason), but we really don't have a clue what's going on 'out there'.
The result of all this is absolutely freaking terrifying. Hell, I had nightmares, but then, I have been known to over-react to these sort of things. A few recent episodes of Doctor Who gave me nightmares as well :o)
Speaking of the good Doctor, there's a scene in WOTW where Tim Robbins says he's not going to lie there and be exterminated. My brain couldn't help itself. You know what I thought should have come bursting through the ceiling, don't you? Certainly not the slightly cuter second cousins of the ID4 Greys, that's for sure. But then, <SPOILER>Daleks would never have died from a brief touch of the sniffles, would they? I was quite surprised Spielberg kept that ending in this day and age.</SPOILER>
All in all, perhaps not as cool as an invasion of Dalek-piloted Tripods would have been, but it was bloody scary nonetheless. If that was Spielberg doing a 12A, I'd hate to see him go for an 18 horror flick. I found myself desperately wanting a sofa to hide behind. Kudos to the studio for keeping the look of the Giant Alien Tripods and the aliens themselves out of the trailer, so that they were a genuine surprise.
Only occasionally did bouts of silliness spoil the atmosphere - There are a few plot holes you could march an entire army of Giant Alien Tripods through. Just This Guy has an amazing ability to outrun explosions, and be the only guy not to get hit by Alien Death Rays (as the entire rest of the crowd he's in gets zapped). One ridiculously drawn-out scene is a direct lift of "Velociraptors in the kitchen". Only this time the monster is even more hopeless in looking in every direction apart from at our heroes, who are six inches away from it. And when Dakota Fanning stands before a Giant Alien Tripod, having seen Taken (aka "Yoinked"), I was fully expecting her to disintegrate it using her Wacky Alien Mental Powers. But she didn't, and thankfully we were spared her doing the dreaded voice-over as well.
Four stars, I'd say, and thoroughly recommended. Just don't walk home alone afterwards. Especially if it's stormy weather.
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-06 02:54 pm (UTC)I think this was a good updating of the book (which I'm far too familiar with) and managed to keep the mood nicely, with people panicking themselves into insanity, noone knowing what's going on and everyone just trying to survive. Especially the intrepid main character, who is actually more focused in the film than his literary counterpart, with his kids to look after.
Damn fine effects too, especially the fighting machine coming through the huge fire wall in the scene with the army. Nice. I haven't been so excited by a special effect since ID4!
Must go again, just for this bit! :)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-06 02:58 pm (UTC)And where was the Thunder Child? They could have put that in, just a little name drop would have been nice, mumble mutter....
Still very enjoyable though :D