Movie Review: War of the Worlds (4 of 5)

War of the Worlds was incredible. I know, I know, alien invasion movies are so old and stupid, why bother seeing another one, right? Wrong. For one thing, this isn't your typical alien invasion story, the chief difference being that humans don't figure out how to stop the aliens. For another thing, most alien invasion movies are low-budget, bad, cheesy, and just trying to entertain you with violence, and this is none of the above. But more importantly, this story was based on an 1898 novel by H. G. Wells---which may have been the first alien invasion story of all time. It's all the other stories that are the copycats and reruns. This is original.

I have both read the book and seen the 50's version of the movie, but, suprisingly enough, I have little to complain about the transformation. It was modernized yet again, but it was done very well. (And this time the aliens weren't accompanied by radioactive hums and obviously fake heat blasts) A lot was changed, obviously, but the fundamental plot remained the same. And some of the changes actually made things better. For example, they added two children to the main character. Instead of just trying to survive on his own, he has two kids to worry about---an accurately portrayed rebellious teenager and a claustrophobic vulnerable little girl (skillfully played by the ubiquitous Dakota Fanning). This adds to the tension.

I do have a few nitpicky problems. The movie didn't explain enough. They don't mention that the sticky red patterns are supposed to be Martian ferns (my girlfriend eerily thought it must be human blood). The story is told wholly from Cruise's perspective, so you don't know what the government's trying to do to stop these things (contrary to the 50's version), although you get a few glimpses of tanks scrolling by. I thought they could have done a better job explaining how the aliens were defeated. The narration at the beginning and the end was informative, and I'm glad they left the word "God" in there, but it was random, because that was the only place there was any narration. And... well, I don't want to give anything away, but when a character survives something, it has to be obvious how they didn't die, or at least implied that there was a possible way they could have survived, or at the very least explained. Otherwise it's not believable.

But overall, War of the Worlds was a very good movie. The plot sequence and unfolding of events was smooth and carefully done. Spielberg intended the aliens to be a modern symbol of terrorists (which I think is a mistaken analogy), but the movie is better at exploring questions of how far one must go to survive, even if it means theft or murder, and the importance of obeying your parents even if you don't know exactly why at that exact moment (and the ignorance of trying to do your own thing). The special effects were first-rate, but a different first-rate than Star Wars. Star Wars was cool because made-up ships are flying around and exploding. War of the Worlds is cool because streets are cracking and airplaines are crashing and buildings are exploding---these things really exist, but it looks real, like it's actually happening. And there is plenty of tension and suspense---it's pretty scary and creepy.

War of the Worlds is much better than the cliche alien invasion movie. It's very well done, and it's based on an original story, and yet it's a rare instance in which the movie is as at least as good as the book. Read the book, watch the 50's version, and see the new one---they're all worth it.

Edmond the Hun