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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | ||
What do you think of this story? Bad Links? | War of the Worlds-Things that go boom in the night**** The H. G. Wells science-fiction classic War Of The Worlds returns to the big screen with terrifying authenticity. Unlike the 50s version (with Gene Barry, of all people, in the lead), this high-tech Tom Cruise version takes no prisoners. Well, maybe a few for a light snack later on. Stephen Spielberg pulls out all the stops as he sets out to prove that E.T. lived in a different galaxy altogether. The mass destruction and carnage is basically what takes up the nearly two hours of screen time and its brutal! Although not completely faithful to the book, the attack from the soulless space creatures is enough to give grown-ups bad dreams. What begins as an innocent weekend with the kids, turns into all-out survival. Here is where the drama takes hold as every social norm is tossed out the window in a mad dash for survival. Theres not much fun in running for ones life, unless, of course, you happen to be sitting in a darkened theatre. The bemused awe of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, gives way to a landscape of bloodshed and horror. At one point I had to ask myself how actors could work in such nightmarish settings. Then I realized that there was probably a Scientology tent not 50 feet away. The movie delivers the thrills, but it must be noted that this whole aliens attacking thing is a bit of a dinosaur. Not only is Wells story familiar to most earthlings, but there have been other forays into alien territory of mass destruction. Independence Day, Mars Attacks!, Men In Black, and Starship Troopers are but a few recent reminders that we are not alone. Be that as it may, there is enough fresh meat here to satisfy the appetite of most any sci-fi geek. The movie wimps out at the end as Cruises family is reunited in the remains of Boston. Alls well that ends well, even though Earth is pretty much in ruins. Its easy to ponder what other paths this film might have taken had there been different characters involved. The character development is fairly sparse, and the characters themselves are not that likable. They dont really like each other that much, so their story seems to be how an alien invasion brought them all closer together. This family-esque take on global catastrophe is what made The Day After Tomorrow, grind to a screeching halt. It never really gets in the way here as it allows some of the more poignant scenes to play for maximum effect. It is only in the final moments when the whole nightmare is suddenly over that it feels like a rush job. Its like Spielberg is saying, So Tom Cruise and his two estranged kids endure one horrible disaster after the next and see things that no sane man or child should ever have to see until finally the aliens all die and they find their way home. The end. Someone should have said, Great Steve, but how about a little more human interaction? I suppose now Im just nit-picking. After all, this is mostly meant to scare the pants off of you., and in that sense, its a complete success. | |
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