Posted on 06/17/2005 6:34:03 PM PDT by Phsstpok
Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Holy crap. I hope this is exactly how I feel after the film, because this review got me all wound up:
Hi, Harry.
The reason I'm writing you is that I saw War of the Worlds last Wednesday. It was a special screening and I was a guest.
Just a few words about the movie. Being the huge Spielberg fan I am, I really believe that, since that masterpiece called A.I., he's been proving that he is in one of the best periods of his career: Minority Report kicked ass, Catch Me If You Can was just wonderful and The Terminal is one of his most underrated movies.
War of the Worlds is not less good than all those movies.
The action sets in 12 minutes into the movie and, from that point on, it never stops. But it's NOT the typical blockbuster movie like, let's say, Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow or Crap Helsing. We never see the destruction of any major city or landmarks: everything we see is through Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning or Justin Chatwin's eyes. There's no hero that saves the day. And the real terror doesn't come from those amazing tripods (or the aliens inside them: yes, we see them at some point!): it comes from the humans. There's an incredible lynching scene that left me speechless. And there's another scene where one character is killed that goes beyond anything we've seen in a Summer movie (while watching it I was thinking: He's not gonna do it, Spielberg, won't do it... And he does it).
Beyond all that, the movie has a few shots that will stay with me forever: Dakota Fanning looking at a river covered with tens of bodies, so many we don't see the water; Cruise and Tim Robbins' faces covered with blood that falls from the skies; a train in flames crossing in front of a bunch of survivors; the facade of a church separating from the rest of it and threatening people around it; the remains of a plane crash... Yes, War of the Worlds has lots of action: it's like Jurassic Park, without all the bad dialogue; and amazing set-pieces: the first attack in New Jersey, another attack to a ferry that recalls Titanic, the sequence in the basement, that could be described as Jurassic Park meets Signs... But it's mostly the story of a father willing to do anything, and by anything I really mean ANYTHING, to save the lives of those he cares about. I'm afraid the Summer audience will be kind of disappointed, because it's more than just a Summer blockbuster. But I think we should thank Spielberg for reinventing the Summer blockbuster. Again.
Call me SpongeMan, if you post this.
I know it’s just a taste. But man... what a taste it is. Is it June 29th yet?
"Moriarty" out.
Hey folks, Harry here -- SpongeMan and I know each other very well. He's not only not a plant, but an incredibly cool film loving fiend. I once got to spend about 10 days watching the greatest genre films in the world at a festival I was a jury member at and can say we talked quite a bit about what he loved and didn't in the American Genre scene. He's far more particular than me, tending to shy away from most of the mainstream blow it all up films. Whereas - I tend to grock big splosions! He has zero ties to the film industry in terms of Hollywood, so say what you may... but this is most definitely not a plant. And if you get the name he calls himself - you're cooler than 99% of the world.
We never see the destruction of any major city or landmarks... There's no hero that saves the day. And the real terror doesn't come from those amazing tripods (or the aliens inside them: yes, we see them at some point!): it comes from the humans. There's an incredible lynching scene that left me speechless.
I'm afraid I know where this may be heading.
Straight to the MSM evening news and Al Jazeera (as if there wer a differenec).
"War of the Worlds is not less good..."
That sentence inspires confidence.
English as a second language....
He's disturbed.
that masterpiece called A.I.,
He's REALLY disturbed.
Being the huge Spielberg fan I am,
He's disturbed.
that masterpiece called A.I.,
He's REALLY disturbed.
Spielbergian SciFi always seemed too fantastically emotive for my taste. Although hope springs eternal A.I. made me start to question my motives for further consumption of any Spielbergian SciFi.
Minority Report kicked ass
This one kicked my ass and made me to quit Spielbergian-Cruisean SciFi cold turkey, which eliminates War of the Worlds right out of the chute, for me. Dissing Robbins is just icing on the cake, from my perspective. More power to others who happen to like WotW.
On a positive note,IMHO, Spielberg does an exceptional of portraying Nazis in film: Indiana Jones, Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan.
It sounds more like the hypothetical reactions of people hearing the Orson Welles broadcast rather than the story itself.
The family and I just got back from seeing it. It was an EXCELLENT film, 5 stars (in spite of the 1 instance of "Hollywood schlock", you will recognize it when you see it). Anyway it was very faithful to the overall theme of the book. Yes it is seen from Ray and his families limited perspective but the way I looked at it, if such a thing were to take place, in all honesty, that is the perspective that all of us "regular folks" would see the action from.
As for Cruise’s character, some people are complaining because he is not in "superhero mode". Give me a break, the alien ships are a hundred feet tall, sport an impenetrable shield and they spray death with cool calculating precision. Given this, it is unlikely that any average citizen could do anything but run, hide and try to protect the shreds of the family they have left.
This isn't sweet cute and cuddly ET, neither is it a benign, esoteric "Close Encounter of the 3rd Kind; the aliens are here for one purpose and one purpose only: "EXTERMINATE!" and there is no magic "Dr. Who" with a sonic screwdriver.
I think this is the best alien attacks the earth movie ever made. If you are looking for a suspenseful, pure roller coaster ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat then go see "War of the Worlds".
One more thing, the soldiers are professional from begining to end and doing everything they can to stop the bad guys and the special effects were exceptional, seamless, and genuinely frightening. wee this film on the largest screen with the best sound that you can.
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