Posted on 06/28/2005 10:32:17 AM PDT by Cool Chick
"War of the Worlds" Spielberg-esque Message: Don't Fight Terror
By Debbie Schlussel
I'm violating Steven Spielberg's review policy for "War of the Worlds" and telling you what I think ahead of tomorrow's scheduled release date. I saw the movie at a press screening, last night, and was disturbed by the message: Don't fight terror, and everything will work out. (Security was literally tighter than that for going to the White House to meet the President. No purses allowed. Three wandings by security.)
It's bad enough that Steven Spielberg is adding "balance" and factual inaccuracy to the story of the Israeli Mossad's efforts to assassinate terrorists who killed Israeli Olympic athletes--in his upcoming film, "Vengeance" (I've detailed that here). It's bad enough that his message in "Vengeance" is that fighting terrorists and killing them is bad and doesn't work. But his similar message in "War of the Worlds" is arguably worse--because the movie, with fantastic special effects, is likely to be one of his bigger hits.
Spielberg said "War of the Worlds" is a parallel for 9/11 and serves as a "prism" through which to view 9/11, the War on Terror, and our presence in Iraq. The movie makes that very clear. People running from exploding and falling buildings, walls and kiosks covered with "missing" signs and pictures for those looking for lost relatives, people giving blood -- these are all 9/11 references.
But the message is: Don't fight terrorism. It will miraculously go away if you leave it alone and it breaths our air and culture. Puh-leeze. I'm sure Roger Ebert will just love it.
(Excerpt) Read more at debbieschlussel.com ...
Hate to say this, but it's just being true to the book in this case.
What an insipid statement. One can only conclude that he never read the book by H. G. Wells.
I do believe, though, that there was some thanks in the book to someone named... Gad? Ged?
Oh yeah... God.
My thought exactly. As Wells had it, we're useless against Them -- but Mother Nature isn't.
He was a splendidly imaginative writer.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Is there anything in the book about insurgencies making it so that occupation will never work? That's a quote from the movie, according to Schlussel. Read her whole column. Very interesting.
That's pretty much how Hitler was defeated, right? No need to actually read a history book or view the History Channel. Spielberg has the answers regarding human nature. Or at least some nice production values. And it is nice to be nice.
There is mention of humans going underground and fighting with whatever means they have, including a guerilla-style warfare, If I recall correctly.
For a significant part of the movie, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his daughter are holed up in an old basement with Ogilvy (Tim Robbins). Robbins' character wants to fight the outer-space invaders or at least die trying. Ray doesn't want to. He just wants to be silent and wait it out. Because he and Ogilvy are at odds over the strategy to fight the alien terrorists, Ray murders Ogilvy. And magically, the invaders eventually die and go away at the end of the film because, as narrator Morgan Freeman says, they could not handle the bad things in our air, our environment, our culture. Our "spirit" won out over them.
Barf.`
I will have to see the movie myself, but her description makes it sound like that is not the case in this movie, that there is no underground warfare because Cruise kills the Robbins character who wants to do that.
I believe the original premise of the book was that no matter how powerful we think we are, there's always going to be someone bigger. His ultimate irony was that the bigger, stronger, smarter enemy was brought down by the smallest among us.
Anyone see Lord of the Rings?
Yep. Methinks the reviewer doth protest too much.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
As I said, it's been a while since I read the book so I cannot say with any certainty how accurate that is. Much as I hate to admit it, I will probably go to see just so I can make my own assessment.
Great, sounds like another hollywood blockbuster film I won`t/don`t want to see. One day maybe they will get me back, but if they keep pumping out these horrid , agenda laden films, I will keep my money and stay away.
Sadly, there are number of people out there who call themselves Americans who believe that we should take whatever comes without complaining or fighting back, simply because "we brought it on ourselves, and this is our payback."
So what they are saying is if we kill Tim Robbins the aliens will all die. I can live with that.
But the last 20-30 minutes were a disaster. I'm assuming this is the part that Debbie is talking about.
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