War of the Worlds

BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: An earth-shattering adventure that both "rivets and amazes" (Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune), War of the Worlds reunites superstar Tom Cruise and Academy-Award winning director Steven Spielberg for one of the most awe-inspiring cinematic experiences of all time! A contemporary retelling of HG Wells' classic, the sci-fi thriller reveals the extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family. Fleeing from an extraterrestrial army of killer Tripods that annihilate everything in their path, Ray Ferrier (Cruise) races to keep his family safe. War of the Worlds is an action-packed adventure that explodes with spectacular special effects!

FILM REVIEW: For any of you who were waiting for an updated, big budget, serious Hollywood alien invasion flick to come along, especially after being immensely disappointed with the sludge that was "Independence Day", you'll be gratified with "War of the Worlds", the retelling of the HG Wells classic. Director Steven Spielberg, notable for giving us more warm and fuzzy aliens in his films decides to go in the opposite direction, not just for himself, but with the aforementioned "Independence Day" by doing almost the exact opposite of what that film accomplished (or destroyed, depending on your point of view). The aliens are menacing, the scenes of destruction are actually terrifying, the characters are more deeply grounded in reality, and despite the storybook quality to the opening and closing scenes, this film delivers a solid story with compelling, realistic sequences that will amaze and terrify you.
The opening sequence where the tripods literally explode out of the ground and then start zapping everyone is one of the most terrifying sequences put to screen. Perhaps the idea that they were in the ground for a million years and none of us noticed stretches credibility a little but it doesn't really matter as it's so magnificently staged that you'll forget that point. Spielberg deliberately draws on the post 9/11 experience, showing a scene of destruction not too dissimiliar from the scenes of people fleeing from the rubble of the twin towers collapsing in New York after the terrorist attack. Another sequence later in the film where an alien tripod comes up out of the water destroying a ferry is quite thrilling and pounds home the constant threat that humans are out to be exterminated and there's no escape. And in perhaps one of the darkest scenes in a Spielberg film, we see someone get pinned to the ground by one of the tripods and have the blood sucked out of him.
One of the interesting themes running through this film is the idea that humans will actually turn on themselves in order to survive. It's decidedly pessimistic for a film like this, but also very realistic. A sequence where people are fighting over a car, with Tom Cruise and his family almost getting shot to keep the car, is disturbing. After they escape, we see the man who took the car get shot himself by the mob swamping the car. It's this kind of selfish craziness that can define the worst characteristics in humans.
The film is also concerned with the idea of a refugee situation occurring in a big Western society like America. There is definite attempt by Spielberg to showcase this, specifically in many scenes where we see homeless and disparate people walking across the landscape to flee the terror brought upon them.
It was a bold move of Spielberg to set a third of the film inside a man's basement but it actually provides a study in human reactions to a crisis of survival. Enter Tim Robbins who gives a harrowing performance as a man who is biding his time before he fights back against the invaders. There is an insane implausibility behind his thinking which comes to a head in a scene where Cruise has to deal with him in a morally questionable manner, but which leads to the survival of him and his family.
Tom Cruise and co. do an amicable job as the film's leads but overall, this isn't really a film where you're concentrating on the actors. They just have to convey fear and their reactions to the extraordinary things that are happening to them.
The only negative on this film is the opening and closing scenes. Although they are meant to tie in with the earlier George Pal film and are amply narrated by Morgan Freeman, they give the impression of a storybook which seems completely out of whack with the rest of the film. It also adds that Spielberg-touch of sentimentality which despite its very small dose just seems inappropriate.
Some may be put off by the anti-climactic ending but it's an ending it shares with the original novel and the original George Pal version of the film. It actually makes a whole lot of sense that nature would end up killing the aliens because we really wouldn't have the resources to do it ourselves.
This is a great film that finally delivers a serious alien invasion story.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: You'll notice when watching this film that there is extensive film grain running throughout the picture. This actually isn't a transfer problem but intended by the filmmakers. If this bothers you you might think there's a problem with your disc but the transfer itself cannot be faulted. The audio is absolutely spectacular; the opening sequence where the tripods come out of the ground is one to test your home theatre on. Overall, an excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: The extras on this disc are spread out among many extended featurettes, which together make up a nice behind-the-scenes collection of footage and interviews, if not technically speaking a documentary. We have an introduction by Steven Spielberg, a discussion on the original novel and film, a look at the previsualisation of the film, designing the aliens, and multiple featurettes on the actual production and post-production. As with all of Spielberg's DVDs, he doesn't provide an audio commentary but these featurettes more than make up for it. A great set.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.

FILM RATING: 8.5/10 -- EXTRAS RATING: 7.5/10 -- OVERALL DVD RATING: 8/10 

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net