At first glance, I shrugged off the coming of Paramount's WAR OF THE WORLDS movie. I figured it was just going to be another sci-fi disaster flick like 20th Century Fox's INDEPENDENCE DAY. As the marketing started gaining momentum, it was as I feared, but a little bit more. From the full trailer, it seemed like it'd be more of a drama than a sci-fi story. As I realized that, knowing Steven Spielberg was behind the telling of this dramatic story, I became more intrigued.
For those who don't know, WAR OF THE WORLDS is a story of the invasion of Earth by aliens, written back in the 19th century by the science fiction novelist H.G. Wells. Many of his novels and stories have been made and remade into movies such as THE TIME MACHINE, THE INVISIBLE MAN, ISLAND OF DR.MOREAU and of course, WAR OF THE WORLDS. This year's version is actually the 3rd incarnation of his WAR OF THE WORLDS novel (including little known TV series).
Now usually in blockbuster movies big Hollywood names are cast for marketing reasons. In the case of WAR OF THE WORLDS, the cast was chosen for their skill and talent. In the movie, Tom Cruise plays Ray, a divorced dad from New Jersey with two kids (played by Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin). Now, I haven't seen all of Tom Cruise's movies in the past, so I'm not used to seeing him in dramatic parts. While it wasn't award winning acting, Tom manages to make ya feel for this character as they're trying to survive. Though Miranda Otto plays Ray's ex-wife, she unfortunately isn't seen much in the film. The majority of the film is Tom, Dakota and Justin, as well as mobs of people trying to escape. With Dakota, again I haven't really seen her in leading parts (aside from CAT IN THE HAT, which I'm not going to hold against her). Dakota play a scared but decently smart girl for her age, trying to survive. I didn't feel a big strong father-daughter connection, but both Tom and Dakota do a good job. Tim Robbins also has a supporting role as a survivor in a farmhouse basement which is played with the little bit of "crazy" Tim is known for doing.
Being that the movie is directed by the Oscar award winning Steven Spielberg, I'd be drawn and quartered if I didn't talk about the movie's director. First off, if you don't include ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001), this is first space alien in over 20 years. Although, instead of friendly aliens who have huge hearts and eat candy, this film's aliens would rather take you out like trash and juice you like an orange. The visuals of the film are all what you've come to expect from Spielberg. While the designs of the aliens and their technology are similar to the 1953 version, Spielberg manages to give them an update without losing some of their classic characteristics. One particularly good series of shots, non-alien related, when Ray and his kids are driving thru all the stopped traffic. In what I can only guess is a series of shots tied together using digital effects, the camera takes various positions around the car that would normally be impossible without cutting. When you see the scene you'll know what I mean.
As an adaption from a novel, it's almost obvious not everything that was in H.G. Wells' book was able to be explained or put into this movie. If it had, we would most likely be watching a trilogy of WAR OF THE WORLDS movies. Readers of the book will understand and accept the ending, but some audiences (the kind that keep Celebrity BlackJack on the air) may think the movie ends weak. For me, I see it this way. It's a classic story written at the turn of the century. When WAR OF THE WORLDS was being written, the movie industry was barely 5 years old and were silent. The movie ends how it was written in the book. "Payoff" or not, it was how H.G. Wells wrote the story to end.
Overall, I liked the movie. The acting, direction, and visual effects all kept me immersed and enthralled. While its not the best film of the year, it's a summer blockbuster that lived up to its marketing.