War Of The Worlds Review

(this review is spoilery if you haven't yet seen the movie)
Don't you hate it when a movie starts out strong but falls apart in the second half? For the first hour or so of War of the Worlds I was totally captivated. A large-scale alien invasion was starting to take place on my planet, presented with astounding special effects and that Spielberg gumption I've come to expect over the years. When the first tripod emerges from beneath New York, the chaos that follows makes it impossible to look away from the screen. I was ready to claim War of the Worlds to be the best movie of the summer...until the plot started to take a downward spiral.

The movie begins strong but really starts to meander and tries its best to dodge the answers to questions you're forming in your mind as you're watching it. Questions like: Why did the aliens wait so long to invade us? If the pods were buried underground all around the world, how come no one ever came across one while building subway tunnels and foundations and whatnot? Why did they not research the fact that our atmosphere would kill them? Why does the teenage son have such a hard-on for war? And the biggest plot hole in the movie: How in the hell did the son get back to Boston? A lot of these things I'm willing to overlook because, hey, this is a Spielberg summer blockbuster and that means one should expect plausibility to take a backseat to excitement. Also, certain details like the manner at which the aliens meet their unexpected demise had to be consistent with the original story.

Unfortunately my issues go deeper than mere quibbles- I felt that the script really fell off after the first act. I've always been a fan of David Koepp but I can't help feeling that he just ran out of steam getting to the inevitable ending where the aliens are defeated by their own poor planning. There's one part where Tom and his daughter are hiding in a basement with a wacked-out Tim Robbins...an alien tentacle is searching around trying to find them in a scene very reminiscent of Jurassic Park. The only problem is, the scene goes on for far too long and isn't nearly as interesting or tense as the menacing raptors in the kitchen. We also get our first look at the alien creatures in this scene, which in my opinion was a little disappointing. They aren't exactly scary or threatening- in fact they don't look all that interesting at all. I'm not saying they need to resemble a Sigourney Weaver alien, but these things are carelessly exterminating our entire race- I don't think I'm supposed to like them. Or worse, be completely indifferent.

That raises another question that the script manages to avoid: Why are the aliens doing this? What are their motives for killing us and apparently spraying our blood over the landscape? Is it simply to make our planet look like their own? If that's the case, why are they doing it now after millions of years? Any explanation will do- it's science fiction after all! The problem is they don't offer any explanations. We see the main characters running, dodging and hiding from peril while the script does the same from proper narration.

At this point I must sound like I hated the film, which is not the case. There were some amazing action sequences and with Lord of the Rings aside, some of the most impressive special effects I've ever seen. The way the tripods interact with the environments and screaming hordes of people is often times brilliantly done. Technically, the movie most definitely holds its own. But then I have to go and expect a good script to accompany the effects.

War of the Worlds isn't a bad movie- I would recommend seeing it as there are a number of breathtaking scenes and at times the movie does plant the thought in your mind, "What would I do if this happened to me?" The biggest problem I have is that I'm left answering far too many of my own questions.

Torrey's Opinion:
5- Strongly Recommended
4- Recommended
3- A Mixed Bag
2- Sub-par
1- Don't Bother

Random related fact: While filming nearby, Tom Cruise along with a 20 member entourage including Steven Spielberg visited a Lexington, Virginia Dairy Queen. Cruise saw a jar on the counter with a photo of Ashley Flint and her story. Flint was in a go-kart accident a few months earlier, leaving her family with a mountain of hospital bills. Cruise put $5000 cash into the jar.