I've been thinking a lot about one thing. The aliens knew enough about the makeup of humans (or biology since the machine were buried pre-mankind) to design weapons that removed H2O (I'm assuming that's what the deathrays did) and to use blood to terraform the planet.

Knowing they knew that much about humans, it's almost impossible for me to think they didn't know about microorganisms. Knoepp made an error there with the design of the deathray and the terraforming.

Yeah, I thought that too. The aliens sure didn't do their homework . You'd think if they were studying us for that long they would have known something like that.

It all happened in the period of about two days. Only two nights passed...one at their mom's house, and the other at Tim Robbins's basement.

***WARNING*** This review contains minor spoilers

Each year, a film comes along that means something special to you. It's something you enjoy from beginning to end and essentially treasure, allowing it to become one of your all-time favorite films throughout time. In 2004, FINDING NEVERLAND was that film for me. It exemplified everything that I loved about movies by weaving a magical and captivating tale. This year, however, the film that fits this criteria is completely different. It shows what moviemaking can accomplish by utilizing special effects, a large budget and a fine cast to tell a surprisingly fantastic story of survival, horror and family. That film is WAR OF THE WORLDS.

From the previews, I thought it seemed like a great film. I love disaster films and Steven Spielberg, plus this film had a great premise and a fine cast. Advertising really sold the film to me and I was in the audience opening day. I was expecting to see a great summer movie, but I got much more than that. From the first frame to the last, I was completely involved in the characters and their struggles. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen from beginning to end.

Tom Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a working class and seemingly self-centered divorced father. He decides to help his estranged ex-wife (Miranda Otto) out one weekend by taking care of their two children, the 10-year old Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and teenager Robbie (Justin Chatwin). The kids barely know their father and Robbie especially holds some resentment towards him. But everything changes after 26 strikes of lightning go pummeling into the ground. Now, what started as a regular weekend of relaxation soon becomes one of unimaginable horror, when it is discovered that aliens are taking over the world. Ray soon realizes his mission. Protect his children at all costs and get them back to their mother. What ensues is a thrilling and suspenseful race for survival under the worst circumstances.

The main reason that the film works so well is because the characters are so genuinely likable. You really begin to feel for them and don't want any harm to come their way. This makes the film all the more suspenseful and horrifying when you see these lovable characters in danger. The reason that this occurs is because of the fantastic performances. Tom Cruise gives the performance of his career as Ray. He conveys a sense of emotion and caring in his role and gives a powerful and believable performance. In fact, seeing this film has made me like him more in real life for one reason or another. Dakota Fanning is also spectacular. After upstaging several of her more famous co-stars in previous films, she gives another extraordinary performance here as well. She is the real heart and soul of the movie, showing a real sense of terror and sending chills down the audience's spine with a single scream. Justin Chatwin gives a breakthrough performance as Robbie. He is extremely likable and you can understand the way his character feels. These three actors have great chemistry and really seem like the dysfunctional family that they are portraying. Miranda Otto does fine in a small but important role and Tim Robbins is convincingly creepy as a survivor they meet along the way.

The screenplay by David Koepp and Josh Friedman is excellent, giving the actors quite a lot to work with (a welcome surprise for a film of this genre). There is the appropriate amount of humor and emotion inserted to make the film flow at an excellent pace. Director Steven Spielberg outdoes himself by truly allowing the audience to enter the world that is on the screen. He also makes the aliens as menacing as possible so that one will actually feel terrified when they are revealed (another alien invasion tale - 2002's SIGNS - failed to accomplish this). He does an excellent job and should be remembered come awards time.

This might have been because I was so involved with the story, but I found this film to be as terrifying as any suspense-thriller. I was on the edge of my seat all the way through and felt like I was experiencing what the characters were going through. It's an extraordinary thrill that gave me a rush. It's an extremely intense film that I can honestly say scared me to death.

Even after repeat viewings, this film never ceases to amaze me. In fact, it seems to only make it better. One of the things that most are criticizing is the "happy" ending that Spielberg has become notorious for using. I went from finding the ending an average conclusion to an amazing movie to actually really liking it. It is emotionally satisfying and I was glad that none of the main characters met their demise. I also found it sweet how Robbie eventually forgave Ray at the end of the film. In a film that is so intense, its nice to have an ending where everything turns out well.

Overall, WAR OF THE WORLDS is the best film of 2005 so far and I doubt any other film will surpass it this year. It has already become one of my all-time favorite films and is truly an amazing experience. Emotional, intense and satisfying, it is a must see film event that no one should miss!

10/10 (A+)

Very good review,and i agree,its the best film of the year so far and it gets better with each viewing.Ive seen it 5 times and i love it even more!

I was reading a very old biography of H.G. Wells, and it turns out that with the aid of his damned time machine, he came forward 100+ years and stole the plotline for his novel War of the Worlds from the videogame Half Life 2...

Is there no originality anymore?

:swear:

The movie is just such a mix bag, there was some scenes of complete brilliance and then some scenes of just either boredom or stupidity, common Spielberg is it that hard to make an all around great alien movie? The movie at times showed that stupid blockbuster summer fare moments ( SPOILER!!! like Cruise blowing up the tripod ) and that just made me think, why the hell not just make the whole movie into that instead of take it so serious at time, hell sometimes the movie takes itself so serious that it's funnier then dramatic. Anyways, theres a bunch of small problems the movie has that have been said already and it is a flawed movie without a doubt, not sure how anyone can deny that, but at the same time like I said it has it's share of brilliant moments that really get you into the movie and at the end of the day make it worth your while, so I'd give it a solid B/B-, but I really never wanna see it again, that grade will most likely drop to a C if I see it again.

Thats totally wrong, the movie has it's share of dark moments and it aint no family movie, hell the most memorable scenes in the movie are the dark ones, thus the ending isnt needed to be all around happy, and anyways Robbie wasnt that much of a liked character, he was a stupid kid, actually the whole part where he left was stupid.

Just read the entire thread


I get that most were disappointed with the ending but why repeat it numerous times. I got you all the first time. You loved parts and hated parts. I for one loved most of the parts. Came out of the theater fully satisfied and loved the movie completely. Now I've read some of the faults you've found in the film and yeah now that I think about it I agree that there were some holes but still I cant just ignore that wonderful initial feeling I had when watching the film. I barely feel that way with a movie nowadays. I rarely wow at the effects and I admire the fact that the movie kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. I still give this movie an A.

What's your grade?

A 59% ( 49 )
B 23% ( 19 )
C 12% ( 10 )
D 2% ( 2 )
F 2% ( 2 )

49 people gave it an A but where are they. Don't be afraid to say you loved it just because most of those who posted were disappointed.

I know that when I really love a movie, I give it an A, even if I didn't give it an A. Maybe I gave it like a B+ or something. Normally if it's a movie I don't like, I'll give it my real grade.

War of the Worlds - A+

Somebody mentioned that every year a film comes out that is very special to you, well this is mine. Perfect film.

My condolences, to you and yours, Algren...

It drags on a bit, there are some uncharacteristically non-Spielbergian bouts of cliched material (the son returning, Cruise singing to his daughter, etc.), and Cruise's character, while intentionally passive, is never really that compelling. The action, though, is so thrilling and the tension so palpable that I can almost forgive the screenplay's missteps, including the ending, which I felt was well-handled but rushed.

The tripods, despite losing some of their effect later in the film, create the most staggering, creep-the-crap-out-of-you single visual I've seen theatrically since the alien invasion scenes in Signs.

B+

Excellent summer popcorn flick. Not usually the kind of movie Spielberg usually makes, and the effects aren't as well-made as his other movies. And yeah, Dakota Fanning is a little weird in the movie (singing, folding her arms), but overall, good performances by all the actors. Tripods were good, and I didn't see anything wrong with the ending.

A-

Awesomely AWESOME movie. One of the best films ive ever seen.



CONTINUED

Hmmm......visually quite incredible even at home and not in the theater. Spieilberg creates geniune suspense and terror, but unfortunately we don't care enough about the characters to root for them. I was really surprised how dark and gruesome this was and it only seems more so more than 24 hours after I watched it.

It's too bad the original 1953 version didn't have this one's effects. The story of the original is a little better but the effects are so outdated. Still, a lot of the scenes are similar like the one-eyed tentacle searching for survivors in the remains of a house.

I didn't feel the ending was anti-climatic since it's how the book ends which I read years ago. Plus I'd had about all I could endure. Even though I sound quite critical I'm grading it a B+, mainly because of the incredible visuals.

Watched it again.
Its still harrowing.

BJs Grade:

B+

The CGI in this film is crazy awesome, some of the best ever but other than that I wouyld say its a pretyy average film, dissapointing because I had this film in supper anticipation mode this summer

Watch it again on DVD.

Still Awesome.

A

i watched it Yesterday night and about 15 minutes ago today, My grade its still B+ ....its always boring when there are in the basement with Tim Robbins character

I watched it again and although it's a little better than lest time I watched it (mainly because it didn't seem like 2 hours but 2 minutes), but ID4 still kicks its ass.

Eh...I really was disappointed in this movie. Say, if it was directed by Roland Emmerich and starred Bruce Willis, I'd have loved it. But this was SPIELBERG AND CRUISE. I had been looking forward to this film for well over a year, and expected it to be one of the best sci-fi films of all-time. How could it fail? They should have stuck with the original idea and kept Cruise alone in this adventure except for select scenes. They also should have either added on to the ending in the book, or changed it altogether. I went in thinking they'd at least tweak the ending a TINY bit (it's weak in the novel as well) and somehow someone chose to stick with the exact same one, even after changing just about everything else in the novel. Lack of family for Cruise would have prevented
A. annoying Fanning
B. Stupid Jesus-son (rises from the goddamn dead)
C. Family issues that no one wants to pay attention to in a summer sci-fi action blockbuster exxxxxxxtravaganza
D. Lack of detail regarding the MAIN PLOT: ALIENS ARE FUCKING ATTACKING!!! (remember!?)

Ugh. I was so disappointed when I left the theater opening day. It could have been so much more. In my opinion, Spielberg got a little too cocky in '05, first rushing WOTW and then rushing Munich, and prevented both from becoming the classics they could have been if given the time, thought, and effort. Both ended up falling flat on their faces IMO. WOTW could have hit 300 million easily, and Munich could have hit 75 million and been a serious Oscar contender.

I'd say you got this movie a bit wrong. Spielberg never wanted it to be a "sci-fi action blockbuster exxxxxxxtravaganza". That's what ID4 is and that's what we love ID4 for.

This movie is not predominantly about "aliens blowing stuff up", it's about telling the story of an invasion through the eyes of a small family, thus not showing most things.

The "sci fi exxxxtravaganza" was sarcasm. I know what this movie was meant to be, and I know why the family was included. But it didn't work. So, they could have ditched the family idea and gone in another direction, still avoiding becoming a mindless blockbuster. Or, they could have KEPT the family idea, but at least given a BIT more focus to the attack, its roots, and its reason for ending. It may not have fit in with the idea of showing it through the eyes of one family, but it provides a little bit more satisfaction for the audience. It almost felt like the makers just didn't want to have to go through the process of explaining everything (Not true, I know, but this is how it comes off)

It just could have been much better...

Spielberg would have never made it a "mindless blockbuster". I mean why even should he have? There was no topping to ID4 in terms of a fun alien invasion blockbuster. Getting "serious" was the only new way to go.