War of the Worlds
The latest adaptation of H.G. Wells' 1898 novel remains faithful to the original story -- opening with the familiar explanation about man's complacency (in a voice-over by Morgan Freeman) -- but this War of the Worlds is an unsettling and dark film, both visually and emotionally.
Tom Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, still bitter over his divorce and living in a run-down house beneath a freeway. But without a balding pate and a bulging paunch, it is hard to accept the attractive superstar as a lowbred dock worker. He is father to the most undisciplined, disrespectful and stupid children in cinematic history, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin). Both characters are extremely unlikeable: Fanning spends more time screaming than Fay Wray in King Kong, while the sullen Chatwin spends every second of his role arguing.
While the brief prologue accentuates the humdrum existence of the average American, it quickly advances to the action. The global Holocaust begins with "lightning" that knocks out all power and causes "tremors" beneath the earth, but it takes the populace a little too long to realize that the enormous tripods rising from the ground are anything but friendly.
Josh Friedman's script parlays our fear of the unknown by hiding the identity of the enemy and delaying an explanation of their technology for most of the film. Though the story is similar in plot development to Independence Day, it is without the latter's humour, wit or even optimism. And it's a stretch of the imagination to see the Ferriers miraculously escape from the marauding aliens several times in a row.
Director Steven Spielberg has tried to create the ultimate invasion film. The special effects are stunning, and the scenes of mass hysteria and refugees with nowhere to go are truly tragic.
[SPOILER ALERT -- highlight the following section to read]
But since he became a father in real-life, Spielberg has been unable to bring himself to kill a parent or child on screen, so it comes as no surprise that the entire Ferrier family survives. And, at a time when the U.S. has been waging a losing battle with foes it does not understand, it is inevitable that the land of the free triumphs in the end.
[END OF SPOILER ALERT]
War of the Worlds is heart-racing from start to finish, and the horrifying (often gruesome) imagery will linger in your mind. But it contains none of the fantasy and adventure that made Spielberg famous. After his illustrious career, one wonders why he would create such a cynical and unsentimental work. Rating: 3 out of 10.