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Dan Owen reviews
- Cert:
- Running time: 116 minutes
- Year: 2005
- Released: 1st July 2005
- Widescreen Ratio: 1.85:1
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Director:
- Steven Spielberg
(Jaws, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, E.T, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, AI – Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal)
Producers:
- Kathleen Kennedy, Paula Wagner & Colin Wilson
Screenplay:
- Josh Friedman & David Koepp
(based on the novel by H.G. Wells)
Cinematographer:
- Janusz Kaminski
Music:
- John Williams
Cast:
- Ray Ferrier: Tom Cruise
Rachel: Dakota Fanning
Robbie: Justin Chatwin
Harlan Ogilvy: Tim Robbins
Vincent: Rick Gonzalez
Julio: Yul Vazquez
Director Steven Spielberg’s previous foray into extra-terrestrialsgave us the awe-inspiring Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and the emotionallychargedE.T.Now, Spielberg completes his unofficial alien trilogy with analtogether nastier remake of H.G Wells’s seminal novel The War Of TheWorlds.
Transplanting the book’s 19th-Century London setting to 21st-CenturyAmerica, Tom Cruise plays dockyard worker Ray Ferrier, whose disrespectfulchildren from a previous marriage – Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin) -are left in his care over the weekend. Little does Ray realise that theplanet is about to be invaded by huge alien “tripods” that proceed toexterminate everything in their path, and test his paternal skills to theirlimit.
As expected, War Of The Worlds is a fantastically well-made piece offilmmaking from Spielberg, who quite simply is the best visual storytellerworking in movies today. The film opens with a beautiful narration by MorganFreeman that sets the tone, and then effortlessly becomes a family dramathat sets up the dysfunctional Ferrier family with light comedy. By the timeyou’ve settled into this personal groove, Spielberg shakes the ground(literally) and the invasion begins. It’s an awesome spectacle to behold.
The key ingredient to this 2005 remake is the emphasis on reality, neatlyfiltered through 9/11 paranoia. Unlike 1996’sIndependence Day,the movietakes itself seriously throughout and presents the characters withsituations everyone can imagine happening. Similar films have taken greatpleasure recently in destroying familiar American landmarks, but they alllack the emotional reality of WOTW’s opening attack by a Tripod – simplymarching down a street and zapping fleeing people into ash. That sequenceis, quite simply, a stunning moment of disaster cinema. Likewise, a tensesequence aboard a departing ship as a Tripod emerges from the sea to upturnthe vessel is beautifully done.
Cruise is his usual charismatic self and actually quite believable as thedown-at-heel father of two thrown into such a nightmarish situation. Onesequence with a mirror, where Cruise realises his ash-covered body isactually the remnants of slaughtered people, is particularly chilling. Hismachinations over how to protect his children and survive this incrediblescenario is also very well played.
Dakota Fanning is fabulous as Rachel, but for anyone following her workrecently (Man On Fire, Hide & Seek) will already know she’s perhaps the bestchild actor currently working – and will undoubtedly be collecting AcademyAwards in the next ten years.
Tim Robbins plays a crackpot basement-dweller in the latter third of themovie, doing well with such a clichéd character, but his appearance alsosignals the unfortunate downturn in quality.
Ultimately, War Of The Worlds is inconsistent – with the final 20 minutesleading to disappointment. The build up to the first attack is masterful,and every action sequence similarly enthralling, but when Act IIItransplants the explosive terror to the quiet basement of shotgun-totingloner Ogilvy, the film begins to limp where once it sprinted. The finale,while still in keeping with the book’s infamous “solution”, also leads to apremature saccharine ending that jars with the preceding grim tone.
However, there’s too much to enjoy for War Of The Worlds to be considered afailure. No other alien invasion movie has been told so expertly and fromthe perspective of real people. A sequence with the US army retaliatingagainst the invaders eschews conventional big-budget action grandstandingand instead paints a more realistic display of audio carnage and unseenterror lurking over the brow of a hill…
In summation, 2005’s War Of The Worlds is a fantastic piece of popcornentertainment with a pleasing sense of reality woven into its fabric. Thereare moments of brilliance sprinkled throughout, although they all hang on afairly mundane storyline that only works thanks to some fine acting andsuperb visuals.
The only disappointments lie in the latter third of the movie, where itwould have been much braver of Spielberg to have concluded on a moredownbeat tone. However, even with its obvious flaws and trite “HollywoodEnding”, War Of The Worlds is still a masterful display from a directorstill at the top of his game after 30 years…
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.