My WAR OF THE WORLDS review
IT’S CRAP! I’ll be talking about it on the next show, so don’t waste your time going to see it. Spielberg’s fallen into the same trap he did with AI and MINORITY REPORT - first two-thirds of the film is great, the last third SUCKS ASS.
July 8th, 2005 at 4:56 pm
You really should tell people what you think about these films if your going to be a film reviewer.
Molyl
July 8th, 2005 at 7:30 pm
You obviously didn’t see it with the guys from Cool Shite. They didn’t call it crap. Not great either but not crap.
July 11th, 2005 at 12:39 pm
Bah Humbug! The movie was very well done. One of the best films I’ve seen this year.
I thoroughly enjoyed Speilberg’s version of the tripods (including their booming noises), his powerful images of the helplessness of the situation, the great juxtaposition of Cruise’s anti-hero character and relationship with his kids.
A great fantasy escape.
July 11th, 2005 at 1:09 pm
Shane - you need to get out more! Go see a truly great film, like “THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON”, “SIN CITY” or “BATMAN BEGINS” even!
July 11th, 2005 at 10:37 pm
War of the worlds is absolute bollocks. A big pile of shit.
July 12th, 2005 at 12:14 am
This is a great flick! Surpasses Jurassic Park, Signs and equals JAWS for tension! One of the best summer flicks ever made!
July 13th, 2005 at 8:43 am
[...] I’ve subscribed to a few random homegrown podcasts so far, such as a semi-weekly Mohawk language tutorial, The Movie Show, and A Bit of Jewish Wisdom (which is fun to listen to if you picture Walter Sobchack from The Big Lebowski as the voice reading the bits. [...]
July 13th, 2005 at 7:02 pm
I just saw the movie today - IT WAS HORRIBLE! Sure it had all the cool special-effects and everything - but the ending was just STUPID. Aliens plan our demize for millions of years and then lose because they forgot - “OH YEAH, WE CAN’T SURVIVE ON THEIR PLANET….DUHHHHH” And I don’t understand something else - if they had been there for so long, why didnt they just take it before we got there? Movie was crap - don’t waste your money on it. If you disagree with anything I have just said you are wrong.
July 14th, 2005 at 5:04 am
Mike… wow, you’re the first person I’ve seen that’s gotten it right. The movie was a serious offense to the term “movie.” I went in with low expectations and was disappointed. You’ve summed it up, but I want to add: When will Hollywood give up on the hyper intelligent/sensitive 10 year old. This character is the crutch that so many writers use when they run out of good ideas. I’m sick of it!!
July 14th, 2005 at 9:08 am
What was the point to this film, just a waste of money and time. I went to the toilet without any rush to get back, thats how intersting it was. Plus I heard that the little girl did really good acting, all she did was scream!!!!!!!!
July 14th, 2005 at 6:35 pm
It’s based on a novel. People complain about the ending. It’s the way the original (1953) ended. I’m not religious, but I thought it was good how they incorporated into the ending narration. Most of the movie follows the original (the narration at the beginning and end, the laser like weapon that vaporizes, the loss of electrical equipment). The blood wasn’t original……..It was a remake. I thought Speilberg did a great job. Cruise, I thought, did a good job with a different role then I’ve seen.
Please don’t chew me up regarding the novel. I haven’t read it. Just seen the 1953 movie version.
July 15th, 2005 at 3:56 pm
Crappy movie. Full of holes. The kicker was the ending. Tom Cruise and all the other canon fodder spent the the whole movie trying to survive, and it turns out, all you had to do was stay home. That’s when I really felt violated.
July 15th, 2005 at 4:04 pm
Eddie! I’m with you on that. Apparently if you stayed indoors and wore your Sunday Best, pearls and all, the big bad martians would just avoid you. What a piece of shit. Violated. I love that term, you’ve nailed it exactly!
And John, “just like the book” is no excuse for a crappy ending, sorry.
July 15th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
This movie is the worst i’ve seen not to mention Alone in the Dark.
Its a waste of film production money not to mention the sad people who had to pay and listen to Dakota Fanny Scream I want Mummy, and scream and scream again.
Lets face facts :
Cruise was good : but his script was shite
Dakota was just instructed by Speilberg to do the same old shitty screams
(one dimensiontional, and if you look at most of the jurrasic park movies the kids act the same)
And Cruise’s son in the movie : I am tired of these weak scripts which involve father Vs son scenarios. The script for the son was very very bad. The only intelligent thing the son did throughout the whole movie was to take his dads car at the beginning.
July 16th, 2005 at 1:25 am
I’m intrigued. I haven’t seen the film yet - perhaps tonight - but the ending in the novel is fabulous. The aliens survive all man can do to defend himself, but the power of nature defeats them. Not a typical Hollywood ending, for sure, but then that’s no bad thing. And actually, quite credible from a scientific perspective. But perhaps Spielburg’s done something odd with it….
July 16th, 2005 at 5:03 am
Joey - I liked Dakota. I thought she was one of the highlights of the film. But I’m just a sucker for a precocious child.
Baron - the idea behind the ending is interesting, but when you’ve sat through 110 minutes of extreme, unyielding alien violence and destruction, which then suddenly ends in a matter of minutes with a whimper, it’s a major disappointment. My immediate reaction was like Mike’s above. The alien’s spent millions of years planning the invasion of Earth but didn’t factor in bacteria? And why did they wait so long anyway? Just didn’t make sense.
July 16th, 2005 at 6:45 am
Just a few thoughts…
This was another example of a terrible adaptation of a really great book. Though I think the original black and white version was fantastic and I definitely recommend it(despite no color which can take a little getting used to). For me in this movie, Spielberg has sucumbed to a problem I see in a lot of the new movies– the focus on flashy animation and special effects without much thought into character, story development or unique cinematography. I guess they think with enough big name actors and a big budget they are guarenteed to make money…and most often times they are right.
They should have followed the son as opposed to the father who basically babysitted the screaming girl the entire flick. Was not a fan of the little girl.
One of the best parts of the book was the incorporation of various character storylines demonstrating the broad effect on the invasion on the human condition. Too bad the movie did not try to incorporate this in the adaptation. But whatever…it was just a movie and it gave me something to do on a rainy day.
July 16th, 2005 at 5:12 pm
Just a simple question.
If the aliens spent millions of years planning the invasion of Earth why didn’t they
invade earth in the earlier ages of mankinds evolution?
For example in the age before the Roman empire (sorry everyone my history isn’t that good).
No large constructions like buildings to destroy, not much population to wipe out
( It would be like walking into an empty for store and choosing the goods for yourselves.)
And not much powerful viruses to deal with like today.
My only thought about why the Silly aliens died from human bacteria can only be due to their arrogance.
(How many times do we hate the Jab before going on a tropical holiday LOL)
July 18th, 2005 at 5:42 pm
I just saw the movie. Enjoyed the effects but the movie was crap otherwise. But what about Tim Robbins? Myself and most of the audience laughed out loud when he appeared. That whole basement scene was a waste of time. More people should’ve poured in and the movie should’ve ended there with the aliens blowing up the house.
PS Joey, I wouldn’t get too hung up on the million year planning…it presumes that Tim Robbins character was right in thinking they were there for so long.
July 19th, 2005 at 4:30 am
Thanks Jp.
I nearly choked on my pop corn when i saw Tim Robbins (King of the Basement)
The audience in the theatre were still laughing 5 mins into the film.
I just started to read the book and so far is good reading unlike Mr Speilberg’s
“War of the Turds”
Featuring
Tom ‘Cocker Spaniel’ Cruise
Dakota ‘ I want mummy (cry Cry Cry SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM’ Fanny Fanning
And the Tom’s on Screen son who did not know What the hell was going on but wanted to take on the aliens by wanting to run over the other side of the hill to join in the fight with the arm no weaponpry.
My final note WHAT is going on with these script writers and directors.
Big Budgets, Famousy actors, Good effects, but a crap movie AND THIS IS NOT THE ONLY MOVIE FROM AMERICAS SHORES WHICH CRAP BUT HYPED TO THE MAX TIMES 1 MILLION.
THERE ARE A LOT OF YES PEOPLE OUT IN THE INDUSTRY WHO ARE TOO FRIGHTENED TO SAY TO THESE SO CALL DIRECTORS;
‘HEY BUDDY, NO OFFENCE BUT THE MOVIE YOU DIRECTED AND I HAD TO PAY TO WATCH WITH MY FAMILY WAS SHITE I WANT A REFUND’
I GLADLY PRAY FOR THAT DAY TO ARRIVE
July 19th, 2005 at 8:27 am
Like a lot of other viewers, I was disappointed with this movie. I pretty much agree with all the citicisms cited so far but wanted to add a couple. Ray just happens to pick the one vehicle that still runs? After the airliner crashes and pretty much wipes out the neighborhood, the van is untouched? And, they are able to just drive off without any debrise roadblocks? Come on. And of course the ending. LAME.
July 19th, 2005 at 8:53 am
Actually Joey, someone DID stand out the front of cinemas and pay people refunds for seeing crap Hollywood movies. A guy called Joe Queenan. Written some funny books. Check him out on Amazon.
July 19th, 2005 at 7:11 pm
WHAT A LAME MOVIE!!!! I want my money back . my mistake was to choose war of the worlds instead of the wedding crashers!!!!
July 19th, 2005 at 7:26 pm
War of the Worlds is a classic, on its second outing at the movies. For those of you that have read the book, you’d realise that many salient details have featured in the film, including the ending - nature is the downfall of the aliens and without nature intervening, the human race would have been obliterated completely. Nature was our saviour! Naturally, we’d all have liked to have had an ending where we had won through retaliation (we don’t like to think of ourselves as feeble) and I’m sure that we could all think of one or two alternative endings, but once again, as said above, the film has attempting to be faithful to the book in the areas that count. As much as it seems like a weak ending, try researching when this classic piece of literature was written - HG Wells was a visionary - incredible imagination!
The acting in my opnion was top-notch - no complaints re Tom or Dakota, although some of the script was cheesy and in some areas, far fetched to the absolute limit. EG. How on earth did the son escape and make his way to Boston?
The special effects were some of the best I’ve seen - and this of course added to the whole overall feel to the film.
Disappointments
1. Too much ‘getting to know the characters’ - yes, character development is important, but when we’re looking at the Earth enduring its greatest fight ever, we do not need to focus heavily on one families plight, although of course central characters are required. They could have scrapped half and spent the other half on how the world was coping - more special effects - more trauma and destruction - demonstrating further futility, such that for those of us that do not know how it ends, we ponder even more so, as to how Earth will win the battle.
A damn sight better than its predecessor - check that one out and compare - you’ll agree!
Overall - a good film. 7/10
July 21st, 2005 at 2:52 am
I just saw the flick last night - and I have mixed emoions about it. I agree that the 10 year old scared, yet intelligent girl crutch is horribly overused to build tension and complexity to weak plots. I also hated the fact that her apparent :intelligence” did NOTHING during the course of the film - no smart save, clever strategy , or witty solutions escaped her mouth. Instead the “intelligence” resulted in little more than endless screaming and intense blank stares. The only saving grace at all for the movie was the opening 15 minutes….the intensity and the sound had me pumped up for a good flick. Sadly the movie only goes downhill from that point. I’m also “over” the whole hiding in the house from something trying to find you…and if you make even the slightest noice - game over - concept. And what was with the overuse of the camera shot through the holes in glass? I think four or five different circumstances in the movie used the camera shot through a round whole in glass. And the ending?!!! Sure - it could have been a clever ending…but it was like being in the middle of a 1000 pg novel and turning the page and seeing the words THE END.
We all love Spielberg - but despite the legitimate intensity the movie was able to create, mostly through the sound, the movie fizzles out an dies. Good acting, but just weak on script - perhaps the “original” sucked. Sometimes holding true to an “original” only re-introduces mediocrity. Oh well - at least it wasn’t Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy bad. :)
July 21st, 2005 at 9:15 am
the movie licked balls like u
July 23rd, 2005 at 10:52 am
they couldnt invade at the beginning of time when they went there.
they needed the blood of the humans, so they waited till the population grew large enough so they could harvest !!!
i kept watching the time to see how long tom had left to kill the mofo’s eventually i thought omg, this film is never going to end then bang it ended without a decent fight back from the humans.
would of been better if mankind invented a bacteria and had to kill them that way, but hey never mind. kept me busy for a couple of hours..
Beginning, good, middle good, end little dissapointing.
all the little girl did was scream lol.
The original book was better with perspective of different people and storylines, that would of been a better way for the film to go
anyway ive had my 2pence now and will leave u in peace to make up ur own mind.
My opinion, watch it and make ur own opinion !
July 27th, 2005 at 3:09 pm
This movie is CRAP…..beginning to end!! Its over the top american blockbuster moviemaking at its uglyiest! Bad technically…unbelieveable……weak acting….PLEASE DO NOT PAY TO SEE THIS FILM !!!!! Im too upset to type anymore. THE END
July 27th, 2005 at 11:58 pm
I agree with the comments here as to the film
I felt conned by this film - Special Effects - Yes 10 out of 10
BUT
This film is serious American propaganda for all sorts of issues now - the most obvious is the war in Iraq with the son going to fight for his cause saying ‘We’ve got to get them back’, Aliens being catapulted into ships like terrorists going into sleeper cells, Europe referred to as being completely wiped out - emphasising that only America can save the day!, Japan being referred to as winning the war and as such a threat to Americas technological superority, the Ukraine was referred to as being the first place hit and nobody was really bothered on this news - showing how little Americas thinks of the rest of the world, the CHEESIEST of endings with te reunion of the whole family - Why wasnt Boston obliterated like the rest of the places. The ending where the narrator says that men do not die in vain - well, plenty have died in Iraq - some 25000 innocent civilians - this whole film was a disgrace as is Americas foreign policy. I think George Bush has got in on the scriptwriting here and I am appauled at paying money to see this propaganda - it makes me feel like acitizen of the old USSR having to sit through some government written crap.
Am I wrong??
July 28th, 2005 at 9:46 pm
Who the fuck cares. It’s a movie, it was good - god damn you idiots waste your time on every little thing. If you can make a movie - do it, if not then shut the fuck up and leave it to the professionals. All these idiots claim “it sucks” but obviously it is good enough to talk about and whine like a little girl about so shut the fuck up, and enjoy that it was just a movie and not real life - yet ;).
July 29th, 2005 at 6:49 am
I was brought up listening to Jeff Wayne’s musical version of The War of The Worlds and I haven’t read the book or seen the old movie yet.
I thought the Spielberg film had fantastic special effects and some very good performances (even though I can’t stand Tom Cruise, he was worth watching).
However, the story in this film was far removed from the one I know and I was disappointed to find that an Amercian disaster movie had eaten the characters I know and replaced them with the ‘modern Amercian disfunctional family’.
The kid will be a big star - she’s well cute.
I wondered how the boy survived. He (or anyone else in this film) wasn’t in the original story. That was a bit crap.
They forgot to say that the aliens came to Earth for the water in the beginning and didn’t really explain that the bacteria in the water killed them in the end. That was a real shame because it’s an integral part of the story.
Anyhow, I come from the area that’s featured in the musical version and have always know the places mentioned in it. I suppose that’s why I feel a bit cheated.
This is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon, but it’s not War of the Worlds.
That’s my lot
Ness =^..^=
July 31st, 2005 at 9:24 am
Reply to Richard, 27th.
Yes. But turn that around. Who is taking the big casualties in real life? Who is taking the casualties in the movie? Wells was taking about colonialism and the Martians were ‘us’.
What does the protagonist do? He straps grenades to himself. What is he? He is a suicide bomber.
All the 9/11 imagery is there, but only because that’s all we see. As you have said, the real carnage is happening elsewhere. The real casualties may as well be on another planet for all they affect us.
The ending, so criticised by illiterate viewers who cannot swallow a non-formulaic plot was Wells saying that colonialism, our ‘crusade’, cannot succeed.
There’s a lot more to WOTW that simply an action movie, all you have to do is turn it around and all the elements you mention fall into place.
August 2nd, 2005 at 4:58 pm
wow, just wow. the complaints about this film just illustrates how much thinking went into your CAPS rants. you people complain about cruise picking the one car that works? he told the mechanic how to fix it, he had an ENGINE in is kitchen, he knows cars, manny fixed the car, Cruise was praying to God that is would work. does the movie need to hit you all over the head with simple plot points so you don’t go whining about how it’s stupid luck taht he finds a car? try paying attention to a movie, you’ll have much less to bitch about.
why would the aliens invade before there are humans, make that BILLIONS of humans whose blood the aliens will use to fertilize thier red weed??? that’s like raiding Fort Knox before there is GOLD IN IT. and why would they do it ealier anyway? we couldn’t touch them today, a thousand years from now, or a thousand years ago. if you expected Tom Cruise to go to the mothership with a god damn computer and destroy them while cracking one-liners then go watch Independance Day. That no-brain movie seems to be more up your alley.
Aliens dying of a virus/bacteria/insert any foriegn organism/microbe/ANYTHING is a stupid ending? What happened to native Americans when the Europeans came here? They were introduced to a host of new viruses, caused by the “advanced” civilization and were decimated. You can say the aliens were stupid, fine. but to say that in the end the only thing taht saved our asses from extermination was mother nature, or God, or whatever is stupid, then you’re just stupid.
If freakin’ aliens invade us and are hostile, there is NO way we survive unless they die before they get here, or get sick. Theres no way we stop them. period.
before you yell “THIS MOVIE IS CRAP” think about how stupid you sound when you can’t even get plot points right.
As far as the 9/11 imagery and American Prop. yes there are some political undertones (tim robbins says re: the aliens “occupations never succeed, history has taught us that” - hows that for PRO-american!?. Please, aliens riding lightning down into thier war machines=sleeper cells??? that’s a bit of a reach.
Some 9/11 imagery but nothing to get all hot and bothered over. the poster shot was a bit over the top, but that’s what happens when millions of people are looking for loved ones in wake of a disaster.
This film played against a lot of stereotypes of the typical sunmmer film. It was told from a point-of view (Cruise and the family, actually, mainly just cruise) It took tons of risks, had a non-hollywood ending, trademark SS talk-overs and odd pauses, etc.
I loved the fact that there were no shots of the US president frowning at his desk, or Air Force One, or a bunch of scientists racing to save the day, or other nonsense like that. You saw nothing that Cruise didn’t see.
What a tease to have this raging, huge epic battle over the hill with the US military sacrificing themselves just so the refugees can get across the countryside. RObbie and Ray almost get over the hil, but Cruise never goes over so you never see the battle. Is that a typical summer action device?
Sorry just felt i needed to defend this mis-understood film.
August 14th, 2005 at 12:43 am
1. The EMP would have wiped out electronics. Solenoids would not have been affected. No camcorders would have survived- let alone a news truck.
2. Why did Cruise kill Robbins. He could have just left. Also, he ended up attacking the arm with the axe, just like he told Robbins not to do.
3. LOVED the effect of the cloaca-like device that the other humans pulled Cruise out of (miraculously unscathed) and he was able to leave the grenades behind.
4. All the cars died and yet Cruise was able to motor along the freeway at a good clip?
5. The ferry sequence was dumb.
6. Why were there bodies floating down the river?
Movie was CRAP
CRAP I tell you.
hj
August 18th, 2005 at 6:41 am
KAK MOVIE! REALLY KAK MOVIE! KAK ENDING! MIGHTY KAK INDEAD!
(I’m South African. KAK means SHITE!
August 22nd, 2005 at 11:17 pm
Calm deep breath everyone and think about what the movie is about. HG Wells was talking about the arrogance of the human race and its relative ignornace about all the things that are out there and how empires of all kinds sow their own destruction by their assumptions of superiority.
If it is a stupid idea to suggest that these amazingly powerful creatures could fail to plan carefully about details like ensuring they had a plan to properly defend against bacteria it would be impossible for the most powerful military force on our planet to invade another country without a functional exit strategy (any thoughts about parallels springing to mind?).
Why do middle class people sit around in their houses dressed in pearls ignoring what is going on even when their world is in turmoil? Can you think of an example of that going on in the here and now with a nation of people sitting around complaining about petrol being 10cents dearer while there are young people from the ned of their own street dying, unmourned by these self-satisfied people to keep it flowing at all? Any (not very) hidden messages becoming clearer to you?
Happily, in search of standard, formulaic entertainment you have been able to avoid any temptation to consider the propoganda Speilberg is shoving at you and how it compares and contrasts to the propoganda various governments are shoving at you.
The movie is attempting to make you think and given you are on the net and making use of this site you have all the intelligence you need to be able to do so. Maybe think about why so much money was spent to tell you a story like this and not just assume that the people who made it were fools and all sorts of new (or old) ideas might come to you.
Try quiet reflection and introspection, you might find you enjoy it more than you expect.
September 22nd, 2005 at 7:36 pm
I just dont understand WHY do people dont like WotW????????
I think that WotW ABSOLUTELY ROXXORZ!!! Great effects! Great horror! Great action!!! I was shaking the whole movie…. it was soo damn scary!!!
Stieven S. Is maybe THE WORLDS GREATEST DIRECTOR!
hmm…… well maybe Tom Cruise wasnt Soooo good…. =P
September 27th, 2005 at 12:33 am
I thing its best movie EVER, you haters dont just understand story. Read a book and you will be fine!
October 13th, 2005 at 12:58 pm
special effects by MIT. Story and acting by the third grade!
January 11th, 2006 at 7:21 am
This movie proves yet again the inadequacy of FEMA to respond in a crisis. Where were they? what a shameful thing.
August 5th, 2006 at 4:49 am
I think this movie was a disaster in its self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>::::::::;;;;;;”"”"”"”"””””””””””””””"”"”"”"”"”"”"$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& AND I HATED THIS MOVIE$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
October 31st, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Movie was OK but lacked character development. I enjoyed it once, being a fan of original novel, but some ideas and scenes were way too dumb, like idiot Manny the mechanic oblivious to the town exploding beside him while he tells cruise that ‘he’s got a busy day ahead of him’, what with getting vaporized and all. And the son trying to go and join in the miitary fight made no sense. The tripods were really cool, but the martians/aliens being done in so easily by a disease, and machines buried in the ground? And why did the electronic eye probe not have the ability to see infrared, which would have immediately exposed everyone in the house. I gues the aliens have achieved space travel but not yet discovered something as basic as infrared light, or the wheel, or even learned how to fly for that matter. I’m surprised they didn’t attack us in zeppelins, but this goes back to the original book, where it made more sense. Still ,the aliens should have picked up some night vison goggles and a couple of jets. The aliens were here before and had enough time to bury their tripods but never noticed that the planet was toxic to them? Some advanced race……for me to poop on!
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