“War of the Worlds”
Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto
3 stars out of 4
Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” is a 4 star movie all the way until its final act; it is so utterly disappointing that it automatically makes you think about how you wish the movie stopped after the first 2 acts of the film which chew up about an hour and a half of the 2 hour running time.
Tom Cruise plays Ray Ferrier a crane tower in New Jersey that has his two kids for the weekend. Ray is made out to be the dad that no child would want to stay with on there weekend, they are left to him by there mother and step dad who the kids both respect more. (Fanning, Chatwin) When the kids arrive at Ray’s working class bachelor pad it seems all too awkward for them and him and they realize they will have to make the best to survive the weekend.
When Rachel (Fanning) is flipping through the channels while her deadbeat dad sleeps, there are news postings everywhere about citing strange occurrences throughout the world that involve electro magnetic pulses, they seem harmless at first until Ray and his kids , along with the whole neighborhood experience them on there own. Robbie (Chatwin) later tells dad that lighting has struck 26 times in the same spot, and there is no thunder. We know trouble is coming when the street is completely trembling are there are for sure signs that a mysterious object will arise from it.
This is the genius of the first 30 minutes; everyone is in total disarray along with Ray, who is inspecting very closely while his family remains indoors. Drastic turns take place when the tripods finally show themselves in such an epic revealing sense that most of the film lacks, Ray and the rest of the neighborhood are running around hiding and trying to escape the sight of these tripods that instantly kill once you are zapped by them.
The rest of the movie unfolds when Ray quickly, and I cannot stress that enough, sucks everything up and realizes he has to hide his kids from this immediate danger. This is what is good about the beginning, Ray grows up FAST, and realizes his duty, and his children’s lives have become far more important to him. The innocent Rachel asks questions rapidly after Ray steals the only car in miles that seems to work, Ray is the only one in the car that realizes that this situation is obviously far from solving, and he must do WHATEVER is possible to get these kids to Boston, where there mother has traveled to.
The whole movie is hiding, running and traveling; it’s actually impressive how real all of it seems up until a certain point. The audience gets a phenomenal sense of what it must have been like in New York during the 9/11 attacks. The alien attack isn’t every scene non-stop in your face action. It’s an organized, decently spaced out schedule of filming that takes place, Spielberg gives a few minutes to digest what is happening, and then he goes right back at it, and leaves you claustrophobic, especially in a scene where dozens of citizens are surrounding the family’s transportation in the pouring down rain. That scene was absolutely horrifying along with the many other scenes of Ray doing everything in his power to not let his son fight, and his daughter feel fear.
My review at this point must sound like a 4 star review, but there are so many flaws in the last 30 minutes, when Tim Robbins comes into the film, he not only takes away from the atmosphere of the film, but his basement is a scapegoat for one of the most clichéd scenes a thriller could have. Taking Jurassic Park for example, the scene where the two kids are hiding in the kitchen from the raptors, this is the EXACT same thing, and we are reminded that.When the supposed climax takes place it leaves us under whelmed and unsatisfied, there are a certain amout of plot holes that also leave the viewer baffled.
If you’ve read this review and you trust my words, leave the movie when Tim Robbins enters it, and then go home and dream about how ridiculously good the first hour and a half is. How does S.S. (director) make a great 2/3 of an epic summer horror movie, and then totally lose his grasp on the plot. If you aren’t going to see this movie and you haven’t seen M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs, I highly suggest renting it.
The worst part about this review for the reader is that this movie sounds great and terrible, but trust me many people will automatically love this movie, and some will hate it, I however am the rare in-between person that steadily prays for an upcoming successful movie that will wash the taste of the last 30 minutes of this film out of my mouth.
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