On Tuesday I went and saw War of the Worlds starring Dakota Fanning and Tom Cruise. Went with Lachlan (17), his friend Chris, and Chris’ dad, Jon.
I must confess the movie induced terror in me. Maybe it’s something to do with having a 10 year old daughter who could be a stand-in for Dakota Fanning. The pace of the movie didn’t take long to pick up. From the moment the first tripod breaks out of the ground it’s non-stop running from the aliens. None of the trailers I’d seen showed the actual aliens. All we saw was terrified faces. The mood was one of dread and despair.
Spielberg’s certainly delivered on terrorist aliens comparable with menace presented in Shyamalan’s “Signs”. There are parallels with Signs – like being cornered in a house and viewing aliens through windows.
Jon commented on the lack of plot. Fair enough critique. The original book by H.G. Wells didn’t have a lot of plot either. It was more the narration of a global extermination.
The visual effects by Lucas Film were impressive, even without a significant plot. Images that linger include the train in flames rushing through a railway crossing.
As Tom Cruise’s character walked through the crowds I wondered if the producer’s found only short people as extras. Tom did not appear to be short in comparison to anyone else except for the character played by Tim Robbins.
There’s an excellent site dedicated to everything “War of the Worlds“, including information on the book, Jeff Wayne’s music, and the movies.