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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Dreamworks Video
Salesrank: 3962
Released: November 22, 2005 |
| Our Price: $2.80 |
| Used Price: $0.29 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Despite super effects, a huge budget, and the cinematic pedigree of alien-happy Steven Spielberg, this take on H.G. Wells's novel is basically a horror film packaged as a sci-fi thrill ride. Instead of a mad slasher, however, Spielberg (along with writers Josh Friedman & David Koepp) utilizes aliens hell-bent on quickly destroying humanity, and the terrifying results that prey upon adult fears, especially in the post-9/11 world. The realistic results could be a new genre, the grim popcorn thriller; often you feel like you're watching Schindler's List more than Spielberg's other thrill-machine movies (Jaws, Jurassic Park). The film centers on Ray Ferrier, a divorced father (Tom Cruise, oh so comfortable) who witnesses one giant craft destroy his New Jersey town and soon is on the road with his teen son (Justin Chatwin) and preteen daughter (Dakota Fanning) in tow, trying to keep ahead of the invasion. The film is, of course, impeccably designed and produced by Spielberg's usual crew of A-class talent. The aliens are genuinely scary, even when the film--like the novel--spends a good chunk of time in a basement. Readers of the book (or viewers of the deft 1953 adaptation) will note the variation of whom and how the aliens come to Earth, which poses some logistical problems. The film opens and closes with narration from the novel read by Morgan Freeman, but Spielberg could have adapted Orson Welles's words from the famous Halloween Eve 1938 radio broadcast: "We couldn't soap all your windows and steal all your garden gates by tomorrow night, so we did the best next thing: we annihilated the world." --Doug Thomas
War of the Worlds at Amazon.com
The Soundtrack | 
The War of the Worlds (1953) | 
War of the Worlds - The Complete First Season (TV series) |
Classic Sci-Fi Movies and Their Remakes | 
Aliens Invade on DVD | 
The Prog-rock Opera (no kidding) |
War of the Worlds (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
very good invasion of the monsters flick 
2008-07-23 - I have long been a fan of the 50s version of this novel, which brought frightening possibilities to my Cold-War era child's mind. To be honest, I saw little point in remaking such a perfect film (definitely 5 stars), so I balked at getting this one until the price was so low I could own rather than rent it for nearly the same price.
When we played it, I was very happy with the new adaptation. Cruise is really good as a flawed, struggling divorcee: he can scarcely cope with real life as it is, and suddenly he is confronted with a truly terrifying menace. His children are also excellent actors, in particular the rebellious son who goes his own way and uncannily resembles Cruise. There is also Tim Robbins, whose defiant ranting is such a convincing counter-poise to the cautious Cruise as survivor.
Of course, the special effects are simply spectacular, and as in so many contemporary films almost a distraction from the plot. I particularly liked the aliens' attempt to re-make the ecology of Earth in their grizzly manner.
Warmly recommended. This is a better than average remake that sticks to the book's original themes and the acting is outstanding. There is a wonderful theme of man at his worst throughout the film, but it is also excellent hard scifi with innumerable unexplained details that the viewer's imagination can fill in.
Too little "War", Too much Real "World".
2008-07-10 - I can't say that I love this movie, although parts of this movie are pretty awesome.
The whole story is told from Cruise's viewpoint. But imagine if they had done more besides that, and had given us awesome shots of overall distruction, with tripods laying waste to all areas of the planet. Now that would have been a sci-fi fanboy's wet dream. But No! Instead, Steven S. throws in all the corny schmaltz that he is famous for, thereby diluting the whole thing. So what we get is, while the war is going on in the background, we have the father and son arguing in the foreground. Corny!
The whole basement scene just doesn't hold up to repeat viewings, and I definitely skip to the next chapter on that one. The basement scene, however, does give us the chance to see the alien tentacle and the aliens themselves, but the film seems to hit a speedbump in the basement and the film just slows to a crawl.
And of course, we have the happy ending tacked on at the end, which seems completely out of place with the rest of the movie. Spoiler question: If the son ran into the battle and the whole place erupted into flames distroying the Army, just how the heck did he show up at the end? Pretty dumb, and lame too. Besides, that darn kid is so annoying - I wish one of the tripods had picked him up and made blood fertilizer out of him.
And speaking of annoying, that darn Dakota Fanning just screams throughout the whole darn movie, and just gives you a headache. There is nothing more annoying than a screaming child. Man, I wish a tripod had gotten ahold of her as well, just so she would finally shut the heck up.
People generally agree that the ending is anti-climactic, but I do have to point out that we get not one, but two climaxes before that ending: when Ray single-handedly brings down a tripod, and again when the Army does the same. Still, if the movie had guts, the teenage boy would have been toast at the end.
Everyone has already pointed out the working camcorder in the beginning. But here's another one: Why did the tripod put a guy on the ground to stick their alien needle into him, when they could have done the same in their basket directly under the tripod? I guess the tripod just wanted to give Steven S. a Kodak moment. And of course, we can see the blood travelling up the tentacle. Can anyone say Gratuitous Shocking moment?
But though it all, I still like this film. And what a juxtaposition to 9/11. If you watch this movie, then go to YouTube and watch videos of the real 9/11, you will see where S.S. completely lifted moments from that national tragedy.
I'm no Cruise fan, but I like him here. He's better playing a jerk, maybe because it's not such a stretch for him.
And nice to see the stars of the original WOTW in a quick shot as the in-laws at the end.
I don't love it, but man, I sure do seem to enjoy sticking it in my dvd player every now and then and watching parts of it with the volume at full.
At least he doesn't jump up and down on the aliens couch!!!
2008-06-30 - "I'm in love!!!"
"I'm in love!!!"
"I'm in love!!!"
Too bad Oprah didn't have a laser from the movie.
BAAM!!!
Oh yeah, the movie?
It was pretty good, Tom even avoids acting like a complete moron.
It's a little short on story but big on special effects.
But for a popcorn movie, you really can't do any better than this.
The fx are just amazing, yes I know, good fx don't make a good movie.
FX aside, it's still a pretty good movie.
The acting is good, the script is good, and well, I already went on and on about the fx.
Do yourself a favor and rent this with a big tub of popcorn.
Sit back and enjoy the explosions.
Recommended!
Good alien invasion movie (some scene spoilers included)
2008-06-10 - When this movie first came out in movie theatres, I liked it so much I saw it twice! When it finally came out on DVD I knew I had to get it. I have watched this movie several times since, and although there are some flaws in this movie, I am able to overlook them and enjoy one of my favorite alien invasion movies.
Forget about the corny Independence Day alien invasion movie, War of the Worlds doesn't showcase famous landmarks being destroyed or showing the optimism and hope of humanity battling aliens. While that movie was entertaining, it was far less realistic and that was one reason why I liked War of the Worlds. It had a more gritty, dark, and depressing undertone to the movie (for instance, the scene before the Hudson ferry scene with the mob surrounding the van Cruise's character, Ray, and his kids were in, very scary and realistic!). Instead of showing multiple perspectives, in War of the Worlds, you follow one man and his children as they try to survive this disaster of apocalyptic proportions.
My favorite parts of the movie was definitely the parts with the alien tripods. I thought the huge, towering tripods were very scary with their metallic, machine sounds and the eerie, creepy trumpeting call that froze people in their tracks like deer before a car. My favorite scene was in the beginning, when you're with Tom Cruise's character watching in shock as a huge tripod breaks out of the ground. Simply awesome. Another great scene is the military battle scene upon the hill when a tripod comes up out of the flames of the wreckage, or the scene where Cruise steps from the house he was hiding in to a red alien land. Yet another great scene is the part where everyone is boarding the ferry to cross the river, one of Ray's children looks up to see trees swaying up on a hill behind the crowd. Suddenly, a tripod appears and as one the entire crowd turns around and there's a moment of stunned silence as everyone takes in the appearance of the tripod. Then chaos and panic breaks out right when the tripods start making their weird bellowing and trumpeting calls.
While I enjoyed this movie a lot, what prevented it from being absolutely great was a few things I felt Spielberg should have done different. The main character's son was very annoying. I wanted to slap him upside the head for being a stupid fool wanting to go off and fight with the Army against the aliens. He's what, a teenager in high school, and he was clueless just wanting to go off on his own. I think the director could have portrayed the dislike between father and son differently. He didn't have to make the son an annoying fool to the point I felt no sympathy for his character and was relieved when he didn't get screen time later.
Another quibble I had was the ending of the movie. I felt the movie ending was too happy and perfect, and didn't go well with the tone of the movie, which was very dark and despairing. For a very realistic movie, the ending was so unrealistic it was jarring.
The last annoyance I had was Spielberg's decision to show us what the aliens looked like. If he had just shown us the alien tripods destroying cities and harvesting humans, I think that would have been enough. Showing what operated the machine tripods disappointed me because the aliens were not frightening at all. They seemed ordinary and so after that the tripods didn't seem as scary as they did before seeing what the aliens looked like. By showing us the aliens, I felt Spielberg took away from the creepiness and mystery surrounding the alien tripods.
Yet, I think if you can overlook those flaws, the movie is still quite enjoyable to watch. I have watched it several times and I never get tired of watching it.
Good parts hampered by others that insult the viewer's intelligence 
2008-05-17 - Steven Spielberg's 2005 version of H.G. Well's "War of the Worlds" tells the story of a divorced man (Tom Cruise) and his son & daughter facing a horrifying alien invasion of Earth. They attempt to travel from New York City to Boston, where the kids' mother lives.
WHAT WORKS: Interestingly, I went to see this film at the theater with a friend who strongly reminded me of Cruise's character in the film. He's divorced, the kids live with the ex-wife, and he's the type of guy who would have a car engine on his kitchen table. Hence, the family scenario was very real to us.
Speaking of real, the story is presented in a very realistic, serious manner. You don't have to worry about the goofiness and jingoistic elements that plagued 1996's "Independence Day" (I can't stand that film).
What works best are the towering and utterly horrifying alien tripods. They skulk around on their long massive legs destroying everything and everyone in sight, while taking some people captive, shredding them up and spitting out their blood & guts as food for their alien plants (which is, evidently, one of the alien's primary food sources). This, of course, creates an incredibly eerie reddish landscape.
I love the intimidating bellow of the tripods.
There are numerous memorable scenes: The opening attack in New York/New Jersey, the Hudson River ferry scene, the train in flames, the military night fight on the hill and the basement sequence.
I also love the authentic Eastern locations, filmed in New York, Virginia, Connecticut and New Jersey.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Spielberg masterfully creates the illusion that the story is REAL and could possibly happen, but then blows it with sequences that destroy all credibility. Take, for instance, the plane crash segment. The jet crashes and destroys practically the entire neighborhood, including the house Cruise and his kids are staying at (in the basement). Yet, miraculously, their vehicle remains completely unscathed, not to mention they're able to easily drive out through the enormous amount of debris. Why Sure!
This is insulting to the intelligence of the viewer and ruins the aura of realism. What was Spielberg thinking? He's a great filmmaker but he makes these kinds of blunders too often. Remember the scene in "Jurrasic Park: The Lost World" where the colossal t.rex's are able to quietly sneek up on a campsite of people, yet in every other scene the ground literally shakes when they approach? Or how about the moronic and melodramatic dogtag sequence in "Saving Private Ryan"?
Spielberg likes to include father/son conflicts in his stories, which is fine, but he horribly fumbles the ball in this regard in "War Of the Worlds." Specifically, I'm talking about the military fight on the hill sequence where Cruise's son ludicrously decides to leave his dad and sister to presumably help fight the aliens (or who knows what?). But, wait a second, he's only 15 or 16 years old; he doesn't know anything about military weaponry or tactics, how could he possible be of any help? The entire scene where the son insists on separating from his dad and sister is just stoo-pid and unbelievable.
BOTTOM LINE: I'd give the film a solid A- or B+ if it wasn't for the incredibly dumb sequences just noted. The only way I can watch and enjoy the picture is to make believe they're not there. These negative aspects force me to lower my rating to C+ or, at best, B-. It's a shame.
