War of the Worlds (2005) (Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning) 1/2
In the delightful suspense flick Signs, M. Night Shyamalan depicts an alien invasion of our planet through the eyes of its protagonists exclusively. It means every piece of information they learn, every revelation, and every development originates from within Mel Gibson's family alone. We don't know how things are going elsewhere in the world except for what they see on the news, and we can't figure out the agenda of the extra-terrestrials anymore than the principal characters can. This is also one of the strengths of Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, a summertime blockbuster constructed in such a way that we pretty much follow three characters throughout its duration. As such, we are treated to events as they unfold from their claustrophobic viewpoint, and on this level the movie more or less works.
The setting is New Jersey in the present day, where a dockworker named Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) comes home to look after his kids, dropped off for the weekend by his ex-wife (Miranda Otto). Rachel (Dakota Fanning) is an inquisitive girl who is prone to anxiety attacks, while Robbie (Justin Chatwin) is a moody teenager who's got to deliver the standard "Dude, I wish I was anywhere but here" dialogue that plagues far too many screenplays. The alliterative family (Ray, Rachel and Robbie) don't know how to make the best out of their weekend, but they suddenly get more pressing things to worry about, such as a spooky lightning storm that disrupts all the power in the city and other technological doodads that need juice.
Ray leaves the house to investigate, only to witness a large alien tripod machine come up out of the ground from underneath the pavement. Off Ray runs, dodging 'ray' beams, praying there will be a 'ray' of hope for humanity. He and the kids commandeer a van that works on some kind of non-battery power and they set off for Boston as that's where Miranda Otto is and with any luck she'll know what to do because she'd already survived similar kinds of attacks in The Return of the King. After witnessing the barbaric lengths mankind will go to to survive and fleeing from the tripods on board a ferry that capsizes, Ray and Rachel take refuge in a grungy cellar where an unstable fellow named Ogilvy (Tim Robbins) has some misguided ideas on how to overthrow the aliens. Soon, Ray discovers the real reason for the attacks and it's only a matter of time before he and Rachel are swooped up by their sentient tentacles.
The man who gave us a super-scary shark in Jaws and a lovable extra-terrestrial in E.T. is behind the camera here, and one can't help but be a little disappointed in some part of the movie, particularly the ending (mind you, not in the resolution of the alien threat, but in the final state the main characters end up in).
One of the biggest problems with War of the Worlds lies in its title. It would have been more appropriate to call it "Invaders!" or "Attack from Above and Below!" and add a small caption that reads: Based on H.G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds. That could have solved the ambitious decision to classify it as a movie adaptation, all things considered. Only some basic references survive from the original work, and even those are liberal associations at best. This is a modern day horror movie with a big budget, not a sci-fi parable on man's complacent place within the universe. That's surprising, given Spielberg's propensity for working in a bit of morality lessons when he's telling his grandiose, epic tales.
I liked how the scenes that take place in the basement echo the superior 1950's film version, particularly as the roving tentacle with an eye at the tip hunts for signs of life before sending the alien occupants in to scope the area. The performances are believable enough to make us come to care for their well-being when it counts, and a lot of the effects are seamless in their execution. True, I felt let down by the ending, but I cannot deny that the lead up until that point had its share of suspense and effective action. The War of the Worlds is by no means one of Spielberg's great achievements, but within the crowded genre of popcorn fluff pieces, it manages to press all the right buttons.
