Yeah, once again, I'm getting away from talking about role-playing and Neverwinter Nights, but I just got back from Spielberg's War of the Worlds and umm . . .
*minor spoilers ahead*
*turn back now if you don't want spoilers!*
. . . It sucked!
I've been a big fan of H.G. Wells and War of the Worlds in particular (followed by The Time Machine) and I'm waiting for someone to capture that certain feeling, that pre-Great War innocence and hopefulness. What Spielberg and Cruise created was nothing less than Nihilistic/Existential/Post-modern bummerville. Schnidler’s List and Saving Private Ryan at least made you feel like there was some hope for humanity. If you're gonna rip off a classic at least make it feel the same. Granted the 1953 movie version came close, but no cigar. (Speaking of the '53 version, wasn't that Ann Robinson and Gene Barry playing the "Grandparents" at the end?)
First, let's just say, there was some gaping holes in the fictional continuity. I won't go into them and they weren't HUGE, just annoying. I also hated Tom Cruise's character; what a complete jerk. I wanted "them" to get him. Thirdly, the blood flying all over the place was odd, but the biggest problem for me was getting my mind around “their” plan. Ermm . . . bury your armored fighting vehicles underground in very distant territory, then after a few thousands or million years of watching the enemy advance and use up the valuable territorial resources, man your weapons and attack. Now THAT is some long term planning! (And why had no one found these things before? Stupid question, I know . . .)
There were some nice parts. I enjoyed Dakota Fanning; while I never felt like she really added anything to the story, she did help me to feel like SOMEONE needed to survive (her older brother sorta fit that bill as well). The special effects were plain moving, with a little nod to Schindler’s List and/or 9/11. Finally, I loved the Darwinian propaganda at the end; Wells would have loved it as well!
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***Spoiler alert!***
**BIG SPOILERS!
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So, yeah, I just saw it too. I dunno.. it was fun to watch but I was also annoyed by several things.
First off, at the start Tom Cruise picks up some rock that's turned into glass. They make it seem as if it is some plot device, but it never plays any role in the movie afterwards.
Secondly, yeah, I hated Tom Cruise's char too.
I didn't get the ending either. Maybe because I don't know the complete original story, but why the hell did those robot shields stop working and why did the aliens die? Seriously, wtf. As I understand it there was some sort of bacteria that made them all die? That's retarded. Here we have these aliens working possibly thousands of years on an invasion plan, highly advanced technology and they overlook this dangerous bacteria? I didn't get their plan at all either. Basically it was "Let's spend thousands of years of planning, and then suddenly show up and kill them all! muahahaha!". The aliens from Mars Attacks! had better logic.
I guess I could bitch about why the aliens use beam weapons instead of mass-nuke the place but I guess that's a flaw of the original story and not really Spielberg's fault or anything (though it does make me wonder why the army didn't try and nuke one of those robots).
I liked some scenes a lot, like the first time they are in the basement and the entire house/room starts shaking and they're all scared shitless.
Overall, I'd give it a 7/10 score.
Good! I’m not the only one!
I have to agree with you about the plot. In the book, the invasion of earth seemed to be one of desperation. Mars was dying and the Martians had to move on to Earth, so it made sense that perhaps they might not be completely prepared. But to take thousands or "millions" of years to research and prepare for an invasion and then, like Jas said, not wear "space suits", was just dumb. Thus, the ending becomes dumb . . . yes, they died from some sort of virus or bacteria. Though in the movie, they never really explain it, so it could be their weed all died on them or became tainted . . . maybe that was their food source. I don’t know. (In the book, it was blood so I was confused when “they” were spraying blood all over the place.)
Also, in the book, Wells has the Martians using poison gas on the human population. To my way of thinking, it is much more efficient and intelligent method of killing people, which, in the movie, seems to be why "they" are here on Earth.
Also, I don't know much about technical issues, but why would an EMP pulse work on cars? I thought an EMP pulse just worked on computer systems, as if keeping a strong magnet next to your harddrive.
Well, in theory, an EMP would distrupt any electrical system. Thus it could in theory disrupt an automobile's electrical systems from the spark plug to the cylanoid (which I think is what the mechanic replaced in the van Cruise swiped). It would depend on it's strength though.
At any rate, what little science I know about EMP's makes me think that Spielberg did very little homework on the subject . . . unless video equipement and camera flashes get special EMP dodge roll bonuses that I don't know about. hehe
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