REVIEW: War of the Worlds

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When I was a kid there were two books that I used to read over and over again. Both were H.G. Well's novels of The Time Machine and War of the Worlds. I've always been fascinated by outer space and at one point contemplated being an astronomer. However that involves some heavy math, so I was out of the running after a few classes in college. Wells novel and Orson Welles radio broadcast were always fascinating examples of what you didn't see, or better yet what your imagination told you these things looked like. My Grandfather used to tell me stories about people running for the hills near his house in the country during Orson Welles original radio broadcast. Then came the original George Pal movie which I loved with so much passion like The Time Machine movie. Well its 2005 and a new version has arrived. And my oh my has it arrived.
When the aliens first show up in this movie I was back to being that scared little kid reading the book again. Put your Tom Cruise personal drama behind you and buckle up for the ride your life. Spielberg has done it again. This guy must crap brilliance for breakfast. This thing is a huge, massive piece of work. I don't know where to start without giving too much away.
Steven does something really cool here that sets him apart from our other resident action big budget directors. He does not force the issue and make us say "hey look how cool my effects shots are!" He focuses on the humans and tells the story from the point of view of Tom and his family. The aliens, when they appear are looming unrelenting giants that don't take no for an answer. They are here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and they are all out of bubble gum folks. I had a few problems with the actual aliens in one scene, and had a slight issue with the usual Spielbergian sappy ending copout. But those are very minor issues housed within a mammoth spectacle.
This movie completes a perfect trifecta of summer flicks so far. (And that list does not include Revenge of the Sith) I'm talking about Batman, Land of the Dead, and now War of the Worlds. There are images of terror in this film that I had as a kid reading the book. It also recalls recent events of 9/11 and makes you remember how precious life really is and that you never really know when it could all end. All the performances from Cruise to Dakota Fanning are great. Spielberg has crafted a great alien invasion movie and more importantly adapted a great novel into yet another great movie of War of the Worlds. This is what summer movies are all about. To sum up what I think about this movie, I think H.G. Wells would love to see this movie.