Rate Spielberg's War of the Worlds

[Banshee16]

We obviously disagree on this part. I really don't think, as a writer, I'd use a cop to show how know one knew what was going on. Cops, lawyers and judges are traditionally used in fiction as authority figures. When they have dialogue its usually to convey a message of the truth.

The immediate questions in people mines when they see lightening hit a hole 21 times is, well aren't there sewer pipes, wires, gas lines, water mains and such down there. Isn't this illogical. Notice he doesnt say anything until the ground starts rumbling. Before we know anything about aliens, Speilberg needs us to know that it is not something natural. The logical conclusion would have been it is a water main breaking or a gas line about to errupt. So Spielberg needs us to know that this is not natural, and he uses the cop to do that. My beef is that the cop is the wrong figurehead to convey that knowledge as he's just a beat cop.

I'm not sure if this is a regional/cultural difference or what, but I totally understood the sarcasm underlying the cop's being wrong about it. He's an authority figure, and is saying that there's nothing underground. And he's wrong about it. In fact, nobody had a clue.

IMO, that's kind of the point. It has more effect than having some schmoe who doesn't know anything say that there was nothing under the street. Obviously, as viewers, we know it's not natural, and we know tripods are going to come out of the ground. so Spielburg is simply having a laugh by having the cop make an incorrect statement.

Banshee

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

I found the film to be good, but that doesn't mean I liked it.

I thought it was horrifying. I was very scared. Additionally, I felt terrible for the woman that brought her middle school-aged daughters.

 

[talien]

My review: http://members.toast.net/talien/tmb/movietv/waroftheworlds.html

 

[iwatt]

Very intense. As a father with a daughter, the most horrific scene

Spoiler

was when he was begging to pull his daughter out of the mini-van before the carjacker stole it. To me that was the most intense part of the movie.

The aliens were backdrop in this flick.

The other scene that's scary is

Spoiler

when he wakes up and sees Tim Robbins talking to his daughter. That gave me the creeps.[/QUOTE]

 

[Harmon]

Characters, special effects, direction (Steven rocks!), was all about 9 (I don't believe in perfect).

The problem I had was the lack of ass kicking the main characters got to do, the lack of involvement they had in doing things other then just surviving, but as Coyote6 said- it wasn't about anything but keeping the family alive (really paraphrasing here) and together. The growth Ray goes through is extrodinary.

If you like a good character driven survival movie then you will like it, but if you like to see the hero kick but- don't bother.

 

[Psionicist]

Ugh, poorly executed garbage. Have I seen this before? Icky down-the-throat family values, save-the-world characters, annoying kids, some kind of catastrophic event, travel around a country, lots of special effects? Sounds curiously familiar? Independence Day? Day after tomorrow? Armageddon? Hmm, why do I feel this is nothing new at all? No flag-waving though, at least something.

This movie was:
A very good way to get a headache.
Obviously market-researched.

This movie was NOT:
Entertaining.
Interesting.

2/10.