Rate Spielberg's War of the Worlds
- Thread starter Krug
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I just got back from seeing War of the Worlds, and this has to be the worst movie I've ever seen. I shaking mad at having wasted money and two hours of time. I wanted to walk out, but kept thinking Spielberg might pull it out. But no, it was just really bad. Bad pacing, bad plotting, bad writing, bad science, bad scifi, bad ending, just plain awful.
I am warning everyone away from this movie. I would see my previous worst movie twenty times before I would see this piece of trash again. Ugh!
Absolute zero of a movie. Whatever scale you use, it will always be at the bottom. Not even worth watching for the sake of seeing how bad it is. Stay away. Far away.
I am warning everyone away from this movie. I would see my previous worst movie twenty times before I would see this piece of trash again. Ugh!
Absolute zero of a movie. Whatever scale you use, it will always be at the bottom. Not even worth watching for the sake of seeing how bad it is. Stay away. Far away.
*Please pardon any spelling mistakes. There are four vertical opaque bars going through my screen so I can't see all that I'm typing.*
I didn't read all the posts so I might be repeating what has been said.
I missed the gore. Stomach churning gore. Some scenes were pretty gripping and emotionally heavy but I just missed the gore. I understand they wanted to get a low rating so they could get a larger audience, but those tripods reminded me too much of the Striders (HL-2) and the harvester robots (Animatrix, the Second Renaissance Pt.2) where people were impaled and torn apart respectively. As most of the "action" was off screen the gore didn't even need to be shown directly. Maybe just a scene where the camera follows someone being pulled out of sight and then the sound of that person being torn apart or squashed. Maybe a shower of red. But of course the aliens needed people for asscandy.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not someone who thinks a movie isn't complete unless it has a high gore level. I just think it would have suited this movie.
Some other things:
"Oh, look at that, lightning just struck 26 times on the same spot. Well, you know what they say, lightning doesn't strike 27 times on the same spot. Let's all huddle around and see." That wasn't the only scene where people huddled around for the stock run-away-in-a-chaotic-and-frantic-way-screaming. Makes good cinema...if you're six.
Back to the gore, when the basket full of people fell on that tree wouldn't some of them have been impaled?
Supervan-Completely invulnerable to anything but an EMP (in case of EMP just replace the...the...euh...the thingy). Also has SUPER GPS which allows it to find a perfectly manageable path through downed aircraft debri and traffic jams.
Do fighter planes need to fly that low to be effective?
I swear, I thought it was the birds that made the aliens go dead
.
Some things I did like:
Unlike some other other posters, I liked Fanning's performance.
The action was good. Not because it was so spectacular but because it wasn't in your face. However, the rest of the movie overshadowed it.
I didn't read all the posts so I might be repeating what has been said.
I missed the gore. Stomach churning gore. Some scenes were pretty gripping and emotionally heavy but I just missed the gore. I understand they wanted to get a low rating so they could get a larger audience, but those tripods reminded me too much of the Striders (HL-2) and the harvester robots (Animatrix, the Second Renaissance Pt.2) where people were impaled and torn apart respectively. As most of the "action" was off screen the gore didn't even need to be shown directly. Maybe just a scene where the camera follows someone being pulled out of sight and then the sound of that person being torn apart or squashed. Maybe a shower of red. But of course the aliens needed people for asscandy.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not someone who thinks a movie isn't complete unless it has a high gore level. I just think it would have suited this movie.
Some other things:
"Oh, look at that, lightning just struck 26 times on the same spot. Well, you know what they say, lightning doesn't strike 27 times on the same spot. Let's all huddle around and see." That wasn't the only scene where people huddled around for the stock run-away-in-a-chaotic-and-frantic-way-screaming. Makes good cinema...if you're six.
Back to the gore, when the basket full of people fell on that tree wouldn't some of them have been impaled?
Supervan-Completely invulnerable to anything but an EMP (in case of EMP just replace the...the...euh...the thingy). Also has SUPER GPS which allows it to find a perfectly manageable path through downed aircraft debri and traffic jams.
Do fighter planes need to fly that low to be effective?
I swear, I thought it was the birds that made the aliens go dead
.Some things I did like:
Unlike some other other posters, I liked Fanning's performance.
The action was good. Not because it was so spectacular but because it wasn't in your face. However, the rest of the movie overshadowed it.
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
Wanted to address a couple of things people have brought up.
First, fixing the van:
The car part that was replaced on the van is called the solenoid. It's part of the system that starts the car. I'm not a mechanic but as I have come to understand it, you turn the ignition key to "start", a small amount of electricity is passed to the solenoid from the battery. The solenoid puts that electricity through its wound copper wire coil creating a magnetic field, moving a metal contact into position so it can pass a much larger amount of electricity from the battery to actually turn the starter motor.
If the solenoid is subjected to EMP the idea being suggested in the movie is that it results in the solenoid being burned out. Solenoids burn out occasionally IRL anyway (I can recall at least once when the solenoid on one of my own cars burned out) and the result is - your car won't start.
Second, the Red Weed:
Now it's been a while since I've read WotW but as I recall the PURPOSE of the Red Weed was never explained and Wells never wrote as if it had a "purpose", It just was. When initially mentioned it was in the context that all the vegetation on Mars was probably in shades of red, rather than green like most of Earth. Also, it was briefly questioned whether the Martians had brought these seeds intentionally or they had simply been carried with them accidentally. It was further mentioned in this initial paragraph about the weed that there were a number of red, martian plants that had sprung up but really only the one vine-like plant managed to take a solid hold and started to proliferate over large swaths of the countryside especially near water.
I can remember making the connection when I first read the book that the appearance of the Red Weed might have coincided with the use of the Black Smoke or Vapour (that goes unmentioned in either movie version even though in many ways I'd have thought it would be every bit as effective on film for being scary). Reading it again later I realized that I had been mistaken and it was simply another weapon for the Martians to use, probably more efficient in many ways than the heat ray - but it was specifically a mortar-like weapon that fired cannisters of some kind so they would likely have limited ammunition for it. The black smoke has always been the more prophetic element of the story by predicting the use of chemical agents in WWI although everyone only seems to remember the heat ray, probably because it's much a more sci-fi-ish weapon.
First, fixing the van:
The car part that was replaced on the van is called the solenoid. It's part of the system that starts the car. I'm not a mechanic but as I have come to understand it, you turn the ignition key to "start", a small amount of electricity is passed to the solenoid from the battery. The solenoid puts that electricity through its wound copper wire coil creating a magnetic field, moving a metal contact into position so it can pass a much larger amount of electricity from the battery to actually turn the starter motor.
If the solenoid is subjected to EMP the idea being suggested in the movie is that it results in the solenoid being burned out. Solenoids burn out occasionally IRL anyway (I can recall at least once when the solenoid on one of my own cars burned out) and the result is - your car won't start.
Second, the Red Weed:
Now it's been a while since I've read WotW but as I recall the PURPOSE of the Red Weed was never explained and Wells never wrote as if it had a "purpose", It just was. When initially mentioned it was in the context that all the vegetation on Mars was probably in shades of red, rather than green like most of Earth. Also, it was briefly questioned whether the Martians had brought these seeds intentionally or they had simply been carried with them accidentally. It was further mentioned in this initial paragraph about the weed that there were a number of red, martian plants that had sprung up but really only the one vine-like plant managed to take a solid hold and started to proliferate over large swaths of the countryside especially near water.
I can remember making the connection when I first read the book that the appearance of the Red Weed might have coincided with the use of the Black Smoke or Vapour (that goes unmentioned in either movie version even though in many ways I'd have thought it would be every bit as effective on film for being scary). Reading it again later I realized that I had been mistaken and it was simply another weapon for the Martians to use, probably more efficient in many ways than the heat ray - but it was specifically a mortar-like weapon that fired cannisters of some kind so they would likely have limited ammunition for it. The black smoke has always been the more prophetic element of the story by predicting the use of chemical agents in WWI although everyone only seems to remember the heat ray, probably because it's much a more sci-fi-ish weapon.
Last edited:
Chain Lightning
First Post
Joker said:
No they don't.
But since Spielberg wanted to show jets involve, he decided to make them fly low. You see, we're watching the film from the perspective of the main characters. If they don't see it, we don't see it. So, in real life, the characters would never see the jets at all. They would just see missiles coming in toward the battlefield. Then hear the jets overheard in the far distance.
As a director, you gotta make a creative choice. Show the jets all flying close together really low and break realism. Or stick to realism and show the jets. I assume Spielberg decided to show the jets because he probably thought the dramatic 'cool' factor was more important in this case. That as well as also thinking that the audience would be confused if missiles came out of no where but you didn't see any jets launch them.
The other unrealistic thing was the Apache helicopters. Unless on some airshow parade fly by, they don't fly in packs of 5 or 6 that close together. But again, a lot directors nowadays like cool over realistic.
I personally think you can be realistic and be cool at the same time. With proper planning, storyboarding, discussion, and so on, you can tell a scene realistically and still be dramatic.
Chain Lightning said:
I agree with you completely. I thought most of the action in the movie had great impact because it wasn't shown directly. That whole scene went into a completely different and IMNSHO unnecessary standard Hollywood direction.
I could easily see a scene where a couple of hell-fire missiles strike the aliens and then a hand-held camera swirvs around to look at a couple of hovering dots in the distance.
Vexed
First Post
I gave it a 3. Because of the effects. (Great effects!)
I thought the scene in the basement was Waaayyyy toooo lonnggg ZZzzzzzzzzzzz
Boring!
Also the fact the aliens had traveled all this way because they wanted earth and no one stopped to ask if the air/water posed a threat to their immune system... preservatives, co2, and burger king! j/k
The ending was just to anti climatic for me... like uh ok, they die now cause the environment is hostile... and then its over.
The littler girl did a good job though. However, her screaming was really annoying...
I thought the scene in the basement was Waaayyyy toooo lonnggg ZZzzzzzzzzzzz
Boring!
Also the fact the aliens had traveled all this way because they wanted earth and no one stopped to ask if the air/water posed a threat to their immune system... preservatives, co2, and burger king! j/k
The ending was just to anti climatic for me... like uh ok, they die now cause the environment is hostile... and then its over.
The littler girl did a good job though. However, her screaming was really annoying...
DonTadow said:
A few points....
Is it so foolish that a police officer could have been wrong? He could have spoken up, not understanding what was actually happening.
A mob of people killing each other over a car? Have you seen a mob? My brother was in *our* car on Canada Day downtown, and a mob of people, who are apparently harmless, trampled over it, with two of our friends inside it, and destroyed the vehicle, caved in the roof, shattered all the windows, and crushed the hood and trunk. Again, this was *with* people in the car at the time, while it was moving. Mobs are not harmless, and in groups, people are irrational and dangerous. When they tried to get out and pull people off the car, they almost got the stuffing beaten out of them.
The movie wasn't perfect.....but some of the things, like aliens not having bio suits, falling victim to disease, etc.....that's part of the book. It's the whole point.
I was wondering about the van. That's a pretty efficient motor. But I missed the beginning of the movie, so I'm not sure what city they were in to start with, or how far they actually drove.
Banshee
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