La guerra de los mundos

Stephen Spielberg took the 1953 classic War Of The Worlds and remade it for modern times and the modern techniques of special effects. A lot of things that could not be done back in the 50s are done now to show the havoc that the invaders reek upon the world.

He also did something else that possibly might have offended science fiction purists but I think gave the audience a better identification with the protagonists of the story. Instead of having his protagonists be scientists as Gene Barry and Ann Robinson were in 1953, Tom Cruise is a blue collar divorced father who has his kids visiting him, but custody is with their mother Miranda Otto.

The kids are no prizes and are played by Justin Chatwyn and Dakota Fanning. And Cruise himself is no bargain either. But when danger develops it's his idea to take them from New York to Boston where their mother and maternal grandparents are. The film as it was in 1953 is mostly concerned with their efforts to avoid the terrible tripod machines that the aliens use in their destructive path.

The film does follow the Barry/Robinson escape scenario closely. The two had a scene avoiding the aliens while they were trapped in a cellar. To that Spielberg adds survivalist Tim Robbins. I think Stephen Spielberg feels the way I do that a lot of these survivalists pray for their doomsday fantasy to come true. That was sure the case with Tim Robbins who is quite mad on the subject of the invaders.

Cruise himself centers and anchors the film with his portrayal of blue collar America who just wants for him and his family to survive the holocaust. This classic may yet see a remake or three in the future.

I love the book and overall theme of the movie but Tom Cruise acting is annoying which is probably because he had to work with 2 most annoying kid actors ever seen on the film. I mean almost every scene is ruined by hysterical yelling of the 3 main characters. Little girl is the worst but Tom and his movie son are not far behind.

I mean it's watchable but by the middle of the movie I was hoping aliens will take them down so we don't have to suffer this atrocity of acting

This movie would be a whole lot better if the characters weren't so annoying *ahem* Fanning. The effects look great and the storyline is interesting. The characters lack depth and are so bad that you end up not caring if they live or die.

What Spielberg, Cruise, and Koepp accomplish here in the first two acts is nothing short of revolutionary. They've made a big-budget summer blockbuster about massive destruction and action that manages to studiously avoid every cliché and expectation of such films. It stays resolutely on the characters' points of view, showing us almost nothing they don't see, even to the point of coming tantalizingly close to a raging battle, then avoiding showing it. It keeps its focus on character instead of spectacle. The "hero" of the piece remains decidedly unheroic, wanting only to escape, and trying to talk others out of fighting back. The purpose of every piece of action is to frighten and disturb rather than thrill, making ingenious use of familiar 9/11 imagery. At the end of the second act, it is hands-down the best alien invasion film ever made, and perhaps one of the best sci-films of all time.

Then something strange happens. The filmmakers lose their nerve, and remember that this is an extremely expensive summer film financed by two studios. Or perhaps it was the fact that it stars Tom Cruise, who up to this point has spent almost two hours doing nothing but run for his life. Suddenly, and tragically, the film changes, violating not only its carefully established tone, but its own internal logic. Suddenly, Cruise begins to act like a hero, and summer action clichés force their way into the story like a worm into an apple. The transition is jarring, and it creates a serious disconnect from the story.

While it's true that Wells' original ending creates a problem for a movie, here they try to remain faithful to it, while still shoehorning moments of triumph into the conclusion. Unfortunately, these moments come off as alternately false, unbelievable, and meaningless, since it isn't mankind that defeats the invaders in the end.

Is it recommendable? Well, I suppose that depends on what kind of viewer you are. If you feel that 75% brilliant material overshadows the 25% that falls apart, then you'll enjoy it. If, however, you're the kind of viewer who feels that the final impression a movie makes is its ultimate stamp on your memory, you may be in for a crushing disappointment. On the other hand, if you're the kind of viewer who just likes the cliché of the boom-boom summer action spectacle, you're likely to be bored and frustrated with the first two acts, and only engage in the end. It is confused about what audience it's trying to reach, and consequently, isn't likely to satisfy any of them.

I don't wish for any civilization ending event to take place in my time... but since the chance of that may be low but never zero... I will actively avoid having children.

The photography is Spielberg level quality, you know you'll get that from a movie he's directing. The story is not all that bad considering that the choice of the protagonist is an everyday guy. You don't get government insight into these things, no "Mr. President, we're getting reports that these things are showing up in every major city in the world" scenes, no grand counter attack plans or any other trope you'd expect in an alien invasion. There is no 4th of July speech outside the hangar on Area 51 to motivate the people into a fight.

This is just about survival. Pure and simple survival.

Over the course of the movie, the characters stumble from one set piece to another, each time presented with a challenge to overcome and then moving on towards the next one. Simple.

That can work if the challenges are well developed and, far more important part, if the characters are good. This movie lacks the latter. While Tom Cruise' everyday man is fine, clearly way over his head, struggling to make sense of what's happening around him, trying to survive and to keep his children safe. And that's where the movie falls apart.

In every. Single. Scene. At least one of those two children are making a very bad situation even worse. Either the little one is screaming or spazzing out or the big one is running off on his own little adventure completely devoid of any common sense or care for his family. Both of those characters were designed to make things difficult for Tom Cruise and I can't for the life of me figure out why do people insist on making characters like that present in movies like this.

Survival of the fittest is a simple character development guide to follow in a story like this. Write characters that are out of their depth, sure, but who also have a grain of salt between their ears and are applying common sense in order to survive. I mean, sure, have stupid characters... and then show the audience what happens to those stupid characters when they make stupid decisions in the worst possible moments... and move the story along without them.

But not here. Here, you're stuck with nightmare kids. One is useless and either terrified or annoying most of the time. It makes sense, little girl like that would be out of herself in a situation like this. But that doesn't have to be annoying. The big one, he's clearly designed just to make things harder for Tom Cruise and I feel zero shame in wishing he gets killed so we can move on without him.

Anyways. It's a good looking movie with great effects, fairly solid main character and typically stable Spielberg direction... but everything around that is just meh.