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Tom Cruise fleeing giant mechanized alien tripods for most of "War of the
Worlds" is liable to confuse some viewers. Ethan Hunt wouldn't run to his
ex-wife so she can save the day; John Anderton would have slipped on his jetpack
and gone to battle; and Maverick certainly wouldn't be hauling ass in a hijacked
mini-van. The film's biggest problem is the decision to have it both ways. The
filmmakers want the Everyman Tom, who flees the invasion, and the Action Hero
Tom, who can dodge alien heat rays and exploding buildings when everyone else
gets fried around him. It's very much a case of wanting your cake and eating it,
too.
Such is the Steven Spielberg mega budgeted
"War of the Worlds", a film that wants to be gritty and dark,
but is nevertheless encumbered by the need to be trendy and
"cool". The movie follows the same narrative thrust as the
smaller budgeted (as in, about $200 million dollars smaller, give or
take) "H.G.
Wells' War of the Worlds". That is, aliens arrive, tripods are
revealed, the extermination of the human species commences, humans run,
keep running, and run some more. At its core, Spielberg's version
follows the family of dockworker Ray Ferrier (Cruise) and his rebellious
teen son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and precocious 10-year old daughter
Rachel (Dakota Fanning, "Man
on Fire").
It's quickly established that our main man Ray is
something of a deadbeat dad. His children have been living with his
ex-wife (Miranda Otto, "Flight
of the Phoenix") and her perfect new husband. Ray is a stranger
to the kids, and they to him. When the aliens (apparently not Martians)
land, using lightning as camouflage to burrow deep into the Earth where
they mount their tripod war machines which, we learn, have been buried
down there since around the dawn of man, the fit royally hits the shan,
and Ray and the kids begin their run for survival along with the entire
human population.
Stripped of the special effects and
world-destroying alien machines, "War of the Worlds" is a
simple story of a family of refugees running for their lives. Even as
people get disintegrated into puffs of white cloud by the tripods' rays
(which are white, not green), the story's focus remains firmly on the
survival of Ray and his offspring. Though undoubtedly blessed with
top-notch special effects and a director that has been making big-budget
spectaculars like this for the last 30 years, "War of the
Worlds" has the makings of a great adventure.
Unfortunately, the result is muted and confusing,
and we haven't even gotten to the film's problematic plot yet. When the
explosions stop and the tripods disappear into the horizon, questions
arise. Without revealing the film's ending for those who haven't read
the book, or seen other versions of the movie, the film's unsatisfactory
conclusion provides the film's greatest plot hole, which is: If the
invaders have hidden their war machines underneath the Earth for
thousands of years waiting for this one moment, and are capable of
building such fine war vehicles as the hulking, seemingly indestructible
(they are equipped with shields, too) tripods, surely they are also
advance enough to be able to study the Earth's atmosphere for hidden
dangers?
There are three standout sequences in "War of
the Worlds". The first is the introduction and reveal of the first
tripod, which is one of those iconic images Spielberg does so well. The
second is watching Ray attempt to drive through a crowd in their
mini-van, only to be stopped and assaulted by desperate refugees. The
third is also the film's Third Act, and takes place in the basement of a
mentally unbalanced survivalist played by Tim Robbins. Although Robbins'
character initially saves our heroes from the battlefield, he proves to
be even more dangerous than the alien machines. The scene where Ray
makes a fateful decision to deal, once and for all, with the
out-of-control Robbins is so perfect, you wish Spielberg had chosen to
do a braver, grittier film.
If spectacular set pieces are what you're after, the
film delivers. To his credit, Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski beautifully
paint the chaotic landscape with giant stalking tripods zapping and
grabbing up victims as they go. There are a number of scenes that just
features the tripods at work, and they're all breathtaking. These
massive things, that look like a visionary from the 1950s invented them,
are wondrous to behold. Unfortunately after a while, even the tripods
lose their impact. We get a look at the aliens that pilots the tripods
at one point, although it might have been a better idea never to show
them, because once they're revealed, all mystery about them disappears.
"War of the Worlds" entertains, which
is why it works as a Summer Event film. Will you remember it 10 years
from now as being one of Spielberg's best? Probably not, although the
images of the first tripod emerging out of the street will be a classic
for years to come. And although his turn as an Everyman isn't
entirely successful, Cruise is physical enough to sell his many dashes
from certain death. The soulful Dakota Fanning doesn't quite make a
convincing 10-year old child, mostly because one look into the girl's
eyes and you know she has no clue how to act like a real 10-year old. As
a result, Fanning spends most of her screentime either crying or
screaming or both at the same time. The most convincing character is
Justin Chatwin's rebellious Robbie, who switches from scared to angry to
righteous without missing a beat. This kid has an amazing career ahead
of him.
Ultimately, one can't help but feel as if "War of
the Worlds" misses an opportunity to be more than what it is. If
Tom Cruise is going to be able to dodge disintegration rays that
vaporizes everyone around him, or defeat tripods with a couple of
accidental grenades, it seems a foolhardy choice to write Ray Ferrier as
being your next door neighbor. My neighbor can't bring down an alien war
machine, and he can't race down a city block as everything is
obliterated around him. Perhaps Spielberg should have done the smart
(and courageous) thing and cast an unknown for Ray Ferrier, since at
this point in his career, I don't think you could blackmail Tom Cruise
into playing anything other than an Action Hero. It's not his fault; he
just does it so well.
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