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Latt's "H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds" (note the inclusion of the
"H.G. Wells") is not to be confused with the Steven Spielberg mega
budget "War of the Worlds" (note the lack of inclusion of "H.G.
Wells"), or even the British "War of the Worlds". Mind you, not
that anyone will mistake Latt's version for the Spielberg version; or if they
did, the first appearance of a shockingly rail-thin and white-haired C. Thomas
Howell as our hero George Herbert will quickly dispel that notion. Made for a
purported $1 million (couch change in comparison to Spielberg's version), Latt's
"War of the Worlds" is a surprisingly good film, with above par
performances and even decent special effects, three elements one rarely finds in
direct-to-video fodder.
Howell stars as George, an astronomer on his way to
work when meteorites crash to Earth, unleashing giant alien crab-like
robot walkers onto an unsuspecting human population. Armed with green
disintegration rays, killer green clouds, metal tentacles, and other
weapons of mass destruction, the aliens commence the thrashing of the
planet, destroying everything in sight. Through this backdrop death and
destruction, George makes a desperate trek upstate to Washington D.C.,
where his wife and son were headed moments before the invasion. Although
told that D.C. has been destroyed, George refuses to give up.
As the invasion continues unabated, the film's
primary focus remains on George and the people he meets along the way.
Andrew Lauer as an injured soldier appears for a moment, then again
later in the film; Rhett Giles as an Australian pastor whose conviction
in God and faith slowly fades with each misery he comes across; and Jake
Busey ("Starship
Troopers") as the maniacal Samuelson, a cross between a
psychotic Patton and a Section H. Through it all, we see the war from
George's point of view. Well actually it's not much of a war; it's a
massacre, and the human race looks doomed.
Knowing full well that he's working with a limited
budget, director David Latt makes great use of his resources by not
spreading them too thin. The film is set primarily in the countryside,
which makes it easier to contain the creation of mass devastation
sprinkled throughout George's route. (It's only at the end that we see
what has happened to a major city.) And despite the fact that a lot of
the budget must have been spent on the special effects, the film's
aesthetics is impressive, giving the impression of being more expensive
than its actual budget. There is little, if any, of that
"cheap" look one expects from a movie with such an ambitious
premise, further placing "War of the Worlds" in the category
of direct-to-video films that deserves better than, well, going directly
to video.
The film works best as a small movie about everyday
people caught in an epic war beyond their control. To this end, Latt has
made a concerted effort to concentrate on the characters, and in doing
so makes us care about what happens to them. A particularly effective
sequence has George and the Pastor trapped inside a house as the walkers
go about their destructive march beyond the house's caved in barriers.
We never see the battle taking place beyond the house, but we can hear
it, and are forced to wait it out along with George and the Pastor. It's
a brilliantly conceived and executed sequence, the kind that makes
Latt's "War of the Worlds" more than just a cash-in attempt to
trick people waiting for Spielberg's movie, a notion that one can't help
but conjure up when hearing about the film's pedigree. (It used to be
called "Invasion", but was re-titled to take advantage of
Spielberg's looming film; also, the "Independence
Day"-inspired cover art doesn't help.)
Despite
being much better than expected, the film does arouse some nitpicks.
Rhett Ghiles' Pastor quickly gets on one's nerves, and after a while,
you wish he would either kill himself or quit bitching already. Also,
the young woman playing Howell's wife is much too young; she looks to be
in her '20s, while Howell, with his white hair and thin frame, looks
like a man in his '50s. The better choice would have been to make the
wife the daughter, so instead of going to D.C. to find his wife and son,
George could just be looking for his children. And Jake Busey, following
in crazy dad's footsteps, plays crazy so well in the film that you have
to wonder why those soldiers even followed this nutcase to begin with;
he's that obviously unhinged from frame one.
With the impending release of Spielberg's version,
Latt's "War of the Worlds" will most likely disappear into the
back shelves of video stores everywhere, which would be a terrible
shame, as it's a good movie with strong performances, especially from C.
Thomas Howell, who despite looking frighteningly thin and frail (even
before the aliens invade), delivers a powerful performance. The special
effects are wisely kept to a minimum, and what we do see of the alien
invaders are surprisingly well done. The film is also pretty gory, which
isn't surprising considering the aliens' propensity for snatching
victims off the ground with metal tentacles.
Do yourself a favor and take a chance with Latt's
movie. Even if you end up seeing Spielberg's gazillion dollar budgeted
film, go to your local video store and pick up Latt's "War of the
Worlds" anyway. It deserves your support.
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