Sadly, Spielberg’s populist instincts are in full effect for the film’s finale (which in and of itself is a bit logic-defying), but it’s not enough to detract from the overall power and effectiveness of this very engaging piece of cinema. Even at his schlocky worst, Spielberg remains an absolute master of the form, and War of the Worlds might easily be the best film you’ll see this summer.
War of the Worlds
4 & 1/2 Stars
It’s been quite some time since summer blockbuster season was anything more than mindless explosions, but this year may mark the return of the engaging action film, with Batman Begins and Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds making big time entertainment both smarter, and more emotionally engaging than audiences have been used to.
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Marking the fifth incarnation (book, radio play, the 53 film version, a low-budget source-faithful movie made last year, and now this version) of H.G. Wells’ invasion classic, Steven Spielberg brings the Victorian Era thriller into the post 9/11 present, but manages to stay true to the spirit and tone of the original. An improbably cast but still effective Tom Cruise takes the lead as blue-collar Jersey-ite Ray Ferrier whose parental weekend with his two kids (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) is interrupted by the arrival of an alien menace. Seeking only to protect himself and his children, Ray evades the destruction of his city and makes off for Boston, where his ex-wife and family are, dealing with panicked crowds, an unrelenting alien force, and his own sense of responsibility.
After it’s slightly awkward introduction of characters War of the Worlds soon kicks into high gear, with the jaw-dropping spectacle of alien machines rising out of the Earth to destroy everything in its path. From that point forward, you’re totally caught in the grip of a survival story that refuses to let up. Tense, panicked, and just brimming with the urgency of a family desperately trying to reach some kind of sanctuary, Spielberg has moved the focus and perspective of an invasion film from a world at war to one man in a situation he can’t possibly understand fully.
It’s a brilliant choice to limit the information we receive to that which Ray and his kids encounter, and it works to continually unsettle you. There’s very little exposition, no big speeches, and again and again we’re shown just how ineffective the human race is against such a superior force. Most importantly we’re show the destruction of a world through the eyes of a normal man for whom circumstance has forced him step up and fend for people other than himself.
The effects of 9/11 are all over this film, from Dakota Fanning asking a panicked Cruise, “Is it the terrorists again?” (Which, is exactly what a child would ask), to the handmade signs posted by the loved ones of the missing (and most likely dead), and most powerfully, to the equally charitable and selfish actions of people who’ve lost everything except the will to survive.
In an effective set piece (which nonetheless derails the momentum of the film due to it’s length), Ray and his daughter hook up with an addled survivalist Tim Robbins, forcing Ray to decide between fighting back at those who’ve destroyed his home and protecting the life of his daughter. It’s a tense and creepy portion of the film, and one in which you’re uncertain which direction it will eventually go in.
Sadly, Spielberg’s populist instincts are in full effect for the film’s finale (which in and of itself is a bit logic-defying), but it’s not enough to detract from the overall power and effectiveness of this very engaging piece of cinema. Even at his schlocky worst, Spielberg remains an absolute master of the form, and War of the Worlds might easily be the best film you’ll see this summer.