The Unseen Movie Review

War of the Worlds

It’s hard not to wonder what the point is. Even if Orson Welles’ version of H.G. Wells’ classic tale of Martian invasion hadn’t broken the mould for radio drama by causing panic across America there would be the 1953 film adaptation, still good after all these years. Then there are all the many TV versions and, of course, two utterly different yet equally great (in their way) modern movie updates in the huge blockbuster Independence Day and the cult comedy Mars Attacks! Yet this year there are no less than three different film takes on The War of the Worlds – even if this team up of megadirector Steven Spielberg and megastar Tom Cruise is the only one likely to see a release on this side of the pond.

Much like Independence Day, the special effects are massive, the dread of the approaching space ships is palpable, and the storyline is only tangentially related to H.G. Wells’ original novel. As with most previous adaptations, the action is also relocated to America – which makes sense in plot as well as commercial terms, as watching huge North American cities get disintegrated is always going to be more impressive than the destruction of balmy English villages.

However, this is where Spielberg’s take and that of the producers of Independence Day actually begins to diverge. Sensibly realising that spectacle is becoming a tad passé with the massive influx of sci-fi movies the last few years have brought, Hollywood’s favourite director has, much like with his Close Encounters of the Third Kind, opted for a more intimate approach to alien invasion. He focuses on a small group of ordinary people simply trying to survive, rather than the more standard blockbuster fare of larger than life heroes taking the battle to the aliens. Whereas Independence Day brought us the President of the United States battling flying saucers in an F-15 fighter jet, here the entire film is told from the perspective of one small family, with Cruise at its head, scrabbling through the chaos.

In this respect it is, despite the many changes from the original book, rather more faithful to Wells’ vision. Whereas most big sci-fi epics are rather impersonal with their constant quest for “the wow-factor”, here the audience can really begin to associate and identify with the plight of the movie’s heroes, simply because they are (bar Cruise’s pretty-boy features) so normal. Rather than an action movie, as the trailer may have made it appear, this is far more psychological – and as such, both more interesting and more terrifying.

Add to this mix a lush score from film soundtrack legend John Williams, the man responsible for the music of, amongst countless others, Star Wars, E.T. and Jaws, and wonderfully atmospheric cinematography from long-time Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski – who did such wonders with Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List, and this makes for yet another roaring hit for the man who is already the most successful director in film history.

posted by Nosemonkey @ 4:07 AM