The' War of the Worlds' of the Beginning of the Twentieth-First Century

Rating: 7/10 (28 July 2003)

Minor Spoiler
Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is a recently widowed farmer and ex-Father. He is grieving due to the death of his wife in an accident caused by a car driven by a neighbor. His son and daughter, and his young brother (Joaquin Phoenix) live with him. One day, they find some mysterious signs in his cornfield and along the movie they will realize that aliens are invading Earth.
In 1953, the tale of H.G. Well was greatly adapted in the screen in 'The War of the Worlds'. In 1996, we have basically the same story, in 'Independence Day', using lots of special effects and a computer virus (instead of an influenza virus) to defeat the aliens. Now, M. Night Shyamalan presents us basically the same plot, replacing the virus by water, but in a different perspective: inside an isolated farmhouse, with a very few special effects (basically sound effects), showing a simple family frightened. In the end, I found it a nice Sci-Fi movie. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Sinais" ("Signs")