Flawed but i enjoyed it.

Rating: 8/10 (19 July 2005)

Let me get the big moan out the way first. As someone from Woking I am a little annoyed that for the umpteenth time a film has been made about the most famous book to have ever come from our town (My sister goes to school right next to Horsell common!) and we don't even get a fart of a mention. Not surprised but still a little disappointed, especially when i heard a rumour that one brief scene (establishing shot at the beginning or something) had been filmed here.
The film itself was pretty good i thought. Especially the opening hour or so. I was very impressed by the machines though! Just thinking though, they have legs, had no-one in the film seen Empire Strikes back? Just get some strong wire, tie it between two jets and fly round the things legs! BANG its hit the deck! Little disappointed that people just vapourise after being heat rayed, i remember reading that they sent men shooting up in flames. Good that they got the shot where the woman is running away and gets heat rayed in the back which they had in the booklet of the 1978 musical (the picture with big Ben in the back ground). So yeah there's a few obvious goofs (the camera, DUH!) but most of the beginning is pretty good.
however as the film went on a few things annoyed me. There was a VERY good reason that H.G. Wells didn't put a screaming 9 year old in the book. NO ONE CARES! Also i reckon Cruise would've got kicked by the guy he killed (interesting that they rolled all those parts together though). I also think that the sense of claustrophobia is built up well, wherever you go they are going to find you.
But the end. Oh dear. THE BOY SHOULD BE DEAD! This was the film where Spielberg wanted to get away from his E.T. nice guy image. He fell flat on his face at the final hurdle, while many other bits can be forgiven this was just stupid. Especially to a British audience who would gain no sense of 'yay he's safe!' Instead we think, he ran towards a fight with the martians where everything was on fire, he died, we accept that! Having him somehow alive at the end is insulting, it takes the mickey. There was a huge groan in the cinema at that bit. Sorry but it just ruined the end!
That said i still thought it was a good film.