And here... we... go!

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2009)

BE WARNED! MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!
Adapted from H.G. Wells' fantastic novel, Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" falls just short of a masterpiece; a few strategically placed errors prevent it from attaining that high level. First of all, Tom Cruise, whom I once dismissed as a rather bad actor, delivers a fantastic performance. Dakota Fanning also does a great job—on paper, her character seems like a snivelling brat. On screen, she is a fantastic character: a daughter who needs more attention than Ray has been willing to give her—he is even unaware of her allergy to peanuts. (One of the most touching scenes was when she asks Ray to sing her a lullaby. Ray doesn't know the one she'd like to hear, so he resorts to "My Little Deuce Coupe" as a poor substitute.) But the best actor of the piece is probably Tim Robbins. His character is an interesting fusion between Wells' clergyman and artilleryman, and Robbins, a fantastic actor, delivers a top-notch performance as Harlan Ogilvy.
"War of the Worlds" begins as an amazing alien invasion movie. Spielberg's most interesting move was insisting that Tom Cruise's character not be heroic; throughout the film, Ray flees from the invasion, discourages others from fighting back, and is more of a coward than anything. (A rare and superb Tom Cruise moment occurs after he surrenders his car at gunpoint: instead of chasing after the vehicle, he sobs.) He must learn to accept his responsibility as a father (a recurring Spielbergian motif) during this extraterrestrial holocaust.
One of the most powerful scenes in the entire film is when Ray decides that Ogilvy must be silenced. In a marvellous sequence, he blindfolds his daughter, Rachel, and asks her to sing a lullaby he doesn't know the words to. As he enters the room Ogilvy is in, we hear them struggle. Dakota Fanning delivers superb facial reactions while continuing her song, positively horrified, yet unable to see what is going on. The murder of Ogilvy is symbolic of the loss of her and Ray's innocence. The scene asks an important question: when reduced to such circumstances, how far would we be willing to go to protect our loved ones? This amazing scene would not have worked without the strong performances of Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning.
However, screenwriters David Koepp and Josh Friedman mess up. Why oh why did Robbie (Justin Chatwin) have to survive? All that character build-up for nothing! "War of the Worlds" ends with a melodramatic, dull thud. Previously, it was touching how Ray was willing to lie to himself and to Rachel that Robbie will meet them in Boston. He holds onto this illusion with great faith; it gives him hope. But when it turns out that Robbie really is alive, the effect is spoiled. Another problem occurs in the last half hour, when Ray suddenly starts acting heroic- and all that character buildup of Ray as a coward is wasted. (There are plot holes in the story, but they can easily be ignored. After all, most movies have plot holes, and if they're not too big, we can still sit back and enjoy the film.)
Moving on, though Spielberg makes yet another great directing choice: he strictly sticks to Ray's perspective. He comes tantalizingly close to showing an epic battle between humans and aliens, but we see no more of it than Ray does. In short, the holocaust of the alien invasion is seen through the eyes of a few, in a similar way to how "Saving Private Ryan" portrayed the horrors of WWII through the eyes of just a group of men. Another great move is having practically every shot from ground level: there are only a few that are from a bird's-eye view. This cements the story as from a person's perspective: Spielberg throws the audience into the story as part of the story, not as mere onlookers.
"War of the Worlds" seems to always come out when people fear something. Wells' novel came out when the English were afraid of a German sneak-invasion. Orson Welles' infamous radio broadcast came when people feared a Nazi invasion. The 1953 version was made when people feared a nuclear war. Now, Spielberg's version was strongly influenced by the 9/11 attacks, where an invasion is no longer a fear; rather, a group of individuals willing to justify murder for ideological purposes strike fear into us.
Of course, one cannot review the film without acknowledging the superb visual effects! The aliens' tripods are aesthetically pleasing, yet at the same time, extremely scary. They move with a fluid, aquatic quality about them which adds to the scariness. Another interesting thing is the "threes": the tripods have three legs, as do the aliens, who also have three limbs. The number three is thus used to subtly point out just how different this alien culture is from ours.
Something about the ending of "War of the Worlds" has always appealed to me. After all of mankind's technological weaponry has failed, the alien onslaught is destroyed by the tiniest of creatures— mere bacteria. This is just great irony— despite all our technological feats, it is ultimately a germ that saves the human race from destruction What would've happened if humans had succeeded in eliminating the common cold?
It is tempting to dismiss "War of the Worlds" as a mere summer action-blockbuster popcorn flick, but in reality, it is a film that delves into deeper waters. Its superb quality is marred, however, by a too-bright, too-hopeful ending.
The Verdict: An amazing movie until the final half-hour.
Overall Rating: 9/10