Reoccuring War of Book to Movie; A Synopsis

Rating: 6/10 (1 July 2005)

Spielberg and Cruise endeavor on their second bout of sci-fi high powered cinema with obvious pizazz and flare, delivering an extremely entertaining roller-coaster ride with a sudden, unsettling end. The entertainment factor was fantastic. In the theater I found myself experiencing an almost archetypal montage of fundamental reactions translated to physical glee. I cringed with fear at the scary parts, was dazed at the visual shockers, and was appropriately disturbed by what seemed like an apocalyptic holocaust delivered by enormous, super mean aliens. Although rated PG-13, I feel inclined to warn all parents to weigh War of the Worlds on par with Schindler's List and Sophie's Choice before making decisions about going on a family viewing.
Having read the a comment which sited that the fairy-tale ending was loyal to H.G. Well's original book, I feel uncomfortable and yet justified in saying that sometimes movies are better when you delineate between what is verbally appealing and what is theatrically appealing. An example could be LOTR; in the books, there is a huge segment about Saromaun (sp????) in which he ventures into Hobbiton with Wormtongue and proceeds to corrupt and violate everything, only to be later stopped by the four protagonist hobbits (after they destroy the ring and everything). Considering the length of the movie, Peter Jackson killed off Saromaun and Wormtongue instead, writing a totally fabricated death scene just to eliminate what could have been a five-hour film or a four movie series. The same philosophy of cut-and-write should have been applied to War of the Worlds. While the ending might have been satisfying in the book (please note I have not read it yet) the ending on screen was absolutely confusing, and left both me and my fellows with an unresolved, almost hurt feeling of disappointment.
Despite the disappointing ending, and several other blimps too trivial to note, WOTW was a fantastic ride. Spielberg has a real talent for intertwining the scariest imagery possible with little bits of comic relief which at many intervals of the film provoke a welcome grin to override my otherwise horrified gaze. And it was such fun to see the usually spiffied up, arrogant Tom Cruise walking around in a Yankees cap and jeans, battling with estranged son and daughter as aliens take over the world. The character development (Cruise, Fanning...) and beautifully subtle relationship of father and children struggling amidst detritus of divorce and Apocalypse acted as a binding glue which made the chemistry of the movie spark. Spielberg nailed the sentimentality aspect, which isn't a surprise; he's proved to be a trooper.
Good movie, bad ending, scary kids, great ride.