Gripping Study of Humanity (Watching with envious eyes)

Rating: 8/10 (3 July 2005)

As a searing indictment on human nature during crisis, this film works wonderfully. It really paints the horrific of how desperate people get in doomed situations.
This is really Spielberg working on all thrusters I think. There is such a genuine feeling of despair running through the movie, and the characters all act realistically. Dakota Fanning is a great addition to 'Spielberg's Children', particularly since he hasn't really squeezed good performances out of children for a while now (Jurassic Park anyone?). I loved the depiction of this story. I was so worried when I heard it had been transplanted (again!) to the USA for this film version, as I had hoped a historical setting in England 1898 would've lent the film a unique perspective. However, I soon was involved deeply in the film as it is. I'm no fan of Tom Cruise in general, but he works fine in this flick, particularly because he spends most of the film panic-stricken and not displaying his usual square-jawed All-American heroism. Apart from the occasional performance like the harrowing one in "Born on the Fourth of July" (Oliver Stone, 1989), "War of the Worlds" and Michael Mann's "Collateral" surely signify some sort of turning point in roles for Cruise. He comes across as very vulnerable and human.
I was also glad to see Spielberg didn't take the opportunity to pepper this film with jingoistic overtones, and any patriotic devour, which does come from this film is true to the characters represented. But thankfully it is in short supply and the film is more about how humans (not just Americans, though it is set in the U.S.) cope and change in desperate times.
From a production and directorial point of view I have to say there are some great Spielberg moments. There's a scene where characters are running through mist as clothing rains down around them, and I also have to say I have never seen (or been taken off guard) by the ferocity at which people were 'vaporised' as in this film. It's quick and startling.
There is also a VERY Hitchcockian moment when one character watches a body float past down stream only to then be followed by a mass of bodies. The way it was shot was just pure Hitchcock.
Everything rolls along fine in this film. John Williams' score is brooding and dark, and the pace works well: action packed, yet still time for human moments. And it's the human moments which make this film memorable (i.e. The crowd and the car-jacking scene).
If Independence Day appealed to teenagers, then this film will appeal to the over 25's. Intelligent, thought-provoking and gripping.
SPOILER FOLLOWS: As a creative choice, If I had directed this film I would've 'realistically' not had one of the characters survive by the film's end. But then again, this is Hollywood, and considering the mainstream effect which usually seems to guide Spielberg, it is great to see that for the most part he delivers a movie which stays very true to the original story and shows Mankind at its darkest hour - not just against an unknown enemy, but against itself.