A weak adaptation of a great story

Rating: 5/10 (14 July 2005)

Have seen this film twice now and I feel it gets worse with each viewing. War of the Worlds is my favourite piece of modern fiction and this film turns what is an exciting and thought provoking book into a simple, populist drama. The characters are very weak, especially Tom Cruise's son who appears to act in a most bizarre and fake fashion. His kids are foul. Tim Robbins is wasted and merges three characters from the book into a simple loopy and shell shocked survivor. The lovely Thunderchild sequence with the steamer trying to escape is slashed into another 'ooooh' moment with the capsized ship. The action is poor, the artilleryman and his soldiers being replaced with a half-hearted army attack on the hill.
With one of the greatest director's in history, a good cast and limitless money this film is nowhere near what it should have been. In my opinion Signs was better at the drama and suspense of alien invasion, Independence Day was better for a depiction of the fall of mankind.
The Good: There are a few good points. First, the photography and landscapes were at times lovely. The tripod effects were good from a distance, not that great up close. Dakota Fanning was good, not amazing but good
The Bad: All of the characters were pretty grim The Boston end sequence Over the top 'action' and 'shocks' at the expense of story and characterization Morgan Freeman as the narrator. After Richard Burton we have been spoilt Relocation to 'anytown' USA and modern times