A different take on the genre

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2005)

It was one of the most hyped movie of the 2005. (aside from "Star Wars Ep.III"), judging by the intensity of its advertising and the fact the ads invited people to buy tickets in advance in order to ensure seats. Accidentally I watched the movie the night before the premiere and there wasn't more than 20 people in the cinema. So much for power of advertising.
Nevertheless, every new movie Spielberg comes up with draws deserved attention, if anything because we are sure to be treated with at least an innovation or two, packed in a carefully designed production. And that's more than can be said for majority of movies these days.
This movie also brings certain innovations, regarding mostly the story. The story is an adaptation of H.G.Welles' novel and, despite its resemblance to "Independence day", is in fact the original one. There is also an alien race attacking the Earth in our time and here's where the similarity ends. Instead of the point of government or military circles this movie takes the point of an ordinary man to tell the tale of war. He's doing his best to survive and save his family while observing the chaos around him and is no better or worse at it than the humanity in repulsing the aliens. Eventually it turns out that this isn't even our war. Nobody has a clue what's going on, how the aliens came and what do they want. That's why we are denied the proper explanation of the events through the usual means of educated characters. That way an atmosphere of chaos and hopelessness is successfully achieved. Only a narrator at the end tells us that the earth viruses won the war for us.
The focus on the main character is so strong and important that we never separate from him through the entire movie. We observe him observing the war. This leads to another innovation which is: detracting from the special effects. They ARE abundant and they ARE top notch (as always with Spielberg), but this time they serve as mere backdrop to the turmoils of the main character. That is, special effects finally serve the story and not vice versa.
While these innovations are all positive it must be noted that there are still many typical Hollywood (or Spilbergian) clichés and implausibilities which prevent this movie for being truly unforgettable experience. I do, however, recommend it on the grounds of innovations and visual appeal.