War of the worlds, we aren't alone ...

Rating: 9/10 (6 July 2005)

Far from movies like ID4, even further than E.T by the same S.Spielberg, WOTW takes us to the human fears, weaknesses and survival instinct in front of something we don't know, which is stronger, that we can't fight. From the beginning, when we find out weird events, to the end, when we realize we are really powerless beings in the universe, we are totally dived into the skin of Ray (Tom Cruise) and his family (Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin). Ray is a selfish father, typical antihero who will forsake his way of life to turn into the father he hadn't ever been and, so, figure who he is out. All along, we are seized by an unreachable fear, we know something's wrong but we can see it, we know death close but can't say when it will happen. We see people killed by aliens like stupid worms without any kind of resist. We notice people can forget their whole rationality because of their fear, their primary instinct (illustrated by Tim Robbins and the car scene). The special effects, used deliberately, increase the shock. Eventually, the only thing we keep is our ability to transcend ourselves into a better person to protect people we love, in spite of the huge obstacles we meet. So, actors are really good, especially Dakota Fanning who is amazing, and one thing is sure, M.I.B are true, Spielberg comes from an other world.