Run, Ray, run

Rating: 1/10 (18 July 2005)

I saw War of the Worlds yesterday. Don't waste your money.
There are so many things wrong with this movie, I'll just address Tom Cruise. I'd heard some reviewer on TV say this was his best role yet--which I know, isn't saying much--but the reviewer was quite mistaken. This is the worst I've seen Tommy do, and I can't abide Tom Cruise.
In this film, he has three expressions: stupid grin, deer in the headlights, and dawning deer in the headlights. Add to that his character, who should have been strangled at birth, and you get Ray.
Ray is the reason I despised this movie.
Ray is a coward, a "hero" for the Michael Moore crowd. When his bratty son wants to stay and fight, Ray runs. He does nothing but run through the whole film. His only moment of bravery comes when his squealing little girl is grabbed by one of the tripods; Ray grabs a couple of grenades and gets himself grabbed, then blows the tripod up.
This is not a moment of redemption, when the wuss becomes a man. No, this is a fluke, and Tom goes back to running. He does have a revolver, but he doesn't have the guts to use it.
Run, Ray, run.
The inevitable comparison is not to the 53 flick, but Independence Day, another summer alien invasion blockbuster. The difference is that where ID exemplified the values that made the United States strong, WW doesn't even hold up the cowardice of the main character as a virtue. WW is utterly valueless.
In ID the liberal president is redeemed and becomes a strong leader. Randy Quaid's character, an alcoholic, redeems himself and saves the day, dying in the process. ID has heroes (which is why liberal critics sneered at it). WW has only frightened masses of people, and a coward.
The only characters who show any guts are the military, Ray's son, and the man in whose basement Ray and his shrieking daughter hide. There are no soldiers that can be called characters in any meaningful way. Ray tried to keep his son from fighting. And Ray kills the man in the basement, whose bravery is shown as some sort of mental disorder.
Ray kills a man out of cowardice. To save his own hide. So he can keep running. So he won't have to fight. Ray is a wuss all the way to the end.
I think it's time to watch Independence Day.