Works on so many levels, highly recommended

Rating: 8/10 (27 October 2005)

Oh my goodness. This movie took me completely by surprise. I'd seen the trailers, I'm a fan of Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, and yet, I had no idea what I was in for. This is no E.T. This is no Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Here, the aliens aren't lovable, or fascinating, or peaceful. Here they're terrifying, and their goal is very clear: Extermination. Never since Jurassic Park has Steven Spielberg made a movie full of such horror and despair. And compared to War of the Worlds, Jurassic Park is like Finding Neverland.
I don't remember the last time a movie had affected me the way War of the Worlds affected me. Ten minutes into the movie I was already tightly grasping the seat handles. Throughout the entire movie, my eyes were wide open, never leaving the screen no matter what. My heart was beating twice as fast as it should. This movie grabbed me and pulled me right in, never letting loose its grip.
This is the definition of a "horror" movie. It doesn't scare you using cheap technical tricks, like having things jump out at you. What happens on the screen in War of the Worlds is just so utterly terrifying that you can't help being scared. This is why I say it's a true "horror" movie, because you are horrified as you watch the events unfold before you. The film throws its characters into such utter hopelessness and fear; even the viewers can't escape these feelings. While watching the movie, I felt such utter and pure fear; this was a movie-going experience I won't forget that easily. War of the Worlds is probably one of the scariest films I've ever seen.
As a "disaster" film, War of the Worlds works in so many ways that others have failed. First of all, it puts the characters and what they're going through in the center, as opposed to the special effects being the center of the movie, and having everything else built around them. In fact, the camera turns away from the special effects in the movie instead of towards them, to emphasize that the purpose of the movie is for you to identify with what the main characters are going through. The special effects work like supporting effects that are necessary and add to the plot, instead of drawing the attention away from it. Also, the choice of characters is interesting and unique for a disaster film. The main character (portrayed by Tom Cruise) isn't a smart scientist who knows how to save the world from the aliens, nor is he a big hero. In fact, he's quite the opposite. Tom Cruise's character is a loser. He's divorced and his family is in shambles. He can barely take care of his own house, much less his kids, who don't have strong feelings towards him in the first place. His character is one that is trying to be a good father, but just doesn't succeed. The movie throws him and his kids into the terror that's going on around them, and emphasizes what they're going through emotionally, on a personal level, as opposed to emphasizing the grander scale of events (what most disaster movies do). The movie sticks with him and his kids the entire time, and doesn't ever show the larger figures (military leaders, the President of the United States, and other disaster movie clichés). War of the Worlds also avoids the disaster movie cliché of showing world landmarks getting destroyed, which, honestly, is never important to the plot of a disaster movie. It's just cool to watch.
The development of the characters is also interesting. Tom Cruise and his kids just have to pull themselves together, and fix their relationship while running away from the alien tripods. As expected from Mr. Spielberg, these dramatic tensions and the character development is done extremely well.
Many people were disappointed with the ending. I won't go into details of course, but I will just say that while it did feel a little rushed, the ending really didn't bother me at all, not even the slightest bit. Once the movie slowed down and reached it's final destination, I was still totally exhausted from everything I experienced before. I was about as exhausted as I would be if I were Tom Cruise in the movie, constantly running away from the aliens. This feeling of exhaustion stayed with me well after the movie ended. Only a truly successful movie would affect the viewer like that.
The movie, as always expected with Spielberg, is also an amazing technical achievement. The special visual effects are flawless. John Williams' music is haunting. But what truly stood out was the sound. Some of the sound effects used in the movie are just as frightening as the visuals themselves. In one scene, there is complete blackness on the screen, and all you hear are these gut wrenching and extremely loud noises. You can't see, nor do you know what's making them, which makes them even creepier. Another sound effect that stood out was this deep, extremely loud baseline noise that the tripods make, which is absolutely chilling, and just keeps up the terrifying feeling the movie emits.
All in all, while it does have flaws, they are minor, and inferior to the total success of everything else in the movie. War of the Worlds works on so many levels: as a summer blockbuster, as a story about the relationships in a broken family, and as a downright terrifying-to-the-bones horror movie. I highly recommend it for anybody who enjoys a good cinematic experience, for whatever reasons. War of the Worlds contains enough elements to entertain any type of moviegoer.