War of the Worlds: Sound & Fury,a review (with a few wee spoilers)

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2005)

WARNING: a few spoilers
The title of this review pretty much sums up this film, sound & fury. For those of you who have read the book, you will be pleased with how the filmmakers have remained, more or less, faithful to its basic storyline. As I've not seen the 1953 film version, except for bits and pieces from time to time, I can't really comment, except to say I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with the result, as were many of us on the undernet irc channel #newsgarden.
This movie is about a father, and not a particularly good father at that, having to deal with an alien invasion AND try to reach his estranged wife while keeping his children alive in the process. Tom Cruise, the lead character, is a man who's clearly not cut out for fatherhood, yet when the crisis comes, does what any parent would do, that is, do his best to keep his family alive.
The film begins with a voice-over, done by Morgan Freeman, which is essentially the first paragraph of the book by H.G. Wells. That concluded, we are treated to the usual 15 minutes or so of character introduction. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), his two children Robbie and Rachel, played by Justin Chatwin and Dakota Fanning, and his estranged wife, whom we see little of during the film.
It isn't long before the aliens (whom we'll call Martians, their origin is never actually explained) make their appearance, laying waste to Rays New York City neighborhood in an orgy of rather novel death ray destruction. These are not your fathers Martians and the special effects, in particular the SOUND effects, are not what any sci-fi fan is used to. This movies audio is just incredible, which is why I would encourage anyone who can scrape up the money, go and see it on the big screen. I rather doubt the DVD will do it justice, unless of course, you happen to be blessed with an exceptional surround sound system.
Ray, who barely escapes being turned into human dust by the Martians, makes it home and cowers in his home with his kids for a bit before deciding to head to Boston. Finding one of the few cars that still works (the Martians have, upon arrival, rendered useless just about anything dependent upon electricity, including cell phones and wrist watches) Ray and his kids flee the city, intending on reaching Boston.
Unlike many films, where the protagonist is sort of a Rambo/MacGyver sort of guy who can leap tall buildings in single bound, wipe out legions of bad guys with a six-gun, and build a fully functional armored personnel carrier from an old van and some vinyl siding, our Ray is pretty mundane, an ordinary Joe facing enormous stress and hardship. and it shows. He fights with his kids, they fight with him, and the point is very clearly made that he has not ever really gotten to know them. They arrive at his estranged wife's house and spend a lonely and scary night before narrowly escaping a grim death. Again, they flee.
Its not long before they come to a town crowded with refugees, and the scenes that follow show what can happen when a large mob of terrified people all have the same goal in mind. In this case, they want to board the only ferry crossing a river. But, of course, the Martians make an appearance and the following scenes demonstrate what a disaster at sea is probably really like. Chaos and mayhem ensues, and Ray and his kids barely escape with their skins. Few others do. Watch for a scene involving a passenger train. It is chilling.
Next, Ray and family end up holed up in the basement of a house, occupied by another normal guy under stress. I won't go into detail, but think 'hide and seek', but this hide and seek could have some pretty unpleasant consequences. These scenes are the most creepy and suspenseful of the film, and many gasps could be heard in the audience around us as events unfolded.
I won't describe much else, except to say that things get even worse for ray and his family. For those who've seen the 1953 movie or read the book, you'll KNOW the 'ending', which is done very well indeed. The film is one of those in which you will likely never glance down to your watch, wondering how much time is left. The action, while not non-stop, is frequent and events progress at what feels like a rapid pace. It is definitely worth seeing, and HEARING. I cannot stress the audio of this film enough. It makes what could have possibly been a good movie into a great movie. I'd give it a 'three fingers up'.