The Global War on Aliens

Rating: 6/10 (31 July 2005)

This is typical Spielberg fare: an enjoyable but ultimately unsatisfying ride. Spielberg is the opposite of the "flawed genius". He is the perfect mediocrity.
This movie, like most of his previous, is one brilliantly shot and directed scene after another. Unfortunately, that's all that is: one scene after another. Something cool happens, then something scary happens, then something emotional happens. In the end it adds up to nothing. It's disappointing because the individual perfection of each scene tricks you into expecting something Big to happen at the end, which never does. Some kind of Message, some kind of Point, some kind of Thesis that each brilliant scene eloquently argued for. But then, when it ends it just does. And even that, it's not some brilliant meta-message of When It Ends It Just Does, nothing like it. You almost expect Spielberg to pop up after the The End and say "That's all folks, I hope you enjoyed the ride. Stay tuned for more in a year or so." It's dispiritingly vacuous. It's not art, it's circus masquerading as art. I think I may prefer movies such as "Independence Day", more honest about being just circus.
At one point a character says, referring to the alien invaders, "This occupation cannot work, we lived here all our lives, our forefathers lived here, etc" and my years pricked because it's the kind of topical clumsy and transparent metaphor that Hollywood does. Star Wars tried to pack some metaphorical punch, so why not WOTW? I now believe even this was accidental. There was no follow up on.